Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray review

Media-wise, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is pretty standard Android fare. It does the job well but there is nothing here that is brand spanking new and will leave you excited.

In terms of watching videos, this is one of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's strengths. Again, you just can't fault that screen for clarity, and watching HD videos that we'd dragged and dropped onto the card was a real pleasure.

You won't be watching the Star Wars Box Set on it – unless you like squinting – because the screen is so small, but for watching a quick music video or an episode of Family Guy on the train to work, we give the Xperia Ray a big fat thumbs up.

The music player is standard Android. Again, it's been skinned to within an inch of its life to give it the Xperia colour tone, but under the gloss it's the same music player you'll find on most other Android handsets. That's not to say it's a bad thing, because it works well.

We found that dragging and dropping a ton of music from a MacBook Pro worked a treat, and the player was able to figure out which albums were grouped together simply.

The gallery app is the same one we've seen since the Nexus One launched at the start of last year. It looks slick, creates albums automatically, tilts in line with the accelerometer and even manages to change the background of the entire gallery depending on what photo you're looking at.

We'd love to say it's busting with loads of new features and tell you all about them, but the reality is there were only two new things we noticed about it: firstly, the icon is new (well, it's a Sony Ericsson variant). And secondly, Facebook albums are now in there too, as part of the deeper Facebook integration that now lives in the contacts menu too.

There's a YouTube app preinstalled (Note to BlackBerry: an actual app, not a link to the mobile website. Take the hint!), and it does the job valiantly. It's the standard YouTube for Android app.

However, as well as the standard Android stuff, Sony Ericsson has also kitted out the Xperia Ray with its own media goodies, which we feel should get a special mention.

First, TrackID is an inheritance from the days of the K800i (possibly even earlier) and was the precursor to Shazam. It's always worked well and we've always been fond of this little app.

Not only that, but now it goes even further and provides you with an updated music chart and options to search YouTube or even buy the song you've searched for. It's all powered by the fantastic Gracenote database, so you really can't go wrong.

One fun app that we noticed is called Friends' Music & Videos. It's linked into Facebook and basically collates all of your friends' posted and recommended videos or music. It's not something you're likely to spend hours on, but for mucking about it's a nice addition.

For those who want to rent movies (or indeed buy them) direct on the device, there's a Qriocity app built in. The selection of flicks isn't exhaustive but it's OK if you're really bored and stuck for something to watch.

Prices are similar to the likes of iTunes.

And, hallelujah! We knew we could rely on good old Sony Ericsson not to let us down here: there is an FM radio! Woohoo! With lots of manufacturers neglecting to fit these, it's lovely that Sony Ericsson still keeps this element in just like it did in the old days.

For those of us who like to go running with our phones and listen to the radio, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray gets a bonus point here.