MWC: Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo Hands-on Images, HD Video

Mobile World Congress, BARCELONA, Spain – The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo was the only smartphone to be announced last night by the company, at its pre-event press conference.

The device, which was confirmed in leaks during the past few weeks, is just another variant of the Xperia X10, but with a younger, more vibrant design, presenting itself in a few colours, with a rounded shape in certain portions of its hardware, making it friendly and less serious than its predecessor.

The handset can actually be placed somewhere in the upper mid-end, making it less expensive than the high-end Arc. It features a 3.7″ touchscreen display – a generous component seeing that the Neo is supposed to be the “cheaper alternative” – but otherwise, the same specifications, including Mobile Bravia Engine, powering certain video apps, and possibly games. Present in the device can also be found the usual Wi-Fi, HSDPA and HSUPA connectivity options, 8GB internal storage, and GPS.

The Sony Exmor R camera technologies is succeeded to the Xperia Neo as well, bundled with the 8 megapixel sensor which allows for HD video recording at 720p with continuous focus.

Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the operating system’s version of choice here, probably upgradable to the next version (Ice Cream Sandwich?), powered by a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.