Xperia Arc HD, like this name? Well, personally I find it better than Xperia Nozomi — the name currently rumored for the next Xperia phone from SE, which will be its flagship device for the year 2012.

Arc has a good brand image, and a design that great that SE would struggle with to improve. We would be shocked if Arc’s good-for-all design is dropped, and not carried forward to Xperia Arc HD — and because the next Xperia device is heavily rumored for 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) display, we think the rumors of Xperia Arc HD are indeed true. Though, the rumor mill says that it could change and nothing is set in stone for now.

We’ve also heard that the processor is “blazing fast” — which it should be — and no other specifics were outed.

Going by the existing SE practices, SE should announce it in MWC event in Barcelona in February, followed by March-April launch — the same way SE launched its Xperia X10 and Xperia Arc.

Oh yes, we think it will have Android 4.0 pre-installed, since it’s still very far from launch and history indicates that too — when Google released Android 2.3 in Dec last year, SE’s next phone in March, the Xperia Arc, had Android 2.3 pre-installed on it. So, it’s safe to say it’ll be one of the first devices to launch with Ice Cream Sandwich.

We would know more about the design, OS version, and SE’s other plans in CES 2012, which starts in early January. It would be fun — but we cautious about some quad-core beast thrashing the Xperia Arc HD’s party (and to hope a quad-core in Arc HD is simply hoping too much from SE).

Btw, if you didn’t already, here are the rumored specifications of Arc HD (since it first appeared as Xperia Duo and then Xperia Nozomi)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD Specs (not official)

  • 4.5-inch qHD display — probably, it’s backlit LCD display, unless SE is able to make deal with Samsung for Super AMOLED displays, like Motorola did with Droid Razr
  • 1.4/1.5GHz dual-core processor (hopefully, it’s not Qualcomm, and that it’s TI’s OMAP4460 — the one use din Galaxy Nexus clocked at 1.2GHz)
  • 12MP camera, capable of recording at 1080p
  • 2500 mAh battery

Price, Release Date and Review

Details on Price (which can be expected to be around $650 for unlocked device), Release Date and Review will updated as more info becomes available.