25.02.2022
Sony xperia st 25i specifications. Full review of Sony Xperia U: a fresh solution! Operating system and interface
This is the youngest of the devices in the current Xperia line. At the same time, the company decided not to save money, and even with this positioning, the device received a dual-core processor, an excellent screen, and even a fast camera. But since the devil is in the details, we still need an exorcist...
Design
First impression Xperia U leaves only the good. The small, neat device is made of soft-touch plastic and sports the signature design of the latest Xperia line. Like older brothers, under the screen of the gadget is a transparent strip with a multi-colored LED. Plus, the lower plastic insert is removable, and there are four of them in the kit. In my test, I had a white handset, extremely elegant without being overly feminine - a sophisticated unisex Sony style.
Assembly at Sony Xperia U excellent. The details fit together perfectly, sometimes even too much. For example, I could not tear off the removable socket from my copy. She sat like a glove. There are no squeaks when squeezed, the back cover does not bend under the fingers.
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On the right side are three hardware buttons: camera, volume rocker and power button. On the left, there was only a place for the MicroUSB connector, and on top there is a headphone jack. A well thought out design.
A funny detail: in the box with a smartphone, in addition to the usual headset, charger and a set of instructions, there are a couple of nice additions. Generous magicians from Sony put a branded film on the screen, a rag-rubbing and a special adapter from Micro-SIM to a regular SIM-card. Apparently, this is in case you decide that the fourth iPhone is already the last century, and the future is exclusively for cute inexpensive “androids”.
But there are also notorious nuances. First, the touch button icons on the transparent panel are hard to see. What is complicated by the fact that the “Back” button is on the far left here (in the center is “Home”, and “Menu” is on the right), and not everyone is used to this arrangement. As a result, erroneous clicks in the first days of work are provided. And in the following days, too - not marked touch keys under the screen now and then accidentally meet with your fingers.
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Screen
The screen is excellent and elegantly complements the first wow impression. With a modest 3.5-inch diagonal, there are full-fledged 854x480 pixels, which gives a very clear and beautiful picture at the output. Yes, and proprietary Sony BRAVIA technologies are not for a red word here and provide very high-quality color reproduction, without the Korean “vyrviglaz” style. In the sun, the image remains readable, although slightly glare. Hardly for the money that they ask for Sony ST25i There is more to be desired this year.
The capacitive screen supports four simultaneous presses. This, of course, is not ten, but for most games it will do, and nowhere else will it come in handy.
The only thing to complain about is the light sensor. It almost does not work, continuing to blind the eyes in the dark and not bringing the backlight to the maximum on the street. Apparently, firmware updates will fix this, but for now you have to change the brightness manually.
Iron
Designing ST25i, the engineers did not compromise and put the same processor here as in the more advanced Xperia Sola. This is a dual-core ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500 clocked at 1 GHz. It also comes with 512 MB random access memory and video accelerator Mali-400 MP. This is an excellent technological bundle, which is enough for playing HD-video without conversion, high-performance games and other resource-intensive tasks.
The smartphone practically does not slow down, but it heats up quite noticeably even with an average load. In fact, even just playing music in APE format is already capable of raising the temperature under the hood of the machine. Such is the price for impressive power for this class.
Applications are installed in the system at lightning speed, the browser is very fast and even terrible videos in Flash are played without problems.
Some older applications that were written for Android 2.1 may become unstable. From my permanent set of "oldies" the AndLess player, the Racing Moto game and the Multitouch Test tester application crashed or hung. Although these are rather questions for software developers, since the smartphone has complete harmony with the new software.
Alas, without a big fly in the ointment it still could not do. The gadget does not have a slot for a memory card, and its own “brains” are only 8 GB, of which 1.6 GB is available to the user for installing applications and 4 GB in storage mode. Pretty! I can still see the Sony office, in which the decision is made on the positioning of this year's Xperia line, and I can clearly hear the demonic laughter of marketers. Indeed, why cut the functionality of the younger model when you can seriously limit its memory? Let me remind you that some games for Android "weigh" a good gigabyte. Not to mention listening to music in lossless, shooting with a camera, watching videos ... The place in the smartphone ends already on the 3-4th day of active work. Involuntarily, you will think about looking at more advanced Xperia models or writing a plaintive letter to the UN.
