Sony Xperia S Review

June 7, 2012

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Android - iGyaan - Latest - Mobile Phone Reviews - Mobiles and Tablets - Sony

Xperia S is Sony Mobile’s flagship phone after their split up with Ericsson. People expected the phone to deliver beyond wonders, But has it achieved that or failed to keep up the Sony Name, Lets find out.

Build Quality and Design

The Xperia S takes Sony’s new design lead to test, the squarish look of the device is a refreshing one. The phone is edgy and can stand on two of the 4 flat sides.The materials used in the build are good, including metal buttons and good quality port covers. The back cover however is flimsy and it gives a constant feeling that it will fall off at anytime.

The design although is squarish, the phone fits well in the hand and looks good. The illuminated button bar, which separates the lower portion actually gives the phone a futuristic look and its a pity that the navigation buttons are not like the ones on the Xperia P.

Hardware

The most notable hardware in the Xperia S has to be the 12 MP camera, which has a Sony Exmor R sensor and does full HD video. The Snapdragon chipset has a dual core 1.5 GHz CPU and Adreno 220 graphics processor. Xperia S has 1 GB of inbuilt RAM and 32GB of storage plus an additional 50GB on cloud storage.

The most worthwhile hardware however, will remain to be the 4.3 inch sealed glass, capacitive, LCD display. It has a impressive 720 x 1280px resolution and a mobile Bravia Engine.

Display

The ppi is more than the retina resolution of the iPhone 4/4s

The front of the phone has an impressive 4.3 inch display, which also has Sony’s famed Mobile Bravia Engine. The dimply is stunning indoors and outdoors, infact is exceptionally good even in direct sunlight. The screen is very responsive and has a 10 point multitouch, and picks up taps in a jiffy.

The color reproduction on the display is extremely accurate, where colors are deep and identifiable. Watching videos and movies is a delight especially thanks to the, higher than retina, pixel density of the display. The resolution is 1280 x 720 px which put the pixel per inch to 342, way above that of the iPhone 4/4s.

Camera

Although equipped with a 12 MP sensor, the end product does not do justice to the high expectations people will have from this camera. Video is choppy and image capture is not fun. Infact in low light the flash fires many times before the actual image is clicked resulting in a pathetically dim shot.

Unless Sony can tweak up the camera firmware via software, our advice is to not let the camera be the main factor to buy the Xperia S

In terms of video the camera on the Xperia S has image stabilization, 1080p full HD video capture with continuous autofocus and a 30fps rate. The front camera is a 1.3 MP camera which also does 720p HD video.

Audio and Speakers

The in-built speakers are actually quite good, not only is the volume decently high on the Xperia S, the sound quality is very impressive. Lows are deep and miss clear, infact watching videos may not even require earphones or headphones in most cases.

Load a video and put the phone on an edge to enjoy the audio

The audio is so good that you will find yourself watching tons of videos just by utilizing one of the flat surfaces of the Xperia S to make the phone stand.

Internet, Data and Cloud

The phone has a lot of connected features including timescape and social feeds that will constantly ping servers, so unless you have a unlimited data plan ( or pocket size) consider turing the data off once in a while to avoid large bills.

Internet access on the device is easy and snappy, the browser is not the best we have seen, not even close to it. Presently the use of one of the many available browsers on the Google Play store gets you by, what we actually await is the ICS update which will enable the use of Google Chorome on this phone.

With 50GB of on cloud storage, you can store endless images and video ( bear in mind the data costs of storing and transmitting this data).

Phone Calls and Messaging

The phone calling capability of this phone is great, audio is crisp on both ends, with no noise or disturbances. Network is strong and travel networks are great aswell. Speaker phone is good for handsfree calling.

No there is no Video Calling over 3G, because honestly, no one uses it.

Messaging and Emailing is fast and easy with the inbuilt apps, the nice layout keyboards and the responsive touchscreen. You won’t mind getting used to it we can promise. Replacement keyboards are available a plenty to satisfy your need for the right keys. Haptic feedback can also be enabled.

Battery

There is a battery issue that we can’t define, you can’t extend the use of the phone beyond a day and Sony needs to address this issue. The battery drains like water from a leaky bucket, and without warning your device will be off.

Battery Life:

Talk Time 3G network(data off): 4 Hours
Talk Time 2g (data off) : 5 hours
Internet : N/A
Music : 6 Hours
Video : 2 hours

Talk Time 3G network(data on): 3 Hours
Talk Time 2g (data on) : 4 hours
Internet : 3 Hours
Music : 5 Hours
Video : 2 hours

Talk Time 3G network(data off): 4 Hours
Talk Time 2g (data off) : 4.5 hours
Internet : 4 Hours
Music : 5 Hours
Video : 2 hours

Conclusion

The most asked question is “why didn’t Sony use the next gen Quad Core Processors?”, the answer may be easier than ever. The performance on this device is good without the need of quad core, and their target market is not the hardware heavy buyer. Its a peace of mind phone ( with battery issues, no peace with that!) . The interface is great and responsive, with a new take on Android interactions. The display is best in class and crisper than the iPhone 4/4s, more visible outdoors than any display we have seen.

The price may be justified for some, and not for those seeking under the hood extravaganza. If Sony can fix the camera and battery issues in their “Promised ICS update” this phone could be the best from Sony yet.