Contents of delivery:

• Smartphone
• Network storage
• USB cable
• Stereo headset
• Documentation

I’ll start from the end: it’s curious that this budget device falls out of its segment; it can safely be called a niche solution for young people - yes, it cannot boast of a quad-core processor or a huge screen, but it has its own charm and its advantages. Well, now let's get acquainted, Sony Xperia go.

Design, construction

Journalists have already used the device before me, there is no headset in the box (they forgot, apparently), the go itself is badly damaged, but not killed. Every smartphone that comes into the hands of journalists literally screams: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up!” Still would. There will be no mercy, it’s not mine - no pity, you’ll be lost, burn with a blue flame. That is why you can safely evaluate how resistant go is to a wide variety of influences. The film has been preserved on the screen, I note that Sony does a very great job, thus protecting the display - many users do not even know that it exists at all. There are some dents on the right side, as if from teeth. The plastic on the lower right corner is knocked off, apparently there was a fall. The battery cover on the left side creaks, as if it can’t sit back. Apparently, this is due to the design of the lid itself, the hooks here are very small, you just need to squeeze it a little, and that’s it, you just pry the lid a little and it flies off. Everything is fine on the right side. All the plugs are in place, I like the design of the device, blue plastic is visible under the black, for example, on the lower right corner, where there is a groove for attaching a strap. The headphone jack is at the top left, also under a flap, the microUSB connector is at the top right.

The appearance of the device follows this year's Sony Mobile theme, a simple rectangle, under the display there is a strip of plastic with the inscription Xperia and a microphone hole. However, go is not very similar to its older brothers. And I wouldn’t call the device budget - it’s inexpensive, but it doesn’t look cheap. For example, I really liked that the black version is made of rough plastic and is comfortable to hold in your hand. There are also white and yellow go, the latter option will look good with some colored G-shocks.

The size of the device is 111 x 60.3 x 9.8 mm, weight 110 grams. Quite thin, quite light, on the back there is the familiar SE logo, below it is Xperia, and there is also a speaker hole. They came up with a great design for the camera, there’s another microphone (apparently), a flash and a lens, increasing circles. I can only praise the designers for the design of the plugs, although the 3.5 mm jack should have been placed either on the bottom or on the top for greater convenience.

The packaging of the device is also in the style of the latest Sony Xperia, a flat, nice box that compares favorably with that of most SEs.

To insert the SIM card and memory card, you need to remove the cover. The first is inserted into a special removable block, the second - in the usual way. The battery cannot be removed. As you can see, all elements have received additional protection, because go is practically not afraid of water.

Display

Display diagonal 3.5 inches, resolution 480 x 320 pixels. Good viewing angles, brightness, I won’t find fault, for most consumers this screen will be more than normal. There is a special coating on the display protection that allows you to work with the screen with wet fingers, which can be useful in life not only in situations when you use Go near the sea, but also at home, when you left the phone next to the bath while you bask in water and foam. In addition, the display is protected by mineral glass, which is not quite usual for a budget device.

Control

On the top left side there is a small power button; in principle, you can get used to this placement. On the right side there is a volume rocker, under the display there are buttons for return, Home, and calling an additional menu. They are sensory, which is not very good - but at least they are quite sensitive.

Protection

According to the official data: “This device is rated IP67 according to the International Protection Classification System. IP67 class means that if assembled correctly to maintain dust and waterproof properties, the phone will be protected from dust (number 6) and water (number 7) in quantities harmful to it when immersed in fresh water to a depth of no more than 1 meter for no more than 30 minutes." Accordingly, you shouldn’t throw the go on concrete, but you can swim with it, and it’s unlikely that anything will happen to the device. Here's a video of the device working submerged in water.

This video was filmed at the Sony Xperia go presentation in early summer. At shallow depths, it is quite possible to use cameras to create photographs and videos. From this point of view, a smartphone can also be interesting.

Android version and performance

The version used is Android 2.3.7 with a number of changes in the Sony style, this applies to both the interface and design.

Processor NovaThor U8500 Dual-core Cortex A9, 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM. I need to say a few words about the pre-installed software and features. The lock slider is well made here, although moving your finger takes a little long; moving from left to right unlocks the device; if it’s the other way around, it launches the camera. By default, the four icons at the bottom are a folder with additional programs for an active lifestyle, a link to the Google store, an SMS with its own funny icon, and a call program. I really like the branded floating wallpaper, the default is blue, you can choose a different color. Among the “active” programs are compass, WalkMate (pedometer), FigureRunner - an interesting program, you need to draw a picture on the map and then run it. There is also a flash that can be used as a flashlight, and miCoach, an Adidas program for training in a wide variety of sports.