Android
The smartphone has an operating system Android 2.3.7 with a proprietary Timescape shell. The fourth version of the green robot is expected for the Xperia family only in the summer, but the current result of the joint work of Google and Sony is quite interesting.
When you turn on the machine for the first time, the machine's Quick Setup screen automatically launches. In it, you can set your preferred settings for connecting to the Network, set up synchronization with Internet services, enable backups and other nice little things.
 For almost every function of a smartphone Xperia U have your own widget |
The device offers you five desktops, an almost empty top notification area and a set of branded widgets. The Timescape shell focuses on the content and specific functions of the device, which is manifested, for example, with a pinch gesture on the desktop - instead of the usual carousel of tables, we are simultaneously shown all the widgets selected by the user, between which you can quickly switch.
Sony diversified the usual "android" life with a whole range of applications. We will talk about those related to multimedia playback in another section. And now let's go on a controlled flight through the Internet and social networks.
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The Timescape shell has an application of the same name that aggregates all the updates to your Facebook and Twitter profiles into a single feed. The same application has a whole bunch of widgets that bring to the desktop the latest information from your friends' profiles. And there is also a special “music and video” widget that searches your social networks in search of videos recommended by “friends” on Youtube and displays them in a small window.
In addition to the standard Google Play, it also has its own PlayNow app store, where you can buy or download apps, games and music for free. The range is small, and the average price of applications is about $2. So seriously considering Sony PlayNow as a competitor to the almighty Google Play does not work. There is also a client application for downloading, demo testing and buying games from the Electronic Arts studio.
Also in smartphone Sony Xperia U there is a utility for setting up energy savings by disabling unnecessary functions and applications for calculating mobile traffic.
 The browser is standard, you can open up to eight windows at the same time. Thanks to the hardware power, everything works very fast |
The connection to the PC is carried out using the MTP protocol, just as it is done, for example, in the Samsung Galaxy W. Personally, I like this method because you do not need to safely remove the device, and automatic format conversion is also available when copying. As far as I'm used to listening to music in FLAC, in order to save memory, I still allowed the system to quickly overtake the music in MP3.
When connected to a computer directly from the phone, you can install the Sony PC Companion synchronization program, but this is not necessary - everything works like that. The only strange nuance that I encountered is that automatic MKV conversion does not work when copying. This video format has to be uploaded to the phone in the original resolution and format.
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In Contacts, in the dialing section, a smart search is organized: you dial a number on a virtual 12-button keyboard, and the smartphone helpfully slips you contacts with matching numbers and corresponding letters. A similar quick search is implemented in smartphones with HTC Sense. True, there is a “nuance” here: Cyrillic in this search (yet?) Is not supported.
In general, during testing Xperia U worked steadily for me. But there were also surprises. For example, system applications hanging in the background can begin to gobble up the battery charge on both cheeks. And once the smartphone issued a series of cyclic reboots. If something like this happens to you, call an exorcist, turn off the machine and turn it back on. Helps.
Camera
AT Sony ST25i a 5-megapixel camera with a quick capture function is installed. It can be launched even without removing the lock, simply by holding down the shoot button. The function does not work with lightning speed, but still faster than in the traditional way.
The quality of images in automatic mode is mediocre and there are not enough stars from the sky. Fortunately, the camera is stuffed with a huge number of settings, and with their help you can both simplify the work with the device and achieve relatively good shots.
 Interior shooting in natural light. |
But shooting a video is frankly not happy. Declared HD is written at 29 frames per second, which is nominally quite good. But in practice, the picture turns out to be jerky, with artifacts that are visible not only on the monitor, but even on the screen of the phone itself.
To appreciate the quality of shooting yourself, enjoy the parade of young mothers in the historical part of Odessa.
There is a mode for shooting photos and panoramas in 3D, as well as a special utility for viewing the received pictures on compatible devices. Unfortunately, I didn't have those at hand. But the shooting procedure itself is extremely difficult: to create a stereo panorama, you need to shoot it from several angles, for which you turn the camera very slowly. From the fifth time for sure it will work! Overall, this is more of a fun game than a real tool.
Multimedia
I liked the sound in the headphones. It is detailed and pleasant to the ear. The sound of frequencies is balanced, and the volume margin is good enough to get out with a smartphone on a busy street. And, most importantly, all these sound components are successfully mixed with each other and form a kind of explosive musical mixture that can easily rock not only your headphones, but also yourself.
