Sony Xperia St 25 i. Full review of Sony Xperia U: a fresh solution! Sony Xperia U smartphone review: experiments with color and sound

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 operating system to the new Android 4.0. 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 plastic cover white, 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 colorful and are designed to change appearance 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.

Concerning physical parameters, then the Sony Xperia U screen resolution is 854x480, with physical dimensions of 44x77 mm and a diagonal of 89 mm (3.5 inches). When enough 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 random access memory. 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 Google Play Stores are not slowed 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 Lately not just Sony.

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.

Accelerometer(or G-sensor) - sensor of the device’s position 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 control various functions of the device by turning or shaking.
Gyroscope- a sensor that measures rotation angles relative to a fixed coordinate system. Capable of measuring rotation angles in several planes simultaneously. A gyroscope together with an accelerometer allows you to accurately determine the position of the device in space. Devices that use only accelerometers have lower measurement accuracy, especially when moving quickly. Also, the capabilities of the gyroscope can be used in modern games for mobile devices.
Light sensor- a sensor that sets the optimal brightness and contrast values for a given light level. The presence of a sensor allows you to increase the battery life of the device.
Proximity sensor- a sensor that detects when the device is close to your face during a call, turns off the backlight and locks the screen, preventing accidental clicks. The presence of a sensor allows you to increase the battery life of the device.
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 magnetic poles of the Earth. The information received from the sensor is used in mapping programs for terrain orientation.
Atmospheric pressure sensor- sensor for precise measurement of atmospheric pressure. It is part of the GPS system, allows you to determine altitude above sea level and speed up location determination.
Touch ID- fingerprint identification sensor.

Accelerometer / Light / Proximity

Satellite navigation:

GPS(Global Positioning System - global system positioning) is a satellite navigation system that provides measurements of distance, time, speed and determines the location of objects anywhere on Earth. The system is developed, implemented and operated by the US Department of Defense. The basic principle of using the system is to determine location by measuring distances to an object from points with known coordinates - satellites. The distance is calculated by the delay time of signal propagation from sending it by the satellite to receiving it by the antenna of the GPS receiver.
GLONASS(Global Navigation Satellite System) - Soviet and Russian satellite navigation system, developed by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense. The measuring principle is similar American system GPS navigation. GLONASS is designed for operational navigation and timing support for land, sea, air and space-based users. The main difference from the GPS system is that GLONASS satellites in their orbital motion do not have resonance (synchrony) with the rotation of the Earth, which provides them with greater stability.

There was an announcement of two new devices from Sony Mobile, the 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, the devices, the thoughts around it. The fact is that the presentation itself was no longer connected even with new products, but with the fact that Sony Ericsson now seemed to have returned to the fold of the parent company, this was clearly indicated on the slides, One Sony, and all that jazz. This is the first thing. Secondly, the company continues to develop the concept of four screens, that is, the user should conveniently switch between the same information on a smartphone, TV, tablet and laptop - fortunately, the company has all this in its product range. In my opinion, the concept is somewhat far-fetched; not many users connect a smartphone or tablet to a TV. Moreover, we are accustomed to accessing various information from the mentioned devices. For example, on TV I watch videos and play games, a smartphone is needed for everyday affairs, 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 aspirations of the owner. Thirdly, it was not for nothing that Sony talked about the uniform design of smartphones in 2012, and P, S, and U are similar to each other, not twins, but it will be difficult for an ordinary consumer to distinguish them. Let's say, 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 necessary, and for the first time Sony devices of different price groups are so similar, let’s see how this will affect consumers’ perception of the brand. Fourthly, the last event should have fixed in the heads of journalists (well, we should have fixed it in our heads) a simple thought: Sony Ericsson is no more. There is Sony Mobile. New website, new products. Finally, a lot has been 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 is just one thing, there is a leapfrog, the line of three smartphones is called Xperia NXT (that is, next), but it is not clear how to use this NXT, or add it to the name of the devices, or is it the name of the line, or something else. Dont clear.

To begin with, I suggest you watch a video about the announced devices.