• Your own weather widget
• Help on the default screen, tips on optimizing battery performance and other help, useful for those who have not previously dealt with Android
• Timescape, a feed of friends' activities, in my opinion, is not the most necessary thing

• Music Unlimited, an application for listening and downloading music, videos - useless with us
• The music player is designed in Sony style, you can quickly transfer a file to a DLNA device, go to the playback queue, there is an equalizer with manual adjustment, surround sound, and a setting for increasing the volume of the xLOUD speakers (there are also equalizer presets). The speaker cannot be called loud; if you pinch the hole on the back, you will not be able to completely “extinguish” the sound. The speaker is loud, and in general, the quality of speech transmission is all right. In the player, you can run the Unlimited service to search for information about the artist in Wikipedia, Youtube and other services - when the device is locked, you see playback control buttons on the screen. In general, go is good for music, I tried listening to it with Bose QC3 headphones, it’s quite good - not bad for a budget smartphone. This may be of interest to young people

Wisepilot navigation software

Modifications

There are two modifications of the device, considered by internal classification is called ST27i, it works in UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I), GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 networks. And ST27a works in UMTS HSPA 850 networks ( Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I), GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900.

Naturally, the device has Bluetooth, version 3.0 is used, which is very good. The full list of profiles is as follows:

• Advanced Audio Distribution Profile v1.2
• Audio/Video Remote Control Profile v1.0
• Handsfree Profile v1.5
• Headset Profile v1.1
• Object Push Profile v1.1
• Phonebook Access Profile v1.0

A few words about Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), connection to access points is no problem, the speed is fine. DLNA and USB 2.0 supported.

Formats

I decided to talk about this separately, Sony Xperia go claims to support OGG, WAV, MP3 and some rare audio formats, there is no FLAC, but there is an interesting point with video. Support for MKV and AVI is declared, I tried to play an episode of the first TV series I came across, the device did it without any problems. In my opinion, this is another plus of the device; you can get by with a regular player.

Memory

8 GB of memory is installed, about 4 GB is available to the user, there is a slot for microSD cards, cards up to 32 GB are supported. Unfortunately, when connecting to the MacBook Pro, even the Android File Transfer program did not help me access the memory; I had to make do with a memory card.

Camera

I won’t say much about the camera, since the quality of the images leaves much to be desired - and only if you shoot in normal lighting. Resolution is 5 MP, a bunch of proprietary effects are supported, ranging from 3D panorama to face detection. There is autofocus, a volume button allows you to use digital zoom (it’s better not to use it), there is stabilization when shooting video. Videos can be shot in HD, the videos are quite good - unlike photos, this function is implemented better.

In my opinion, it turned out well. Compared to Active, the design here is not as sporty, and this is a plus, not everyone needs all this deliberate “activity”. Meanwhile, the device calmly tolerates swims to shallow depths and sand, but is not so resistant to falls. I liked the branded additives, the design, AVI support, and various Sony programs that make life easier. It is curious that this budget device falls out of its segment; it can easily be called a niche solution for young people - yes, it cannot boast of a quad-core processor or a huge screen, but it has its own charm and its advantages. There is no camera, but the device is not bad as a means of listening to music, the performance is not impressive, but with go you can safely go into the shower and not be afraid of getting drowned when you leave. The average cost of the device is about 12,000 rubles, as it seems to me, it is in every way more interesting than Android devices of the same price category from Samsung, LG and other companies. Just a reliable everyday smartphone for those who cannot forget their love for Sony (Sony Ericsson).

Sergey Kuzmin ()

A small mid-range Android smartphone from the new Xperia NXT line

At the beginning of the year, Sony Mobile (formerly Sony Ericsson) expanded its family of smartphones on the Android platform with three new products. The phones were united under the common subname Xperia, entering the new Xperia NXT line under the letter designations S, P and U. Sony Xperia S is the flagship of the new line with all the ensuing consequences, Sony Xperia P is a slightly simpler model, but also very technically advanced and not at all cheap, and we recently talked about both of them in detail in the corresponding reviews.

Today we will look at the third of the new products - the least expensive and, accordingly, the simplest of them in hardware. However, this does not mean that the model is completely weak and can only be attributed to the initial level - far from it. Sony Xperia U is a fast and modern dual-core smartphone with a high-resolution screen. Its “weaknesses” in relation to the older models of the Xperia NXT line are its smaller dimensions and, accordingly, smaller screen size, as well as a less powerful hardware platform and a simpler body structure. However, even this little one had several features that positively distinguished it from the general list of new Sony products. But first things first.

All phones in the new series have a very similar design, which is called “Iconic Design” within the company. The appearance of all the devices is really so similar that they can hardly be distinguished individually in photographs. Our little one has the smallest dimensions of all.

The differences start right from the packaging. All communicators of the new Xperia NXT line are supplied in exactly the same outwardly flat and wide boxes. But this is only at first glance. The Sony Xperia U has the simplest packaging of the three. It does not have a separate top casing, and the printing is applied directly to the opening parts.