The native music player supports Cyrillic, is beautiful and has an additional feature: sorting music by emotional states. To do this, you need to send some information about your music library to the Sony server, and the order will come in response: this song in “happiness-joy”, and this one in “sadness-sadness”. This function works so far through a stump-deck, a significant part of the audio library I downloaded to my smartphone was completely left without emotional identifiers. I hope that in the future the functionality of this option will improve, since the idea itself is very interesting.
Another cool Sony idea worth talking about is the Live Aware Manager. It allows you to configure the automatic launch of the programs you need when you connect a headset, headphones or charger. A very convenient thing that allows you to bring the work with the player to automatism.
The video player is not particularly remarkable, except for the support for transferring content to a device paired via Wi-Fi, and the presence of a simple video editor in which you can trim the captured video. So I would recommend that you look for something more interesting on Google Play. The same MX Player, for example.
Battery
Xperia U ST25i received more than a modest 1290 mAh battery. If you do not save and drive the device in the tail and in the mane, in 7-8 hours the battery will go a long way from 100% to zero. If you do not abuse 3D games and video shooting, the device will last a full daylight hours.
Very economical users will be able to squeeze a day out of the device - if you turn off Wi-Fi and 3G, synchronize only important services and try to avoid resource-intensive applications. But do you need a smartphone then?
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, in my opinion, can compete with our hero in the fashion field. It's beautiful, like Xperia U, a device with the same clear screen, albeit smaller. Yes, Ray's processor is weaker, but the battery lasts a little longer. Plus, he already received Android 4.0, and Sony Xperia U still some time "torments" on 2.3.7. You can buy Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray for 10-12 thousand rubles, so the option has the right to life. Especially in gentle female hands.
In terms of convenience Sony Xperia U you will have to grapple not for life, but for death also with the youngest representative of the fresh HTC line. The One V boasts a more comfortable and thoughtful shell, a fresh operating system, longer battery life, a larger screen and better video recording. True, its processor is much weaker, the sound in the headphones is worse, and the price is more expensive - about 14,000 rubles.
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Advantages:
- Timescape shell and proprietary software
- Design
- Powerful processor
- Function quick start camera and hardware button for shooting
- Good headphone sound
- Abundance of camera settings and the way they are organized
Disadvantages:
- Short battery life
- Little memory (about 5.7 GB for the user)
- Inconvenient touch buttons under the screen
- Old version of Android
- Poor video recording quality
— strange job light sensor
Summary
Sony turned out to be a beautiful and fast device, charged to the top with Sony-style, which is capable of seriously and for a long time blowing the roof off its owners. But minor flaws in the firmware, a weak battery and a catastrophically small amount of memory still spoil the impression and slightly sober. It seems to me that the device is almost ideal for a girl who loves social networks, music and appreciates beautiful gadgets. But the seasoned geek sighs, walks around this handsome man, and chooses Xperia Sola or HTC One V.
Specifications Sony Xperia U ST25i
| GSM | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
|---|---|
| WCDMA | 900, 2100 |
| Type of shell | monoblock |
| Operating system | Google Android 2.3 |
| CPU | ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500, 1 GHz |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Screen type | TFT |
| Screen size | 3,5 |
| Number of colors | 16 million |
| Screen resolution | 854x480 |
| Sensory | Yes |
| Built-in memory | 8 GB |
| Memory card support | Not |
| Sound | xLOUD Experience, Track ID |
| Communications | WiFi, 3G |
| Connectors | Micro USB, 3.5 mm |
| Camera | 5 MP, autofocus, flash, HD video recording, BSI sensor |
For most smartphone companies, 2012 is an important year. It is becoming more and more difficult to compete with such strong players as Apple and Samsung every day. According to the latest data, these two giants occupy more than 80% of the smartphone market. To stay afloat, other companies had to mobilize all their forces. One such company is Sony, with their debut line of NXT smartphones. We have already talked about the flagship Sony Xperia S, but the hero of this review was the younger model - Sony Xperia U. The Xperia U will have to fight for a place in the sun with HTC One V, LG Optimus L7, Fly IQ285 Turbo and Acer Liquid Glow. Each of them has its advantages over Sony, so the battle for the buyer will be serious.
