SONY XPERIA ION
Sony Xperia Ion for AT & T, an Android with LTE has lot to prove, it’s not just a mid range Android, including a 720p resolution screen, 12 megapixel camera and a LTE it’s going to compete with Samsung S3 and the HTC One X But the problem is Samsung and HTC have already launched their mobile and they are in the market due to which they have captured the market and Sony Xperia Ion is using Android2.3.7 instead of Icecream Sandwich which is one generation behind. Whether it will be able to pull it of or not?
With a 4.6 inch screen Xperia Ion feels quite large when in hands and also in pockets with its 0.46 inch thickness. It’s definitely not a featherweight as it weighs 4.9 ounces (138.9 grams) which is similar to iPhone 4S. Its main element is the aluminum curved rear panel on which camera flash, speaker and the logo is beautifully laid out in symmetry. The top and bottom are of plastic and at the top there is a 3.6 mm headset jack while all the buttons are on the right side- volume, power and a camera button.
Xperia Ion’s display is just a beauty with a 4.6 inch, 720p LCD panel it won’t disappoint you. It has excellent viewing, sharp texts and great color schemes. The phone has a Bravia Engine setting, once you turn it on the image results are nicer, the screen images are enhanced.
Xperia Ion will run on the Gingerbread instead of Ice cream sandwich which is quite disappointing, as it has been launched in June just weeks away when the new Android is launched. The home screen is somewhat similar to stock Gingerbread with Sony’s own widgets and along with a function to float the widgets around the screen. As far as the software from AT & T is concerned, it has the usual apps like the AT & T Family map, live TV, navigator. Another app include is regarding messages, call logs and browsing ones. Over all the software is not bad but lacking the new Android software is kind of disappointing.
The Xperia has a 1.5GHz dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, along with a LTE ( Long Term Evolution) function, the processor works quite efficiently and games run good on it but still doesn’t compare the top tier on the market these days.
It has the 1900mAh battery, which gives quite a battery life. Even if you use the power hungry LTE the battery works for half a day, otherwise a full day can be carried out easily. Sony includes a Power Saver app which tells you how much of the battery is left and helps in the power management.
Xperia Ion has a 12 mega pixel camera along with a 720p front facing camera. The camera works well in good daylight but in low light it lacks the quality. But the colors are vibrant and accurate no need of any extra customization is needed. The front camera is quite good and the video recording at 1080p is passable.
ON the price it costs cheaper by $100 on a 2 year contract if compared by S3, on a whole the phone is a midrange gadget and is quite good and it’s all about compromise regarding mid range mobiles.