Otherwise, the boxes are identical, and they can be differentiated by appearance only by small inscriptions at the bottom of the front surface. In our case, it says “Xperia U”, and there is an icon next to it, meaning that the device can be updated to the new Android 4.0 operating system. So Sony Xperia U buyers do not have to worry about future support for their new device from the manufacturer.

In addition to the smartphone itself, the kit includes a universal charger with a USB output, a USB-Micro-USB cable for charging and synchronizing with a computer, a simple wired stereo headset with a standard 3.5 mm jack, as well as 3 additional replacement covers and documentation. The contents of the kit vary from country to country - for example, in our “European” kit there was only one additional white plastic cover, but a protective film and an adapter for Micro-SIM were included.

Characteristics

• SoC ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500, CPU 1000 MHz, ARMv7, two cores
• GPU Mali-400MP
• Operating system Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread (upgrade to Android 4.0)
• TFT TN touch display, 3.5 inches diagonal, 854x480 pixels, capacitive
• 512 MB RAM, 8 GB flash memory (approx. 4 GB available)
• Communication GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G UMTS HSPA 900, 2100 MHz
• Bluetooth v2.1 EDR
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot
• GPS, AGPS
• FM radio
• G-sensor
• Electronic compass
• Proximity sensor
• Light sensor
• Camera 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash
• Lithium-ion battery 1290 mAh
• Dimensions 112×54×12 mm
• Weight 113 g

It is interesting to compare the main characteristics of all smartphones in the new line, summarized in a single table. Let's add here another new model from Sony - not included in the Xperia NXT, but already on sale and quite interesting Sony Xperia sola (we will talk about it in the very near future).

	Sony Xperia U	Sony Xperia P	Sony Xperia S	Sony Xperia sola
Screen (size in inches, matrix type, resolution)	3.5″, TN, 854×480	4″, WM, 960×540	4.3″, TN, 1280×720	3.7″, TN, 854×480
SoC		ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 @1 GHz (2 cores, ARM)	Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 @1.5 GHz (2 cores, ARM)	ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 @1 GHz (2 cores, ARM)
RAM	512 MB	1 GB	1 GB	512 MB
Flash memory	8 GB	16 GB	32 GB	8 GB
Memory card support	No	No	No	microSD
operating system		Google Android 2.3, update to Android 4.0	Google Android 2.3, update to Android 4.0	Google Android 2.3, update to Android 4.0
SIM format	standard	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	standard
Battery	removable, 1290 mAh	non-removable, 1320 mAh	non-removable, 1750 mAh	non-removable, 1320 mAh
Cameras	rear (5 MP; video - 720p), front (0.3 MP)	rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (0.3 MP)	rear (12 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.3 MP)	rear (5 MP; video - 720p)
Dimensions	112×54×12 mm, 113 g	122×59.5×10.5 mm, 122 g	128×64×10.6 mm, 146 g	116×59×9.9 mm, 107 g
average price	N/A()	$112()	$123()	$58()

Appearance and ease of use

Sony Xperia U is a very small smartphone in size. It has the smallest dimensions in the Xperia NXT line. Next to the flagship - Sony Xperia S - it generally looks tiny.

However, the smartphone fits quite comfortably in the hand. Not too thin, it fills the entire palm and fits securely in your hand. It would be even worse if the manufacturer made it a thinner case. The light weight coupled with the miniature size allows you to carry the phone in any pocket, even the chest pocket of a shirt, which is important for summer time.

The case materials are solid plastic, with most of it being the removable rear cover. It is not flat, and covers not only the back, but also the side edges. Below it there is a slot for a full-size SIM card and a removable battery, which is nice.

The lid has a fairly thick profile and is securely fastened with several latches, fits like a glove and fits tightly to the body - there is no play, cracks or creaks here. At first, you might even think that the case is non-separable, because all the buttons are located directly on the lid. However, this is not the case - the cover is removed along with the buttons, revealing the contacts that these buttons close.

The cover itself is made of rubberized plastic with a soft touch effect, so the phone does not slip in your fingers, is pleasant to the touch and does not retain fingerprints. Traditionally, there are holes cut in it for an external speaker and a camera eye with a flash. The speaker is covered with a painted metal grille to prevent dust from getting inside and to protect the speaker. Its hole is located on the beveled side, so the sound is not blocked by the table surface.

But this is not the only cover in the Sony Xperia U. At the very bottom of the phone there is another cover - exactly the same as the Sony Xperia P model. Only unlike it, the Sony Xperia U comes with three such additional covers. They are all multi-colored and are designed to change the appearance of the device, that is, to individualize it. The phone comes in black and white colors, and in addition to these two colors, each will also come with yellow and pink covers - four in total.

