Sony Xperia U Review | Specification | Price

• Design:
• Performance:
• Value For Money:
• Features:

The Sony Xperia U smartphone that is designed to demand attention. It has a brilliant 3.5-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with resolution of 480 x 854 pixels and capacitive touchscreen combination. The phone runs on a powerful 1 GHz Dual Core processor and is based on the Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) OS with Time scape user interface. The user-friendly OS promises a variety of applications, easy multitasking and optimum performance.

The Xperia U has a 5 MP primary camera with 16 x digital zoom and LED flash. The camera comes with a range of useful features such as 3D sweep panorama, auto focus, touch focus, Geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization and image editor. These features make taking photos a true joy on the Sony Xperia U. It has a 0.3 megapixel secondary camera which is located on the front of the phone.

You can records videos on the HD video recorder that supports 1280 x 720 resolution and shoots videos at 30 fps. Watch your videos and enjoy excellent audio clarity with the xLOUD Audio Filter Technology and 3D surround sound features.

Design :

The bar shaped Sony Xperia U has a boxy design that makes the smartphone look youthful and trendy. The phone measures 4.4″ (l) x 2.1″ (w) x 0.5″ (12 mm) (d), and weighs around 110 grammes. The Xperia  U has a transparent strip at the bottom that lights up when you press the three capacitive dots above it; a unique design element that makes the Xperia U stand apart. The phone has a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen a goodly size for a display, big enough for easy viewing of movies and websites with small print.The sleek design neatly packs a 3.5 mm audio jack and microphone on top. You will find a micro USB port on the left side of the phone and power, volume rocker and dedicated camera keys on the right. The  Phone display comes with an anti-reflection coating and is scratch-resistant making the Xperia U ideal for travel. A Bravia Engine powers the display and boasts of increased image sharpness, contrast, quality.

Storage and Battery :

The Xperia U comes with an inbuilt storage of 8 GB and 512 MB RAM. The phone is powered by a 1320 mAh battery, that supports up to 6 hours of talktime when the phone is used on the 2G network and up to 5 hours of talktime on the 3G network.

Connectivity and Features :

The Xperia U is a quad band GSM handset with 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA and GPS support. The Xperia is also supports the Wi-Fi hotspot feature which allows the Xperia to connect to the mobile network and act as a Wi-Fi router. Even you can create your own Wi-Fi hub wherever you are. The  Sony Xperia U has a micro USB port that facilitates USB tethering. The Xperia U features DLNA that helps in the interconnecting various media devices.

The GPS enabled smartphone features A-GPS with Google Maps which helps you navigate through your city. The Xperia U helps you send and receive mail with ease with pushmail and lets you view documents on the document viewer.

The Android powered phone also features a range of Google apps such as Gmail, Google Sync,  Google Calendar, Google Gallery 3D, Google Voice Search, Google Talk with Video Chat, NeoReader, Twitter,  Android Market, Google Lattitude, News and Weather and YouTube. You can stay connected with friends and get instant updates on Facebook and enjoy instant messaging as well. For your entertainment, the Java enabled Xperia U comes with a music player, video player and FM radio.

Pros :

• Good display
• Snappy and responsive

Cons :

• Limited storage
• Not one of the best 5 MP cameras
• poor speaker

Verdict :

The Sony Xperia U is priced at Rs. 16,400. For a grand more, you get the HTC One V, which may have a slower processor on paper, but you won’t be able to tell the difference – as both are equally fast. The One V had the better (and bigger) display, a better camera and came with ICS on board. The cons list for this device includes a poor speaker and earpiece, no expandable memory, no 1080p support, software issues and a poor battery life. The Xperia U is a flawed genius and an accumulation of drawbacks prevent it from being a must buy.