Sony Xperia S

On our website there is 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 and take pictures. Relatively speaking, now this is a senior smartphone, not a flagship, but rather a senior one. I don’t think it will be possible to say anything new about the device here; I recommend turning to existing materials. The device goes on sale in Europe this week, they have been reminded of this several times. As they say, sales will show how well Sony has chosen the strategy.

Sony Xperia P

As they say, the average, but the average is not easy. Sony talks about an all-metal case, but in fact, only the battery cover is made of metal, and all the holes are cut out. The device fits well in the hand, the metal feels pleasantly cool on the hand, and the silver one looks much better than the black one. As you can see, here at the bottom there is a luminous strip separating a small area of the body. I hasten to please you that the P has buttons built into the strip, or rather, it’s as if there is one button. It may sound incomprehensible, but it is much more convenient to use than the sensors of the Xperia S. 1 GHz processor (dual-core), 16 GB of internal memory, Android 2.3 (update to the fourth version will be available), 8.1 MP camera, worse than S, but the device takes another. Actually, there are two main stories here: the already mentioned metal in the case and the display. The diagonal is four inches; I won’t give the exact resolution now, since there is some confusion in the press materials. I can only express my admiration for the WhiteMagic technology - this 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 recently - and WhiteMagic, in theory, does not abuse the device’s battery, and for smartphones with Android this, you know, is a sore spot.

As I said, the camera is 8.1 MP, it is possible to shoot video in Full HD, and among the accessories there is a kind of stand to facilitate connection to a TV.

I won’t say anything yet about the price and time of appearance on the market; I will 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 its icons, necessary programs and so on.

Sony Xperia U

Little brother, there is no metal in the case, but there are replaceable caps for the lower part; the set for Russia will include four such caps. The idea is good, the perception of the device is changing. Everything is simple with the U, it is designed to be a budget Sony 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 the P, 512 MB of RAM and about 8 GB of internal memory. A 5 MP camera with all proprietary options such as facial recognition and easy creation of panoramas, the stated operating time in music playback mode is about 45 hours, which is not bad, according to colleagues, the Sony Xperia U works in autonomous mode for a long time, longer than its older brothers.

The case is made of plastic, inside there is 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 very much depend on the price.

While I will dispense with conclusions, the line turned out to be like this, as they wrote more than once on Mobile-review (both Eldar and I), in SE they fought with themselves for a long time to come to the same thing where they started - to a compact line, where Each device is a kind of pearl. The announcement of 2012 did not bring any pearls, this must be understood absolutely clearly - this is not the K750. But Sony has put together a line of three products, each with its own differences: do you want 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, there is some kind of driver missing, some kind of killer - something like the Galaxy SII, pulling along with it and other models in the line. I would like to believe that there will be some other letter from Sony that will cause teeth gnashing among competitors. There isn't one yet.

Design

First impression Xperia U leaves only good things. The small, neat device is made of plastic that is pleasant to the touch and sports the signature design of the latest Xperia line. Like its older brothers, under the screen of the gadget there is a transparent strip with a multi-colored LED. Plus, the bottom plastic insert is removable, and the set includes four of them. The device I tested was white, extremely elegant but not overly feminine - a sophisticated unisex in the Sony style.

Assembly Sony Xperia U excellent. The parts fit together perfectly, in some places even too much. For example, I couldn’t remove the replacement socket from my copy. She sat like a glove. There are no squeaks when squeezing, the back cover does not bend under your fingers.

On the right side there are three hardware buttons: camera, volume rocker and power button. On the left there is only room for a MicroUSB connector, and on top there is a headphone jack. Quite a well thought out design.

A funny detail: in the box with the smartphone, in addition to the usual headset, charger and set of instructions, there are a couple of nice additions. The generous wizards from Sony put there a proprietary film for the screen, a cleaning cloth 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 a thing of the past, and the future belongs exclusively to cute, inexpensive “androids”.