At first, putting a yellow cover on a black case, for example, seems absurd, but customizing your own phone doesn’t end there. It turns out that the transparent strip above the lid also comes in different colors. It can be brightly highlighted in the same color as the selected theme. So if you put, say, a yellow theme on the Sony Xperia U desktop and put on a yellow lid, you already get an interesting, complete solution. The same goes for other colors. Multi-colored themes are already pre-installed on the phone, and the strip automatically adjusts its color to the selected theme. In addition, the strip changes color depending on the overall color of the photo you are viewing. For example, if there are blue clouds in the photo, then the strip will light up blue, if there is a lot of greenery - green. An interesting and bright solution, which is intended mainly for young people.

The front side is almost completely covered with protective glass, in which there is a hole cut for the earpiece, not covered by any grille. It gets dusty, but that's Sony's new design, and all phones in the line are the same in this regard. Nearby you can see the proximity and light sensors, as well as the front camera peephole for video calls.

The control keys, like those of the flagship, are printed on a transparent strip, but are not pressed. You should click just above the icons, on barely noticeable points. Unlike the flagship, the Sony Xperia U is not so large in size, and all buttons can be easily reached with the fingers of one hand.

The remaining buttons are assembled on one side - the right: there is a power button, a two-position rocker key for adjusting the sound level, and a camera start button. Traditionally for Sony smartphones, the Xperia U also has a separate hardware button to activate the camera, which is convenient. As in other smartphones of the new line, this button can not only activate the camera, but also take a snapshot, even from a locked state. Users like this property, it is in demand, and reviews on this matter are entirely positive. Most people like that they can take out their smartphone and take a quick photo without having to search through any menu icons.

For communication and synchronization with a computer, as well as for charging, a Micro-USB connector is used, which is located in the upper part of the left side of the smartphone.

An audio jack for headphones with a standard diameter of 3.5 mm is located at the top, and there is also a hole for an additional microphone. At the bottom, under the removable cover, there is a special fastener for a strap, which is convenient, but, unfortunately, extremely rare in modern devices. The main microphone hole is also here.

In general, the new communicator looks modern and stylish, it is made in a recognizable Sony design. The smartphone does not look cheap, and it is not a shame to appear in public with it. The phone does not have a distinct gender; it will suit both male and female users. Most likely, Sony Xperia U will appeal to young people - due to its low price and bright color design, which you can partly customize to your taste.

Screen

The Sony Xperia U display is a regular TFT TN matrix, which does not have large viewing angles, but has a good amount of brightness. Not to say that the brightness reserve is excessive, but at the maximum level it is quite enough. True, the screen goes blind in the sun.

In terms of physical parameters, the Sony Xperia U's screen resolution is 854 x 480, with physical dimensions of 44 x 77 mm and a diagonal of 89 mm (3.5 inches). With a sufficiently high resolution in small physical sizes, the picture turns out clear and smooth; naturally, you won’t notice any graininess - the pixel density in this screen is quite high (PPI = 279.9).

The picture is further improved using proprietary Mobile Bravia Engine technology, making it even more realistic. This technology is software, and it only works while viewing photos and videos. According to the manufacturer, the technology allows you to display the picture in a more natural way for the eye, adding clarity, saturation, contrast and also removing some of the noise.

The colors on this screen look realistic, not as bright as on AMOLED displays, the picture is soft and slightly velvety. By the way, unlike the flagship, the Sony Xperia U settings have both manual and automatic brightness settings. However, in this case it is better to keep the slider closer to the maximum value, otherwise it will be a bit dark.

The outside of the screen is covered with protective mineral glass that is scratch-resistant. The screen responds sensitively to finger touches; no erroneous clicks were noticed. Unlike most of the latest Sony smartphones, this little one does not have a factory protective film on the screen. The screen reflects well and gets dirty quickly - unlike the body. An anti-reflective film would come in handy here.

Sound

The sound from the external speaker is not too loud, which is to be expected from an inexpensive and small phone. In addition, high frequencies predominate, there are no bass. It doesn’t even help that the sound here is additionally processed using proprietary xLoud technology. This technology developed by Sony does not affect the sound quality in any way, but serves to enhance the volume of the main speaker. But we couldn’t notice any difference between xLoud mode on and off.

The situation with the auditory speaker is approximately the same: the sound is not too loud and not very clear - however, the frequencies are quite rich. The speech and intonations of the interlocutor are conveyed quite tolerably, but there can be no talk of any loud and crystal clear sound here. Both speakers of the Sony Xperia U are average in terms of sound quality.

As for the sound in the headphones, the included stereo headset is too simple to talk about any sound quality. In addition, the headphones themselves are ordinary here - not in-ear - so in this case, hands themselves reach for higher-quality in-ear headphones. The audio jack here is standard - 3.5 mm in diameter, so any will do. With high-quality headphones, the sound becomes more interesting - especially if you adjust the equalizer available here to your taste. You just need to remember that listening to music for a long time with the equalizer turned on will drain the battery faster.

