rahul.007
bORn To RIse....
Guys this is my second review after reviewing and using motorola fire xt. Got this for my sister yesterday from flipkart @ Rs. 14790 (after rs. 200 cash back).
So lets begin....
REVIEW: Sony Xperia U
*imageshack.us/a/img132/1079/img20121028222157.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img607/4711/img20121028222457.jpg
• Sony Xperia U is nice looking handset but one thing that you can't call it is sleek.
• It has a 3.5 inch lcd tft 480*854 pixel capacitive touch screen in the front along with a VGA camera and ambient light + proximity sensors.
• package contains headphones(not good quality), user mannual, warranty info, charger, usb-data cable, screen protector, pink bottom cover(extra) battery and a micro sim adapter(now thats a new
).
*imageshack.us/a/img202/3079/img20121028222519.jpg
• The back has a 5mp autofocus cam with an led flash and the old sony-ericson style branding.
• The rim which changes colour according to the most prominent color of the picture bieng viewed or the theme being set up is a really cool thing.
*imageshack.us/a/img441/6137/img20121028223846.jpg
• Sony provides one extra swappable bottom color. I got pink one for my sister.
*imageshack.us/a/img713/5450/img20121028222540.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img507/8052/img20121028222554.jpg
ALL IN ALL, THE LOOK OF THE DEVICE IS NICE BUT IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE BULKY WHEN COMPARED TO MY MOTOROLA FIRE XT(WHICH IS SLEEKER), BUT IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE FIRE.
8/10 TO SONY FOR A NICE LOOKING CELL PHONE(WHICH HAS BEEN THEIR FORTE).
2. Hardware
*imageshack.us/a/img440/369/screenshot201210290043.png
• The phone runs android 2.3.7 GB although the 4.0.4 ICS update is out.
*imageshack.us/a/img689/8830/screenshot2012102900431.png
• The phone has an ARM V7(novathor u8500) 1ghz dual core processor and 512 mb ram.
*imageshack.us/a/img145/3582/screenshot2012102900432.png
*imageshack.us/a/img96/8610/screenshot2012102912301.png
• It has a mali 400-mp gpu.
*imageshack.us/a/img594/338/screenshot201210290044.png
• the number of sensors are:-
~accelerometer
~magnetometer
~compass
~proximity sensor
~gravity sensor
~linear acceleration sensor
~rotation vector sensor
*imageshack.us/a/img259/7808/screenshot2012102900441.png
• The is capable of detecting 4 simultaneous touches.
*imageshack.us/a/img39/2585/screenshot201210291104.png
• It scored 2364 on quadrant benchmark and gave 27.3 fps on nenamark 2.
*imageshack.us/a/img31/9572/screenshot201210290045.png
*imageshack.us/a/img22/8659/screenshot201210290047.png
• It scored 58.4fps on neocore and 5565 on antutu benchmark.
*imageshack.us/a/img840/3899/screenshot2012102900531.png
*imageshack.us/a/img600/2959/screenshot201210291230.png
Verdict: 8.5/10 very good and capable hardware.
3. UI
• The phone's UI is sony's timescape ui. It looks quite vibrant and crisp due to the screens resolution.
*imageshack.us/a/img9/8074/screenshot201210290053.png
*imageshack.us/a/img138/569/screenshot2012102900421.png
• Their are a lot of widgets and themes through which you can customise your UI.
verdict-8/10 as i liked timescape.
note: by enabling sony bravia engine, the display quality does increases but it also drains out more battery.
4: Camera
• The phone is equipped with a 5mp autofocus cam with led flash. The daylight images are very nice. you can customize the camera a lot and it also has smile and face detection.
• The images captured using LED flash (in dark) are average quality.
• Front-camera is a VGA (.3mp) camera hence strictly for video calls only.
• The videos can be recorded in 720p, and when compared to the 5mp shooter on my motorola fire xt, the sony cam crushes it easily.
*imageshack.us/a/img692/801/dsc0005vcqq.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img10/1043/dsc0006mb.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img442/2034/dsc0007exg.jpg
verdict- 8/10 to sony for providing a good camera.
5: Multimedia
• The phone has a nice speaker and it becomes even louder after enabling XLOUD from settings.
• I couldn't find INTERNET radio support in the phones native music player (although you can download any player of your choice. i use player pro).
• The video playback is VERY GOOD! the videos are crisp and vibrant due to the nice display.
