14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless services provider Vodafone UK has just announced the availability of a new smartphone on its airwaves, none other than the recently unveiled Xperia ray from Sony Ericsson.
The new mobile phone was made available for purchase via Vodafone for free on monthly plans that start at £26 per month. It can be seen on the wireless carrier's website here.
Xperia ray is one of the latest Android-based smartphones that Sony Ericsson announced to the world. In early September, the handset vendor brought Xperia ray to the IFA 2011 trade fare in Berlin, where Softpedia had the chance to spend a few moments in its company, and came up with hands-on photos.
The new mobile phone was already made available in the UK via various retailers in the country, and has started to arrive at wireless carriers there as well, with Vodafone being one of the first UK operators to announce plans for carrying it.
“Sony Ericsson's Xperia ray Android-powered smartphone has a stunningly slim design — all built around a lightweight aluminum frame,” Vodafone notes on its website.
“The Xperia ray also brings your world closer to Facebook than ever before, letting you 'Like' your music and video.”
The Xperia ray boasts a 3.3-inch touchscreen display that can deliver an FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels) resolution, and packs a 1GHz application processor inside, for increased performance capabilities.
It also arrives with 512MB of internal memory, the possibility to expand it to up to 32GB via microSD memory cards, and with an 8.1 Megapixel photo snapper on the back, with support for 720p video recording.
The mobile phone also comes with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity capabilities, GPS receiver, FM radio, and a battery that can deliver up to 7 hours of talk time, or up to 440 hours of standby time.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia ray runs under Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and offers support for a variety of applications pre-loaded on it or available via the Android Market.
“If it matters to you how your Android-powered smartphone looks, buy Sony Ericsson's Xperia ray. At just 9.6 mm thick, it packs all the features you'd expect from an Android smartphone into a sleek, compact body — with a champagne-coloured back adding a touch of class,” Vodafone also notes.