The smartphone traditionally has an FM radio, and it traditionally only works with a connected headset. The settings are simple and easy to understand.

Camera

I’m glad that even in such a small device, which occupies the lower price position in the overall line, Sony was not greedy and included a front camera for video communication. Of course, it’s nothing special - no one expects quality from a 0.3 megapixel resolution, but it’s quite enough to join a video conference.

The main camera module is a little more interesting, but it is, of course, inferior in quality to the cameras of its older brothers. Here the maximum image resolution is 5 megapixels with an aspect ratio of 4:3. The resulting photos are 2592×1944 in size. If you want to shoot in a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, then the frames will be obtained with a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels, that is, 3 megapixels. The quality and clarity of photographs in original resolution can be assessed by clicking on the thumbnails.

Thanks to automatic focusing, close objects, as well as text from paper or a monitor screen, are captured well by the camera.

The camera can shoot video in HD resolution. Here are a couple of ten-second videos shot at maximum settings at 29 frames per second. The videos are saved in mp4 format and have a resolution of 1280×720 pixels (No. 1 - 10 MB, No. 2 - 8 MB).

Sony representatives separately emphasize the shooting speed of the cameras of their new smartphones. When you press a hardware key, the camera turns on and takes pictures, even if the phone was locked. In the settings, you can change the purpose of this button to activate the camera, but without shooting. The shooting itself can also be carried out without using a hardware key - by pressing a virtual button on the screen.

Software and telephone part

As for the software, everything here is identical to the contents of the other brothers in the line - Sony Xperia S and Sony Xperia P, about which we have already written a lot and in detail. Like them, the Sony Xperia U went on sale and runs the familiar and already obsolete version of Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread OS with the promised upgrade option to version 4.0.

The standard Google Android interface is modified using its own software shell, which slightly changes and complements it, but not much. Branded widgets (like the weather) are scattered across the five initial screens of the desktop, the general internal list of programs can be sorted by several parameters, and when you turn it on for the first time, the proprietary application offers to configure the smartphone.

Sony Xperia U copes with telephone functions at the level of modern devices. The phone maintains the cellular network reliably and does not lose connection in conditions of poor reception. No freezes or spontaneous reboots were observed during two weeks of testing. The Wi-Fi and GPS modules have also been tested in operation, and there are no complaints about them either.

Performance

The Sony Xperia U hardware platform (model ST25i) is based on the ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 SoC. The central processor here is a dual-core ARMv7 operating at 1000 MHz. It is supported in graphics processing by the Mali-400MP video accelerator. Everything here is exactly the same as the older model Sony Xperia P. However, unlike it, the Xperia U has only 512 MB of RAM. The storage available to the user for uploading their own files is about 4 GB without the possibility of expansion with memory cards, because there is no slot for them.

In Quadrant Standard, the Sony Xperia U scored a respectable 2223 points, overtaking the older model Sony Xperia P, but slightly behind its own flagship - the Sony Xperia S scored 3104 points in this test.

According to the results of the comprehensive AnTuTu Benchmark v2.8, the picture was repeated: the device is slightly faster than a model with a similar hardware platform, but a larger screen in area and resolution, and, of course, slower than the flagship.

We tested graphics performance in NenaMark2 (v2.2). Based on the results of several runs, the Mali-400MP graphics accelerator in this device produced a good, but not the best among its neighbors in the line, average result of 27 fps.

As for my own impressions, communication with the Sony Xperia U evokes only positive feelings: the small screen allows you to easily reach any element on the screen, all lists and desktops scroll smoothly, without jerking, there are no sticking points when flipping; programs open quickly, and games from the Google Play Store do not slow down. The device is quite capable of playing video with a resolution of up to 720p without slowdowns - another thing is that there is no point in filling the small amount of built-in memory with such large files (the screen resolution is much lower, and the smartphone does not have a video output).

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Sony Xperia U is replaceable. It has a capacity of 1290 mAh that is not too large by modern standards. However, with such a small screen - the most energy-consuming element of any phone - the battery is quite capable of supporting the device at the level of other modern smartphones.

Testing the battery performance of the Sony Xperia U made a better impression than in the case of the Sony Xperia P model. That battery turned out to be unable to support the operation of the device within reasonable limits. Here, continuous MP3 playback with the screen off lasted more than 31 hours on a single charge, and continuous reading in the FBReader program at a medium brightness level lasted 8 hours.

Watching a video in an MKV container with a resolution of 720p lasted 3 hours 20 minutes, but this is only because MX Player did not support hardware decoding when playing MKV, and the entire load fell on the processor. When viewing a file in an AVI container with a resolution of 624×352, the smartphone worked quietly for 5 hours or more.