• The phones native player doesn't support divx and xvid, only mp4 and 3gp. but you can install mx player to view those files.
• The bundled earphones are nothing to write about as they aren't in-ear type and i don't use those.
• The phone has a fm radio and a 3.5mm jack.
verdict: 8/10 for a nice all round multimedia device.
6. browsing
~ the phones stock browser is nice.
~ pinch to zoom and panning work though sometimes their may be a slight sluggishness while loading.
~ the phones supports full flash and loads all the flash content.
~ i personally use dolphin browser and it works perfectly. Due to the crisp dislpay, text reading is fun.
verdict: 8\10
7: Battery
The most important aspect of a cell phone is its battery. The Xperia U comes with a 1320mAh battery which would strictly last for a day on avg usage(1-2 hrs wifi + 1-2 hrs music + 10-20 mins calls etc.)
Verdict: 7/10 It depends on your usage pattern but sony could've done better with a 1500mah pack.
8: Connectivity
-> The phone is equipped with 3G,gps with A-gps, wifi "n" and bluetooth 2.1.
-> It has 3G hotspot, Wifi tethering & USB tethering.
-> Wifi reception is good. There are no dropouts and browsing over wifi is a nice experience.
-> call reception is good. Both callers were loud and clear on both the sides.
-> the phone supports dlna.
-> the phone comes with google maps installed.
verdict: 8\10
9: Important Points
• The front cam cannot be used for native video calling over the network (as android doesn’t support video calling till now). It can be used for video calling over Skype. Skype’s present version supports this phone for video calling.
• The phone's total memory is 8gb out of which 2gb is for the os, 2 gb as internal memory and 4 gb as sd card. thus, total 6gb is available to the users.
• the phone supports usb otg. i have ordered an otg cable online. will test it when delivered.
• I have already installed many apps like all the benchmarking apps used above + games like angry birds space HD, fruit ninja, plants vs zombies, temple run, world of goo. the phone plays them all without any issues and lag.
• Sony has bundled many apps like teen patti, pvr cinemas, power saver, ea games, etc but they can all (almost) be uninstalled through the app manager.
final verdict: 8.5\10
apart from the low memory issue(for some), the phone is an absolutely amazing device at its price point in the market.
Note: the phone has full xda-dev support and a lot of roms are already available for the device.
So lets begin....
REVIEW: Sony Xperia U
*imageshack.us/a/img132/1079/img20121028222157.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img607/4711/img20121028222457.jpg
• Sony Xperia U is nice looking handset but one thing that you can't call it is sleek.
• It has a 3.5 inch lcd tft 480*854 pixel capacitive touch screen in the front along with a VGA camera and ambient light + proximity sensors.
• package contains headphones(not good quality), user mannual, warranty info, charger, usb-data cable, screen protector, pink bottom cover(extra) battery and a micro sim adapter(now thats a new
).*imageshack.us/a/img202/3079/img20121028222519.jpg
• The back has a 5mp autofocus cam with an led flash and the old sony-ericson style branding.
• The rim which changes colour according to the most prominent color of the picture bieng viewed or the theme being set up is a really cool thing.
*imageshack.us/a/img441/6137/img20121028223846.jpg
• Sony provides one extra swappable bottom color. I got pink one for my sister.
*imageshack.us/a/img713/5450/img20121028222540.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img507/8052/img20121028222554.jpg
ALL IN ALL, THE LOOK OF THE DEVICE IS NICE BUT IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE BULKY WHEN COMPARED TO MY MOTOROLA FIRE XT(WHICH IS SLEEKER), BUT IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE FIRE.
8/10 TO SONY FOR A NICE LOOKING CELL PHONE(WHICH HAS BEEN THEIR FORTE).
2. Hardware
*imageshack.us/a/img440/369/screenshot201210290043.png
• The phone runs android 2.3.7 GB although the 4.0.4 ICS update is out.
*imageshack.us/a/img689/8830/screenshot2012102900431.png
• The phone has an ARM V7(novathor u8500) 1ghz dual core processor and 512 mb ram.
*imageshack.us/a/img145/3582/screenshot2012102900432.png
*imageshack.us/a/img96/8610/screenshot2012102912301.png
• It has a mali 400-mp gpu.
*imageshack.us/a/img594/338/screenshot201210290044.png
• the number of sensors are:-
~accelerometer
~magnetometer
~compass
~proximity sensor
~gravity sensor
~linear acceleration sensor
~rotation vector sensor
*imageshack.us/a/img259/7808/screenshot2012102900441.png
• The is capable of detecting 4 simultaneous touches.