Realizing that some characteristics will not be enough, Sony Xperia U attracts attention even in its packaged form. An unusual two-section box, in addition to a smartphone, contained a protective film for the screen with a special piece of cloth and something like a mediator, as well as two interchangeable panels - pink and yellow. Since the color of our smartphone is white, the panel is also white. The second body color option is black. In this case, the main panel will also be black, but the additional panels will remain the same - pink and yellow.
Appearance and ergonomics
Like LG's L-Style, Sony's NXT line of smartphones is united by one style - right angles, a transparent strip with touch-key indicators at the bottom and a rounded back.
Regardless of the color of the case, the part located under the protective glass is black. At the top there are indicators, a speaker and a VGA camera. A 3.5” TFT screen with a typical resolution of 854x480 pixels is installed in the center. Unfortunately, in addition to resolution and software enhancer, the display has nothing more to boast of. This is surprising, because Sony Ericsson and Sony Xperia S smartphones have long acquired an airless layer between the screen itself and the touch panel, which makes the image brighter and more vibrant. It can be assumed that technology no air gap not the cheapest, and introducing it into a “budget” smartphone is not entirely rational. Then what about, which can be found for 2100 hryvnia? Three dots are visible at the bottom of the black bar. As in the Sony Xperia S, they indicate the location of the touch keys - "Back", "Home" and "Menu". The designations of these keys can be seen on a transparent insert, which visually divides the case into two parts. Unlike the flagship, here the insert has two purposes. It helps to navigate the location of the keys and, depending on the main color of the display, is highlighted with all the colors of the rainbow.
The lower part has only the inscription XPERIA.
On the back side there is a 5 MP camera, flash, speaker and Sony Ericsson logo. A removable cover covers not only this part of the case, but also the upper end and sides. The material used in it is similar to that installed in, it easily tolerates minor scratches.
On the left side of the case is a microUSB connector. On the opposite side, there are three keys responsible for, from top to bottom, turning on / locking, adjusting the volume, launching the camera.
Two slots are visible on the bottom end. One for the talking microphone, and the second for the strap.
At the top end there was a place for another microphone and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
After devices equipped with 4.3-4.8 ”screens, this one looks miniature. Xperia U is perfect as a second or "summer" communication device. Slightly disappointed with the build quality, when squeezed, the case creaks noticeably, and I would like to see the material of the back panel softer.
Dimensions comparison
Sony Xperia U, 112 x 54 x 12 mm, 110 g
Samsung Galaxy Ace, 112.4 x 59.9 x 11.5 mm, 113 g
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos, 112.7 x 61.5 x 11.5 mm, 122
, 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm, 140 g
, 113.4 x 60.8 x 11.9, 123 g
As you can see, with the exception of thickness, in all other respects, including weight, the smartphone is the most slender of devices equipped with a 3.5 ”screen. Given that he could well do without the part located under the transparent insert, his performance would have become a record.
In conclusion, we will talk about interchangeable panels. As you already know, two additional panels are supplied in the kit - pink and yellow. To remove and install any of them you need to try hard, which can be the reason why you get tired of changing them after two or three times. It turned out, besides the visual effect, they do not carry any other semantic load, which once again emphasizes their purpose, set and forget.
Operating system and interface
Like the other two representatives of the NXT line, Xperia U uses the Android 2.3 operating system. Judging by the information on the Web, in the next two weeks, the smartphone should receive an update to Android 4.0. Most likely, we will tell about these changes already on Sony example Xperia P. In the meantime, let's take a look at the screenshots of the interface. It makes no sense to describe its features, since there are simply no changes in comparison with the same Sony Ericsson Xperia ray.
Platform
The junior model of the line is equipped with an ST-Ericsson processor - NovaThor U8500. The processor is made according to the ARMv7 architecture with two Cortex-A9 cores operating at a frequency of 1 GHz. Mali-400 MP is used as the graphics core. The smartphone has 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of Flash memory, of which 4 GB is available to the user as a drive, and just over 1.5 GB for installing applications.
It should be noted that a similar ST-Ericsson U8500 processor is installed in Sony Xperia P, Sony Xperia Sola and Samsung Galaxy S Advance.
This smartphone model is almost the only one of the new products in 2012 with a dual-core processor costing up to 3,000 hryvnias. If gaming performance and HD video support are important to you, then the excellent Fly IQ285 Turbo or the slightly more expensive Xperia Sola can serve as an alternative. You can pay attention to last year's cheaper devices, for example, Motorola Atrix 4G, HTC Evo 3D, LG Optimus 2x.
