Hi,
<<<<<<<The story behind the purchase>>>>>>(Read ‘Here's my take on the SE Neo V, having used it for around 1 week’ if you require only the review and nothing else!)
This phone released in India at a time when it was almost 6 months since I started to look for the best mobile that suits my needs. I had narrowed upon the HTC IS and was waiting for it to come under 20K (my budget).
I had not cared to even look at SE mobiles during my 6 months of research as I had a opinion that they were not reliable (in terms of build quality, etc.). One fine day I came across the Neo (not Neo V) in Indiaplaza website and was amazed at the features... Android 2.3, HD Video, LED flash (for still photos) and HDMI for around 18K! These were precisely my requirements! I didn't buy it then because the Neo model never launched in India and I realized that the website (Indiaplaza) was selling by buying outside India and that means we are not covered by Sony India warranty!
After a week Neo V had been announced 'quietly' in India. Having noted the features of Neo, I was quite curious to know the features of Neo V. And whola! They had the same features + more recent android version with only a slightly downgraded camera (5MP instead of the 8MP in Neo). Incidentally, when I had gone to a nearby mall, SE was showcasing their new phones and I had the opportunity to try out the mobile. Just in a few minutes of trying it, I had made up my mind to get this phone!!!
Flipkart was selling the mobile for 17.5K and I was just going through the last minute reviews just to make sure I made a good decision. By that time, AdexMart.com started selling it for a mere 15.5K! I couldn't resist... And ordered by COD on a Saturday and got the mobile on the subsequent Thursday.
<<<<<<Here's my take on the SE Neo V, having used it for around 1 week:>>>>>>
Build/Looks: Good. Not Excellent. It's a real beauty by looks (I have a blue-black gradient mobile). However, I feel the back cover could have used a different material to avoid the slightly plasticy feel. And they could have come up with better ways for covering the HDMI and the USB port rather than using cheap flaps that will fall off anytime! However, the good news is that, they are not essential. The mobile looks ok without them too.
Screen Clarity: One of the best! Coming with a very high resolution of 854 x 480 Pixels and a 264 PPI pixel density, I don't have to say that they are excellent. They are ONE OF THE BEST OUT THERE!
UI/Apps: Excellent. Android + Timescape have jelled well to give an excellent UI. The 1GHZ processor ensures that there is no delay or snag anywhere during navigation. Though I found some apps terminating unexpectedly, I feel it's an one off issue and is certainly not a problem. There are also a lot of Apps that come by default and invariably most of them require Internet connection! There are no games provided by default but I downloaded a couple from Android market and their performance was good. The inbuilt browser seems to render the WebPages pretty well and apps like Facebook almost change the manner we work with Facebook. Since the S/W is completely customizable, I am not going to go in depth here. But even if you decide not to make many changes to what's given by default, you won't be disappointed!
Camera: Good. Captured videos (HD) look great! Even in low lights, the video comes out pretty well. However, the still camera seems to be a little inferior (still they are good!), may be because of the lack of Exmor sensor with the images looking good in the phone and not that great when viewed in a large screen. I didn't test the 3D photos in a 3D TV, so can't comment on that. But the LED flash is a big plus.
Sound Quality: Average. Here's where I was a little disappointed (May be I was expecting a lot!). The phone doesn't come with an in ear, it comes with a normal earphone only. Apart from that, the sound quality is good, but I feel there is no 'wow!' factor because the maximum loudness when listened through (a good quality like Senheiser) earphone is a little lower than what one would expect. Not sure if it's a software or hardware setting but I am hoping that it's a software setting (and the loudness will improve with updates).
Another consoling thing is that the audio when played from a high quality music source (MP3s coded 192 or more kbps) sound really good and the lower bit rates (128kbps) sounds pretty average.
Connectivity: There are quite a lot of options that the phone provides in terms of connectivity. The charger and the data cable are from the same USB port. There is an HDMI connectivity option (though I haven't used it yet) and wireless connectivity options such as Bluetooth and wifi. In connectivity too, I would rate Neo V to be 'Excellent'. There's a 2 GB micro SD card provided which won't be of much use but still I am living with it as the 16 GB card that I had ordered from the TheITBazzar.com website has not come yet!
Battery: Average. Lot of people complain that the battery is pretty poor, but I would say it is average. The phone by default has very high brightness set (may be to showcase its beauty!) which can be reduced if required for better battery efficiency. It's not fair to ask for all things that the phone provides without using the battery power!
And now to sum it up, I would say that whatever cons I have mentioned are very insignificant. Maybe some of the features are far superior that the whole expectation rises and hence some other features might seem inferior! Therefore, if you want all the features packed in one beautiful body and that too at a price of around (15.5K to 17K), I would say, go and get the Neo V right now!!! It’s absolutely worth every penny!
Regards,
Daniel Moses