The Sony Xperia U charges quite quickly. Full charging time was less than 2 hours.

Prices

The average retail price of a device in Moscow at the time of reading the article in rubles can be found by moving the mouse to the price tag.

Bottom line

Summing up today's review of the Sony Xperia U, I would like, first of all, to note that this is the smallest and most inexpensive of the devices in the Xperia NXT line. Even the new Sony Xperia sola costs a little more than this model. At the same time, the Xperia U is fine not only with its design—the smartphone also received Sony’s signature “iconic design”—but also with its hardware characteristics. This little one has exactly the same powerful dual-core platform as the older model, the Sony Xperia P, but with a smaller screen it delivers even better performance. To put it in youth language, the model turned out to be very “nimble”, which, in fact, was what the manufacturer was counting on when developing a smartphone for young people. The Sony Xperia U phone will appeal even more to young people, given its customization capabilities through the choice of different color variations of pre-installed themes and complete covers. True, young people may not like the lack of the ability to increase the storage size of their own files using memory cards; this imposes its own limitations on the use of a smartphone. However, this is already becoming a general bad trend, and not only Sony has been subject to it lately.

As for competitors, the only model that comes to mind is the HTC One V, which occupies a similar position in the line of new smartphones from the Taiwanese manufacturer. It has a slightly larger screen (3.7 inches), but a slightly lower resolution (480×800) and, accordingly, a lower pixel density (PPI = 252). At the same time, the screens of these models are not inferior to each other in picture quality and viewing angles. The HTC One V has a single-core processor, but a larger battery capacity. In general, the models are almost equal on the scales, but the Taiwanese smartphone costs much more - about 3 thousand rubles at the moment. However, the presence of a memory card slot on the HTC One V is already a significant advantage.

In general, the choice and purchase of Sony Xperia U can be considered quite justified for those people who do not need a large screen. In all other respects, except for the screen, the device looks no worse, and in some ways even better than competing solutions.

A smartphone made just for you by Sony

Xperia NXT series - next generation smartphones from Sony

Seize the moment. One click is enough.

Capture stunning footage of sunsets, surf and diving. Take photos at lightning speed.

Thanks to the 5-megapixel camera with instant response, switching to shooting mode takes just over a second. Lack of dynamics? Then use your Xperia U touchscreen smartphone to shoot video clips in HD resolution.

Feel the difference. Make it unique.

Let your phone reflect your personality.

Choose a replacement bottom panel that suits your mood. When viewing music album covers, the color illumination of the transparent elements of the phone changes accordingly. The backlight colors also change when viewing photos.

Xperia U - powered by Android an a 1GHz dual core processor.

Real power. Android style.

Download and open apps and files with incredible speed.

Browse the Internet. Stream video clips. Download the most interesting applications. Thanks to the powerful 1 GHz dual-core processor, everything runs very quickly. Get directions using Google Maps. Send a congratulations email via Gmail. The Xperia U Android smartphone comes with all Google mobile services built-in.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	61.2 mm (millimeters) 6.12 cm (centimeters) 0.2 ft (feet) 2.41 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	124.3 mm (millimeters) 12.43 cm (centimeters) 0.41 ft (feet) 4.89 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement.	9.2 mm (millimeters) 0.92 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.36 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	124 g (grams) 0.27 lbs 4.37 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	69.99 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 4.25 in³ (cubic inches)

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 MSM7227A
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	45 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	ARM Cortex-A5
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	32 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv7
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.	256 kB (kilobytes) 0.25 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	1
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1000 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc.	Qualcomm Adreno 200
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	512 MB (megabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR1
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.	200 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	TFT
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	4 in (inches) 101.6 mm (millimeters) 10.16 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	1.96 in (inches) 49.78 mm (millimeters) 4.98 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	3.49 in (inches) 88.57 mm (millimeters) 8.86 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.779:1
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	480 x 854 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.	245 ppi (pixels per inch) 96 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	58.15% (percentage)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance
	Corning Gorilla Glass Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting.	LED
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image.	2592 x 1944 pixels 5.04 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device.	800 x 480 pixels 0.38 MP (megapixels)
Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality.	Autofocus Digital zoom Digital image stabilization Geographical tags Touch Focus
	Self-timer

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	1750 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-Ion (Lithium-ion)
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	5 hours 36 minutes 5.6 h (hours) 336 min (minutes) 0.2 days
2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network.	607 h (hours) 36420 min (minutes) 25.3 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	7 hours 18 minutes 7.3 h (hours) 438 min (minutes) 0.3 days
3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network.	618 h (hours) 37080 min (minutes) 25.8 days
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery.	Removable

When things aren't going well for a manufacturer, management tries its best to cut all sorts of expenses. The year before last, the break in almost ten years of cooperation between the Swedish company Ericsson and the Japanese Sony is one of the clearest examples of this. What started out as a successful collaboration that gave a huge impetus to the development of the mobile industry, just remember the Cyber ​​Shot and Walkman devices, eventually ended in a complete fiasco. And so, contrary to logic, instead of concentrating its attention around a small number of verified models, in 2012 Sony is releasing 15 new devices. The model range is becoming so uniform that not all sellers, not to mention potential buyers, can distinguish one device from another. Why do smartphones that look similar in appearance differ so much in price? It seems like we will never know the answer to this question. All that remains is to try to figure out all the Sony models ourselves and help our readers with this. In this review, we are looking at one of the most affordable Sony models – the Xperia J. You can find out what interesting things the Sony Xperia J can offer to the user from the review.