Video file playback
| Codec/Name | FinalDestination5.mp4 | Neudergimie.2.mkv | s.t.a.l.k.e.r.avi | Spartacus.mkv | ParallelUniverse.avi |
| Video | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920×798 29.99fps | Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 852×362 29.994fps | Xvid 712x400 25.00fps 1779kbps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280×720 29.97fps ] | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280×536 24.00fps 2726kbps |
| Audio | AAC 48000Hz stereo 96kbps | Audio: AAC 48000Hz stereo 96kbps | MPEG Audio Layer 3 48000Hz stereo 128kbps | Dolby AC3 44100Hz stereo] | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 256kbps |
Camera
Most smartphones costing up to 3000 hryvnias are equipped with a 5 MP camera. The Xperia U was no exception. The quality of pictures and videos is average, you can evaluate them by the examples below. For some, the presence of a mechanical camera shutter button will be an advantage. And the undoubted advantage is that with this key you can launch the camera from any mode. It takes about 3 seconds from the moment of launch to the capture of the frame.
Examples of 5 MP photos
HD Video Examples
Results
Like last year's Sony Ericsson smartphones, with their rounded ends and convex back, Sony's debut models also have their own face. Sony Xperia U in white can be safely recommended to girls. The black device is more suitable for young people. The smartphone has a number of advantages, which include performance, dimensions, camera capabilities and an early OS upgrade to Android ICS. Among the shortcomings, we note the creaking body and the inability to turn off the backlight of the transparent panel. The device has more than enough competitors, ranging from its own devices to similar, but initially running on Android 4.0 smartphones - HTC One V, LG Optimus L7 and Acer Liquid Glow. The choice depends only on your own preferences, since they all deserve each other.
Liked
Appearance
Housing materials
Replaceable panels available
The presence of a mechanical key to launch the camera
Performance
Ability to upgrade OS to Android ICS
Color of the keypad depending on the image on the screen
Equipment
Did not like
Build quality
Lack of memory card support
Can't turn off keypad backlight
Hard travel of the camera shutter button
Increased minimum display brightness
Uncomfortable keyboard
The device is provided by the online store Notus, notus.com.ua
 | Sony Xperia U (White/Yellow) Notify when available |
| Type | Smartphone |
| Type of shell | monoblock |
| Standard | GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 800/850/1900/2100 |
| High speed data transfer | GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA |
| Dimensions (mm) | 112x54x12 |
| Weight (g) | 110 |
| Processor (for smartphones) | NovaThor U8500 1GHz (Dual Core) + Mali 400MP |
| Memory | 512MB RAM + 8GB ROM (up to 6GB user available) |
| Expansion slot | No |
| Main screen | TFT (Bravia Engine), 3.5″, 480×854 dots, 16.7 million colors, touchscreen, capacitive, multi-touch support, protective coating (mineral glass) |
| Additional screen | No |
| Keyboard type | screen input |
| Accumulator battery | Li-Ion, 1300 mAh |
| Operating time (manufacturer's data) | conversation - up to 6h36m, standby - up to 472h, in audio player mode - up to 45h, in video mode - up to 6h |
| Communications | USB 2.0 (micro-USB), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA |
| Support for 2 SIM cards | No |
| Photography | 5 MP, autofocus, 16x digital zoom, 3D panorama photography (3D Sweep Panorama technology), geotagging, VGA front camera |
| Video filming | 1280x720 pixels, 30 fps |
| Flash | LED |
| Operating system | Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread), followed by an update to Android 4.x |
| Phone book | Yes |
| Working with messages | SMS, MMS, Email (Gmail) |
| Organizer | alarm clock, clock, tasks, notes, calendar, reminders |
| Voice Features | voice recorder, voice dialing, voice control |
| Speakerphone | Yes |
| Internet access | WAP 2.0, xHTML, HTML |
| Additional utilities | calculator, currency converter, voice recorder, timer, stopwatch, world time clock |
| Games | Yes |
| Sound signal | polyphonic |
| MP3 player | Yes |
| FM radio | yes (87.5-108MHz, RDS support) |
| Additional features | interchangeable panels, media player, a-GPS receiver, video telephony, synchronization with Google services, accelerometer, integration with social networks, work with office documents, light and proximity sensors |
Despite some success last year, with some devices like the Xperia Arc, Sony got off on a slippery slope in 2012. At the beginning of the year, Sony entered the market with the flagship smartphone Xperia S, which a month later eclipsed the HTC One X. And with the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S3, Sony's flagship product seems to be out of work.