But there are also notorious nuances. Firstly, the touch button icons on the transparent panel are difficult to see. What is also complicated by the fact that the “Back” button is on the far left (in the center is “Home”, and “Menu” on the right), and not everyone is used to this arrangement. As a result, erroneous clicks are guaranteed in the first days of work. And in the following days too - the unmarked touch keys under the screen every now and then accidentally meet my fingers.

Screen

The screen is excellent and perfectly complements the first wow impression. With a modest diagonal of 3.5 inches, there are full 854x480 pixels, which gives the output a very clear and beautiful picture. Yes, and Sony BRAVIA proprietary technologies are not just for words here and provide very high-quality color rendition, without the Korean “eye-popping” style. In the sun, the image remains readable, although it does have a slight glare. Hardly for the money they ask for Sony ST25i, there's more to be desired this year.

The capacitive screen supports four simultaneous presses. This, of course, is not ten, but it will do for most games, but will not be useful anywhere else.

The only thing I can complain about is the light sensor. It barely works, continuing to blind the eyes in the dark and not turning the backlight to 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 make compromises and installed the same processor here as in the more advanced Xperia Sola. This is a dual core ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500 with clock frequency 1 GHz. It also comes with 512 MB of RAM and a Mali-400 MP video accelerator. This is an excellent technological combination that 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 under average load. In fact, even simply playing music in APE format can already raise the temperature under the hood of the car. This is the price to pay for impressive power for this class.

Applications install on the system with lightning speed, the browser works very quickly, and even terrible Flash videos play without problems.

Some older applications that were written for Android 2.1 may be unstable. From my permanent set of “oldies,” the AndLess player, the Racing Moto game, and the Multitouch Test tester application crashed with errors or froze. Although these are rather questions for software developers, since the smartphone is in complete harmony with the new software.

Alas, there was still a big fly in the ointment. The gadget does not have a slot for a memory card, and its own “brains” are only 8 GB, of which the user has access to: 1.6 GB for installing applications and 4 GB in storage mode. Lovely! I can see the Sony office where the decision is made on the positioning of this year’s Xperia line and I can clearly hear the demonic laughter of the marketers. Indeed, why cut the functionality of a younger model when you can seriously limit its memory? Some games for Android, let me remind you, “weigh” a good gigabyte. Not to mention listening to lossless music, shooting with a camera, watching videos... The space in the smartphone runs out already after 3-4 days active work. You will inevitably think about looking at more advanced Xperia models or writing a letter of complaint to the UN.

Android

The smartphone has the Android 2.3.7 operating system with the 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 efforts of Google and Sony is quite interesting.

When you turn it on for the first time, the machine's Quick Setup screen automatically launches. In it you can set your preferred parameters for connecting to the Network, set up synchronization with Internet services, enable backup and other pleasant little things.

Almost every smartphone function has Xperia U has its own widget

The device offers you five desktops, an almost empty upper notification area and a set of branded widgets. The Timescape shell focuses on the content and specific functions of the device, which manifests itself, for example, when pinch a 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 has diversified the usual “Android” life with a whole set of applications. We will talk about those related to multimedia playback in another section. Now let's go on a controlled flight through the Internet and social networks.

The Timescape shell has an application of the same name that aggregates all updates to your Facebook and Twitter profiles into a single feed. The same application has a whole armful of widgets that bring the latest information from your friends’ profiles to your desktop. There is also a special “music and video” widget that searches your social networks in search of YouTube videos recommended by “friends” and displays them in a small window.

In addition to the standard Google Play, there is also its own PlayNow application store, where you can buy or download applications, games and music for free. The range is small, and the average price of applications is about $2. So it’s impossible to seriously consider Sony PlayNow as a competitor to the almighty Google Play. There is also a client application for downloading, demo testing and purchasing games from the Electronic Arts studio.

Also on a smartphone Sony Xperia U There is a utility for setting up energy savings by disabling unnecessary functions and an application for counting mobile traffic.

The browser is standard, you can open up to eight windows at the same time. Thanks to the hardware, everything works very quickly

The connection to the PC is carried out via the MTP protocol, in the same way as it is done, for example, in Samsung Galaxy W. Personally, I like this method because there is no need to safely remove the device, and automatic format conversion is available when copying. As much as I was used to listening to music in FLAC, in order to save memory, I still allowed the system to quickly convert the music to MP3.