Continuing the theme of a bloated model range, we cannot help but say that all 15 models released last year have several body color options. The total number of offers on Hotline is 44 devices. It doesn't look like Sony is struggling. Of course, 44 models are better than five, because the range of their buyers is much wider, but what are the costs of maintaining and servicing such a quantity of equipment? Whatever one may say, it turns out that not everything is so bad in the kingdom of Japan. Therefore, the brand should be perceived not as someone who now needs help and indulgence, but as a completely thriving company.
Starting from , each subsequent smartphone that came to our editorial office left a worse impression of itself than its predecessor. I found myself at the very top. A phone that can easily be compared to the 4th generation Apple iPod Touch. The truth is that there is only one thing in common between them - the back panel, it instantly loses its presentation, becoming covered with a web of scratches. A pleasant exception was the no less interesting than the Xperia S. And now, almost a year after the appearance of the first “new” Sony, we are testing the Sony Xperia J. You won’t find any interesting characteristics in it; its main trump card is its unusual appearance and relatively affordable price. By paying 2,400 hryvnia, the user receives a smartphone running the Android 4.0 operating system, which, in the foreseeable future, should receive an update to Android 4.1. In addition to the popular operating system, the Xperia J has room for a 4-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 854x480 pixels, a 5 MP camera, a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and a 1750 mAh battery. With the exception of the latter, the parameters are inferior to the Xperia Neo L mentioned above, but the Neo L will cost you 550 hryvnia less. What is the salt? Is this a price for newness and a slightly slimmer body? There are more questions than answers. But first things first.

Design and ergonomics

The appearance of the smartphone is reminiscent of smartphones from the 2011 model year; the concave rear part of the body and the beveled ends are especially striking. Thanks to these design delights, the Xperia J fits like a glove in your hand. Soft-touch spraying also contributes to a pleasant feeling.

On the front panel there is a recess for the earpiece, an indicator of missed events, a front camera lens, a proximity sensor, a screen and three touch keys. The top and bottom edges of the front panel are beveled. There is a silver insert along the perimeter of the case. It divides the smartphone into two parts, front and back. At the bottom end there is an LED that can change its color depending on the selected theme. There are not many keys on the sides of the case; they are all located on the right side - the power button and the double volume key. On the opposite side there is a MicroUSB connector. Finally, at the top end there is a headphone jack. The volume key is easy to find blindly, but the power button takes some getting used to. The problem is not that it is difficult to detect, but that you need to press it a little from below, this is how it responds best to pressure and makes a characteristic click. If you press it directly in the center, you will have to apply more force, and you will not hear the click. The last thing to talk about is the recess for removing the back panel. It is located on the right side, near the bottom end.

The back side is completely covered with soft-touch coating. It prevents the phone from slipping in your hands. In the upper left corner there is a camera lens and, to the right, a flash LED. Approximately in the center of the case is the inscription XPERIA, and closer to the bottom end, on one of the protrusions there is an oblong slot for the speaker. Under the removable cover there is a 1750 mAh battery and two slots for SIM and memory card. Access to them is blocked by the battery, so installing or replacing one of the cards without removing it will not be possible.

The fit quality of the parts is excellent, while creaks are present throughout the body, which does not add points to its competition.

Interface and software

The smartphone runs on the Android 4.0.4 operating system with the proprietary Xperia UX interface installed on top.
The lock screen is greeted with two icons - unlock and launch the camera. From here you can get to the Notification Panel; to do this, you need to pull the status bar, located at the very top of the screen, down.
The desktop consists of five windows, through which you can move both left and right. They cannot be added or removed.
The bottom panel consists of five icons. The central one is used to call up the list of applications, and those located on the sides are responsible for dialing, going to messages, Google Play and a set of multimedia functions collected in one folder. The process of creating folders is simple; to do this, you need to drag one shortcut onto another and select the name of the new directory. Below the Notification Panel, five rectangles are displayed that let you know which Desktop window you are on. The Notification Panel itself has minimal functionality. All it is designed for is displaying events and going to Settings.