Maybe things will get better for the Japanese manufacturer with the release of the Xperia U phone? At first glance, the smartphone looks like a winner - a budget device with a dual-core processor, Bravia Engine display technology and excellent build quality. But this can be overshadowed by an outdated version of Android. Well, let's take a closer look and move on to our Sony Xperia U review.
Design and ergonomics Sony Xperia U
In terms of industrial design, many entry-level smartphones look like miniature versions of their high-end siblings, and that certainly applies to the Sony Xperia U and its big brother, the Xperia C. Besides size, the Xperia C's 4.3-inch screen is different from the 3.5-inch screen. the Xperia U. This year, Sony decided not to deviate from the main design of the Xperia line, continuing to solidify the branding of the line.
Like the Xperia S, the U has a soft-touch plastic body, and the back of the body is slightly curved. Unfortunately, this uniqueness comes at the expense of ergonomics. There are three buttons on the illuminated strip: home, menu and go back.
Hardware: Sony Xperia U specs
Above the buttons is a Sony Reality FWVGA display with a resolution of 854 × 480 pixels. The display also features Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine technology, which enhances contrast and color quality. The viewing angles are wide and the image quality is really good. It certainly doesn't compare to the HTC One X, but it's decent, even outdoors in sunlight.
The Xperia U's physical buttons are located along the right edge - there's a power button at the top, a twin volume rocker in the middle, while the camera button sits at the bottom. And like other phones in the Xperia lineup, you can hold down this button to take a picture right away. The camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and LED flash, and for video calls there is a front VGA camera.
On the left side of the case is a microUSB port and at the top there is a 3.5mm headphone jack. Behind the back cover you will find a removable 1300 mAh battery and a full size SIM card slot. And the bottom panel of the case can be replaced, as shown in the photo.
Inside Sony Xperia U located 1 GHz dual-core processor ST-Ericsson, as well as 512 MB of RAM. While it's flattering to see a dual-core processor in a low-end smartphone, its performance numbers are still quite modest and can't compare to dual-core monsters like the Snapdragon S4. Nevertheless, it is quite enough for work, we did not notice performance problems. And although you may notice some animation roughness, we believe that this is due to the outdated Android 2.3 and with the release of the update to Android 4.0 this shortcoming will be eliminated.
Software
Sony Xperia U runs Android 2.3.7 operating system along with Sony UXP NXT software. Sony promises to release an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the third quarter of this year.
Sony's UI is definitely one of the best Gingerbread skins we've seen - there's just the right amount of animation and visual embellishments to make the experience enjoyable for the user without going too far into the embellishments.
In addition to Sony's Space Stream live wallpaper, there are weather widgets, search widgets, and more that you can customize to your liking. And change appearance Sony's system theme can be based on seven color profiles. When you change the theme profile, the highlight of the transparent bar with buttons also changes. Likewise, if you are viewing photos or listening to music, the backlight color will change based on the dominant color in the image or album art. It might be a little gimmicky for some users' tastes, but we found this visual alert to be fun. The Xperia U includes an excellent set of multimedia applications from Sony.
Other software goodies include the Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited streaming services that are included with this phone model. The phone's player has been redesigned and is the same as on other 2012 Xperia models. It has a built-in EQ with plenty of effects for your music, including ClearBass with a surround sound effect that you can really appreciate when paired with good headphones.
Integration with social networks is carried out through Timescape and the Facebook Inside Xperia application (Facebook Inside Xperia). Timescape organizes social updates of text messages and other data into a 3D list, and it supports Facebook, Twitter, Google Play and other services out of the box.
Sony Xperia U smartphone camera
Sony has historically made an impression with its cameras on phones, even on lower-end devices. And for the most part, the Xperia U's 5 megapixel camera supports that impression. In reasonably lit rooms, the phone captures images almost instantly and delivers crisp, noise-free images.
Sony has also included 3D panoramic shooting in the app, however you will need a 3D TV to view this as the phone has a simple 2D display.