When connecting to a computer directly from your phone, you can install the Sony PC Companion synchronization program, but this is not necessary - everything works just like that. The only strange thing I encountered is that automatic MKV conversion does not work when copying. This video format must be uploaded to the phone in the original resolution and format.

In Contacts, in the dialing section, a smart search is organized: you dial a number on a virtual 12-key keyboard, and the smartphone helpfully gives you contacts with matching numbers and corresponding letters. A similar quick search is implemented in smartphones with HTC Sense. There is, however, a “nuance” here: the Cyrillic alphabet is not supported in this search (yet?).

Overall, during testing Xperia U worked reliably for me. But there were also surprises. For example, system applications hanging in the background may begin to eat up battery power. And one day the smartphone produced a series of cyclic reboots. If something like this happens to you, call an exorcist, turn off the device and turn it on again. Helps.

Camera

IN Sony ST25i A 5-megapixel camera with a quick shooting function is installed. You can start it without even removing the lock, just by holding down the shoot button. The function does not work at lightning speed, but still faster than the traditional way.

The quality of pictures in automatic mode is mediocre and there are not enough stars in 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 pictures.

Interior photography in natural light.

But shooting video is frankly not fun. The declared HD is recorded at 29 frames per second, which is nominally quite good. But in practice, the picture turns out 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 the shooting yourself, enjoy the parade of young mothers in the historical part of Odessa.

There is a mode for taking photos and panoramas in 3D, as well as a special utility for viewing the resulting images on compatible devices. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of those on 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 need to turn the camera very slowly. You'll probably get it right the fifth time! Overall, it's more of a fun diversion than an actual tool.

Multimedia

I liked the sound in the headphones. It is detailed and pleasant to the ear. The sound frequencies are balanced, and the volume headroom is good enough to take your smartphone out onto a busy street. And, most importantly, all these sound components are successfully mixed together and form a kind of explosive musical mixture that can easily rock not only your headphones, but also you.

The native music player supports the Cyrillic alphabet, 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 servers, and in response you will receive an order: 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 the functionality of this option will improve in the future, as the idea itself is quite interesting.

It’s also worth talking about another cool idea from Sony - the Live Aware manager. It allows you to configure automatic launch of the programs you need when you connect a headset, headphones or charger. A very convenient thing that allows you to make working with the player automatic.

The video player is not particularly notable except for 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 you to look for something more interesting on Google Play. The same MX Player, for example.

Battery

Xperia U ST25i received a more than modest 1290 mAh battery. If you don’t skimp and push the device hard, 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.

Extremely budget-conscious users will be able to get even a day out of the device - if they 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 image field. It's beautiful, similar to Xperia U, a device with the same clear screen, albeit smaller. Yes, the Ray's processor is weaker, but the battery lasts a little longer. Plus, he already received Android 4.0, and Sony Xperia U will “suffer” for some time on 2.3.7. You can buy a Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray for 10-12 thousand rubles, so this option has a right to life. Especially in gentle female hands.

In terms of convenience Sony Xperia U you will have to fight tooth and nail with the youngest representative of the new HTC line. The One V smartphone boasts a more convenient and thoughtful shell, a fresh operating system, longer battery life, a larger screen and better video recording. Its processor, however, is much weaker, the sound in the headphones is worse, and the price is more expensive - about 14,000 rubles.

+/-

Advantages:

— Timescape shell and proprietary software

- Design

— Productive processor

— Camera quick launch function and hardware button for shooting

- Good sound in headphones

— An abundance of camera settings and the way they are organized

Flaws:

— Short battery life

- Low memory (about 5.7 GB for the user)

— Inconvenient touch buttons under the screen

— Old Android version

— Poor video recording quality

— Strange operation of the light sensor

Summary

Sony has come up with a beautiful and fast device, loaded to the brim with the same Sony-style that is capable of seriously and for a long time blowing the minds of its owners. But minor firmware flaws, a weak battery and a catastrophically small amount of memory still spoil the impression and are slightly sobering. It seems to me that the device is almost ideal for a girl who loves social media, music and appreciating beautiful gadgets. But the seasoned geek sighs, walks around this handsome guy, and chooses the Xperia Sola or HTC One V.