Scrolling through windows is slow, which is not surprising given the type of processor and operating system used.
The numeric keypad consists of numbers, Latin letters and Cyrillic alphabet. Unfortunately, letter search does not work when dialing a number. But the full-size keyboard is one of the most comfortable. Typing is a pleasure. The number of erroneous clicks is minimal.
A nice addition to the modest capabilities of the device is the Smart Connect application. In its capabilities, it is reminiscent of the context pages in the Premium Suite in Samsung smartphones, with the only difference being that in Sony, users can create their own actions when certain events occur. By default, the set consists of three events: connecting the charger, headset and headphones. When any of these events occur, the smartphone can launch an installed application, change the sound profile and activate or deactivate wireless communications, or open a specific page in the browser, send a text message or post information on social networks

Hardware platform

The Sony Xperia J has an old gigahertz Cortex-A5 processor – Qualcomm MSM7227A with an ARMv7 instruction set and an Adreno 200 graphics core. It’s hard to imagine anything less. Paired with the processor is 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of permanent memory, of which 2.8 GB is available to the user.
Despite its rather modest parameters, the Xperia J is much faster than the same Prestigio Multiphone 4300 DUO, which also uses a gigahertz processor, but with a more powerful graphics core and a lower screen resolution. This speaks of one thing - optimization on the part of one developer and the inability to optimize processes on the part of the second. Confirmation that Sony were able to achieve more from what they had are the results of synthetic tests. They are higher than those of analogues based on the MTK6575 system-on-chip.

But most importantly, it is an energy-efficient Cortex-A5 processor. With its help, it was possible to achieve excellent results from a 1750 mAh battery. More than 4 hours of work at maximum load in Antutu Tester, which allowed us to score 763 points, taking second place in the rating.

The volume of the multimedia speaker is low, the sound produced lacks volume. When using high-quality headphones, you can achieve good sound quality, including volume, which, however, is a merit of the special xLOUD setting, which increases the volume. In general, the musical capabilities of the device can be rated at a solid four out of five possible. If it were not for the sound quality from the speaker, then it would be a 5 minus.

Video playback is handled by an application created in collaboration with Gracenote. This allows you to receive expanded information about video content. The search only works if the file name is correct in English. The application does not accept transliteration or Cyrillic alphabet. Given the application's modest capabilities for playing various types of files, it is unlikely that anyone will use it constantly. The most convenient way is to install a third-party player that can handle a wider range of codecs, and although this will not help in playing video in 720p quality, the processor is simply unable to pull out such a stream of information, but you won’t have to worry about what container the video file is in.

Display and camera

The 4-inch diagonal display with a resolution of 854x480 pixels (245 PPI) has excellent viewing angles. Colors do not change their saturation from any angle. At maximum brightness, colors don't look washed out like other Sony models. The minimum brightness is comfortable for working in complete darkness, including reading. Taking into account the diagonal, the Sony Xperia J screen can be placed on par with HTC models. There is no light sensor or automatic brightness adjustment.
The main camera is capable of taking photos with a maximum resolution of 5 MP, the front one is 0.3 MP, video recording is carried out with one resolution – 640x480 pixels. The viewfinder interface includes four icons on the left side of the screen and a shutter button, mode switch and gallery entrance on the right half. There is automatic focusing when taking photographs and recording videos. The quality of both is average. Better than the HTC One V, but inferior to the Samsung Galaxy S Duos.

Examples of 5 MP photos taken with a Sony Xperia J smartphone

An example of a video recorded by a Sony Xperia J smartphone

Results

At first glance, it seemed that the Sony Xperia J had nothing to offer the user, especially compared to the Sony Xperia Neo L. In reality, everything turned out to be not entirely true. Yes, technically the model is inferior to its predecessor, but the overall impression is much more positive. Thin and pleasant to the touch body, good display and camera, excellent operating time and sound quality in headphones. It is these qualities that make the Xperia J a more preferable smartphone, unless the resolution of the recorded video is your first priority. This is the only advantage of Neo L over the model under consideration. As for competitors, there are more than enough of them and here the Xperia J will not be easy. If we take into account the main opponent in the person, then on the latter’s side there will only be a display, and even then the difference between them is almost invisible. In all other respects, Sony has the advantage. It works on a similar platform. It comes with an excellent 4.3-inch IPS screen, but lacks camera quality. It can rightfully be considered the most serious competitor. Despite the fact that it has a display with a slightly smaller diagonal, 3.8 inches, in all other respects it leaves no chance for the Sony Xperia J. Of course, many will wonder what is better, a device from a well-known brand, but with limited functionality, or something more technologically advanced, but from lesser-known manufacturers. You can talk about this for a long time, but the answer is simple - it all depends on how important the brand is to you. If prestige comes first, then you should choose from the listed models. In a situation where you approach the purchase rationally, the best alternative will be. Except for battery life, it beats the Xperia J in every way.