Sony Xperia U review verdict
The Xperia U is far from a flawless work from Sony, but it's a very well-balanced entry-level phone. It retails for around Rs. Sony Xperia U. This makes it all the more disappointing that Sony has decided to limit user storage space to 4GB, with no prospect of expanding with microSD cards. Samsung and HTC understand that this isn't enough and are at least offering a microSD slot as a possible workaround in their entry-level phones - Sony doesn't offer that compromise with the Xperia U.
However, a dual-core phone with 720p HD video recording for $12,000 was unthinkable a few months ago, and Sony deserves credit for creating it.
The announcement of two new devices from Sony Mobile took place, these are Xperia P and Xperia U. In fact, this is the main backbone of the 2012 line, today I would like to briefly talk about the event, devices, thoughts around. The fact is that the presentation itself was more connected not even with new products, but with the fact that Sony Ericsson now seemed to have returned to the bosom of the parent company, on the slides it was clearly indicated, One Sony, and so on. This is first. Secondly, the company continues to develop the concept of four screens, that is, the user must conveniently switch between the same information on a smartphone, TV, tablet and laptop - fortunately, the company's assortment has it all. In my opinion, the concept is somewhat far-fetched, not many users connect a smartphone or tablet to a TV. Moreover, we are used to accessing different information from the mentioned devices. For example, I watch videos and play games on TV, I need a smartphone for everyday activities, communication, listening to music, taking photos, a laptop for work, but a tablet is a kind of assistant, its use depends on the specific situation and the aspirations of the owner. Thirdly, it was not in vain that Sony talked about the uniform design of smartphones in 2012, and P, and S, and U are similar to each other, not twins, but it will be difficult for an ordinary consumer to distinguish them. For example, a similar phenomenon is observed with Audi, people who are not familiar with the brand confuse A4, A6 and A8, as my friend says, they are the same, only different sizes. In my opinion, uniformity in the line of smartphones is needed, and for the first time Sony devices of different price groups are so similar, let's see how this will affect the perception of the brand by consumers. Fourthly, the past event was supposed to fix in the heads of journalists (well, we must fix this in our heads) a simple thought: Sony Ericsson is no more. There is Sony Mobile. New site, new products. Finally, a lot was said about the concept of Entertaiment Unlimited, you can download videos directly from smartphones or watch online, the same with music and games, everything from the company store - it will not work in Russia yet. Well, now let's talk about devices.
There was only one moment, without leapfrog, a line of three smartphones is called Xperia NXT (that is, next), but this NXT itself is not clear how to apply it, or add it to the name of the devices, whether this is the name of the line, or something else. It is not clear.
To get started, I suggest you watch a video about the announced devices.
Sony Xperia S
Our site has a first look and other materials about this smartphone, a review will appear soon, if you have a desire, I can walk around with the device, take pictures. Relatively speaking, now this is an older smartphone, not a flagship, namely that it is older. I don’t think it will be possible to say something new about the device here, I recommend referring to existing materials. The device goes on sale in Europe this week, this has already been reminded several times. As they say, sales will show how well Sony chose the strategy.
Sony Xperia P
What is called, the middle peasant, but the average peasant is not easy. Sony talks about an all-metal body, but in fact, only the battery cover is made of metal, and all the holes are cut. The device lies well in the hand, the metal cools the hand pleasantly, the silver one looks much more advantageous than the black one. As you can see, there is a luminous strip at the bottom that separates a small area of the case. I hasten to please you that buttons are built into the P striped, or rather, it is as if there is one button. It may sound incomprehensible, but it is much more convenient to use than the sensors on the Xperia S. 1 GHz processor (dual-core), 16 GB of internal memory, Android 2.3 (upgrade to the fourth version will be), 8.1 MP camera, worse than S, but the device takes another. Actually, there are two main stories here, this is the already mentioned metal in the case and the display. The diagonal is four inches, I will not give the exact resolution now, since there is some confusion in the press materials. I will only express my admiration for WhiteMagic technology - it is the addition of another pixel, joy and happiness, Sony does not have time to say that this is the brightest display among all smartphones on the market. Well, I liked something else more, for example, in the browser, each letter seems to be drawn with a thin needle, everything is so clear and beautiful. The brightness is very high, in low light it literally hurts the eyes. A clear and really cool screen compared to everything I've seen lately - moreover, WhiteMagic, in theory, does not force the device's battery, and for smartphones with Android, this, you know, is a sore point.