*imageshack.us/a/img39/2585/screenshot201210291104.png
• It scored 2364 on quadrant benchmark and gave 27.3 fps on nenamark 2.
*imageshack.us/a/img31/9572/screenshot201210290045.png
*imageshack.us/a/img22/8659/screenshot201210290047.png
• It scored 58.4fps on neocore and 5565 on antutu benchmark.
*imageshack.us/a/img840/3899/screenshot2012102900531.png
*imageshack.us/a/img600/2959/screenshot201210291230.png
Verdict: 8.5/10 very good and capable hardware.
3. UI
• The phone's UI is sony's timescape ui. It looks quite vibrant and crisp due to the screens resolution.
*imageshack.us/a/img9/8074/screenshot201210290053.png
*imageshack.us/a/img138/569/screenshot2012102900421.png
• Their are a lot of widgets and themes through which you can customise your UI.
verdict-8/10 as i liked timescape.
note: by enabling sony bravia engine, the display quality does increases but it also drains out more battery.
4: Camera
• The phone is equipped with a 5mp autofocus cam with led flash. The daylight images are very nice. you can customize the camera a lot and it also has smile and face detection.
• The images captured using LED flash (in dark) are average quality.
• Front-camera is a VGA (.3mp) camera hence strictly for video calls only.
• The videos can be recorded in 720p, and when compared to the 5mp shooter on my motorola fire xt, the sony cam crushes it easily.
*imageshack.us/a/img692/801/dsc0005vcqq.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img10/1043/dsc0006mb.jpg
*imageshack.us/a/img442/2034/dsc0007exg.jpg
verdict- 8/10 to sony for providing a good camera.
5: Multimedia
• The phone has a nice speaker and it becomes even louder after enabling XLOUD from settings.
• I couldn't find INTERNET radio support in the phones native music player (although you can download any player of your choice. i use player pro).
• The video playback is VERY GOOD! the videos are crisp and vibrant due to the nice display.
• The phones native player doesn't support divx and xvid, only mp4 and 3gp. but you can install mx player to view those files.
• The bundled earphones are nothing to write about as they aren't in-ear type and i don't use those.
• The phone has a fm radio and a 3.5mm jack.
verdict: 8/10 for a nice all round multimedia device.
6. browsing
~ the phones stock browser is nice.
~ pinch to zoom and panning work though sometimes their may be a slight sluggishness while loading.
~ the phones supports full flash and loads all the flash content.
~ i personally use dolphin browser and it works perfectly. Due to the crisp dislpay, text reading is fun.
verdict: 8\10
7: Battery
The most important aspect of a cell phone is its battery. The Xperia U comes with a 1320mAh battery which would strictly last for a day on avg usage(1-2 hrs wifi + 1-2 hrs music + 10-20 mins calls etc.)
Verdict: 7/10 It depends on your usage pattern but sony could've done better with a 1500mah pack.
8: Connectivity
-> The phone is equipped with 3G,gps with A-gps, wifi "n" and bluetooth 2.1.
-> It has 3G hotspot, Wifi tethering & USB tethering.
-> Wifi reception is good. There are no dropouts and browsing over wifi is a nice experience.
-> call reception is good. Both callers were loud and clear on both the sides.
-> the phone supports dlna.
-> the phone comes with google maps installed.
verdict: 8\10
9: Important Points
• The front cam cannot be used for native video calling over the network (as android doesn’t support video calling till now). It can be used for video calling over Skype. Skype’s present version supports this phone for video calling.
• The phone's total memory is 8gb out of which 2gb is for the os, 2 gb as internal memory and 4 gb as sd card. thus, total 6gb is available to the users.
• the phone supports usb otg. i have ordered an otg cable online. will test it when delivered.
• I have already installed many apps like all the benchmarking apps used above + games like angry birds space HD, fruit ninja, plants vs zombies, temple run, world of goo. the phone plays them all without any issues and lag.
• Sony has bundled many apps like teen patti, pvr cinemas, power saver, ea games, etc but they can all (almost) be uninstalled through the app manager.
final verdict: 8.5\10
apart from the low memory issue(for some), the phone is an absolutely amazing device at its price point in the market.
Note: the phone has full xda-dev support and a lot of roms are already available for the device.
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