Three is selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Samsung Galaxy Mini

NETWORK OPERATOR Three has confirmed it is selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Samsung Galaxy Mini smartphones from today.

The Xperia Arc is one of two smartphones that go on sale today, the other being the Xperia Play gaming phone. The Xperia Arc is a large display phone with a 4.2-inch touchscreen that has 854x480 resolution and is powered by Sony's Mobile Bravia graphics engine.

There are various ways of getting hold of the Xperia Arc from Three with different contract or non-contract options. The cheapest contract is a £35 per month 24 month deal and comes with 5,000 txts, 5,000 minutes and a 1GB data allowance. The phone is available on pay as you go for £449 with numerous 30 day plans.

A similar phone on the market currently is the HTC Desire HD which has a slightly larger display at 4.3-inch with 480x800 resolution. The Xperia Arc is a fair amount lighter and thinner at 8.7mm at its thinnest point due to its concave rear and 117g compared to the Desire HD's 11.8mm and 164g. Both have 8MP cameras and run Google's Android operating system. The Xperia Arc will come loaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread but the Desire HD currently has Android 2.2 Froyo, which according to HTC will receive an update to Gingerbread soon.

Three is also selling the Samsung Galaxy Mini from today. The Galaxy Mini is Samsungs budget Android phone, comparable to Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 Mini, and is available on contract from £15 per month or on pay as you go for £99. The phone runs Android 2.2 Froyo and has a 3.14-inch capacitive touchscreen, WiFi, GPS and a 3MP camera. µ