As I said, the camera is 8.1 MP, it is possible to shoot video in Full HD, among the accessories there is a kind of stand to facilitate connection to the TV.
I won’t say anything yet about the price and time of appearance on the market, I’ll try to get to know the device in more detail during the exhibition and find out all sorts of details. I also note that Sony continued to work on the interface, more of their icons, the necessary programs, and so on.
Sony Xperia U
Little brother, there is no metal in the case, but there are interchangeable caps for the lower part, there will be four such caps in the kit for Russia. The idea is good, the perception of the device is changing. With U, everything is simple, it is designed to become a Sony budget smartphone, so don't expect miracles - the display diagonal is 3.5 inches (854 x 480 pixels), no miracles like "white magic", a processor like P, 512 MB of RAM and about 8 GB internal memory. A 5 MP camera with all proprietary options such as face recognition and easy panorama creation, the claimed music playback time is about 45 hours, not bad, according to colleagues, Sony Xperia U works offline for a long time, longer than its older brothers.
The body is made of plastic, inside - Android 2.3, an update to 4.0 is promised soon. My impression is simple: the device is for young people, and its fate on the market will depend very much on the price.
While I will do without conclusions, the line turned out like this, as they wrote more than once on Mobile-review (both Eldar and I), in SE they struggled with themselves for a long time to come to the same place where they started - to a compact line, where each apparatus is a kind of pearl. The announcement of 2012 did not bring pearls, this must be understood absolutely precisely - this is not the K750 for you. But Sony put together a line of three products, each with its own differences: if you want a good camera - pay attention to S, if you want a cool screen and metal - take P, if you want a small and beautiful smartphone - take U. You know, some kind of driver is missing here , some kind of killer - something like the Galaxy SII, pulling other models of the line with it. I would like to believe that there will be some other letter from Sony, causing competitors to grind their teeth. So far there is none.
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Sergey Kuzmin ()
Accelerometer(or G-sensor) - device position sensor in space. As a main function, the accelerometer is used to automatically change the orientation of the image on the display (vertical or horizontal). Also, the G-sensor is used as a pedometer, it can be controlled by various functions of the device by turning or shaking.
Gyroscope- a sensor that measures the angles of rotation relative to a fixed coordinate system. Able to measure rotation angles in several planes simultaneously. The gyroscope together with the accelerometer allows you to determine the position of the device in space with high accuracy. In devices that use only accelerometers, measurement accuracy is lower, especially when moving quickly. Also, the capabilities of the gyroscope can be used in modern games for mobile devices.
Light sensor- a sensor, thanks to which the optimal values of brightness and contrast are set for a given level of illumination. The presence of the sensor allows you to increase the operating time of the device from the battery.
Proximity sensor- a sensor that detects when the device is close to the face during a call, turns off the backlight and locks the screen, preventing accidental pressing. The presence of the sensor allows you to increase the operating time of the device from the battery.
Geomagnetic sensor- a sensor for determining the direction of the world in which the device is directed. Tracks the orientation of the device in space relative to the Earth's magnetic poles. The information received from the sensor is used in mapping programs for orientation in the area.
Atmospheric pressure sensor- sensor for accurate measurement of atmospheric pressure. It is part of the GPS system, allows you to determine the height above sea level and speed up the location.
touch ID- Fingerprint identification sensor.
Accelerometer / Illumination / Approximation
Satellite navigation:
GPS(Global Positioning System - global positioning system) - a satellite navigation system that measures distance, time, speed and determines the location of objects anywhere on the Earth. The system was developed, implemented and operated by the US Department of Defense. The basic principle of using the system is to determine the location by measuring the distances to the object from points with known coordinates - satellites. The distance is calculated from the signal propagation delay time from sending it by the satellite to receiving it by the GPS receiver antenna.
GLONASS(Global Navigation Satellite System) - Soviet and Russian satellite navigation system, developed by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense. The measurement principle is similar to the American GPS navigation system. GLONASS is intended for operational navigation and time support for ground, sea, air and space-based users. The main difference from the GPS system is that the GLONASS satellites in their orbital movement do not have resonance (synchronism) with the Earth's rotation, which provides them with greater stability.