Technical specifications Sony Xperia U ST25i

Screen - quality and size
Quality of materials and workmanship
High performance
Face id

Weak 4G
Unstable communication level
No fast charging

An excellent smartphone in its price category. Screen with good color rendering, large battery capacity, high performance.

Video review of Vernee Thor

Fingerprint scanner
Fast 4G
Design
Price

Non-removable battery
Weak cameras
Gets very hot when playing games

A model for those who do not play top graphics games and are not a fan of selfies. The rest of the characteristics are excellent. Especially the performance of the device. And the display.

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	No
Sound	xLOUD Experience, Track ID
Communications	Wi-Fi, 3G
Connectors	MicroUSB, 3.5 mm
Camera	5 MP, autofocus, flash, HD video recording, BSI sensor

: The beautiful, inexpensive and stylish Sony Xperia U smartphone will be on sale soon. The new product is distinguished by its compact size, pleasant appearance and good functionality. Another player in the middle class, which is regularly replenished with models.

The latest solution from Sony is interesting both in its features and design. One body combines everything you could want from a compact smartphone: a 3.5-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording, a future update to Android 4.0 and, of course, a proprietary shell.

Contents of delivery

Smartphone

Stereo headset

High Power Charger

MicroUSB cable

3 replaceable covers

Design

Sony Xperia U is designed in the same style as the company's new devices. The body is angular, small in size, although quite plump. Dimensions 112x54x12 mm, weight 110 g. The smartphone fits well in the hand, fingers rest against the non-slip plastic of the straight side surfaces of the case.

The appearance of the smallest new smartphone reminds us of the company's flagship. It looks like a smaller copy, neat and tightly knit. There are two versions to choose from: black and white. Each of them comes with a set of multi-colored covers that are attached to the bottom of the case.

The idea with such replaceable caps is original. We usually find replacement panels that are replaced entirely. But in our case, everything is limited to only part of the body.

The attachment holds tightly and is removed with moderate effort, so you don’t have to suffer when you want to change the image of your smartphone.

It is completely made of one-color plastic, so there is no need to worry about it peeling off over time. There will be parts in different colors depending on the version. Black, pink, yellow for a white smartphone and white, pink, yellow for a black model.

Perhaps the most unusual feature of the Sony Xperia U will be the backlight built into the transparent layer. Everything works very interesting. Depending on what design is selected on the screen, this layer will also have the same color. It adapts to the wallpaper, album cover or picture in the gallery. There are many scenarios, as well as possible shades. For a youth model, this function is just right; it should immediately distinguish the smartphone from other models.

The front panel contains a light and proximity sensor and a front VGA camera. All of them are located at the top, above the screen.

A block of three touch buttons is located at the bottom. Here the keys are located not on the transparent line, but above it. The exact same idea is used in . They press well, without errors or false positives. On the transparent strip you can see symbols indicating the actions of the keys, but when the backlight is on, they are difficult to see. However, given the logical placement of the back, home and function buttons, there shouldn’t be any problems.

On the right you can see a set of convenient buttons. It includes a volume key, a screen lock button and a separate key to launch the camera.

On the left there is a microUSB port.

At the top end you can see a second microphone and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

At the bottom end there is a strap holder and a microphone.

The back panel is removable, underneath is the battery.

There is a hole in the cover for the camera lens, flash and speaker.

The standard large size SIM card compartment is located on the side.

Screen

The screen diagonal is 3.5 inches, the resolution is 480x854 pixels, and up to 16 million colors are displayed. The display is covered with tempered glass; it should serve as reliable protection against scratches and abrasions.

Just in case, all smartphones will be sold with the factory film attached. It is practically invisible; additional protection never hurts. Outdoors, the data on the display fades significantly in bright sunlight.

The Mobile Bravia Engine is turned on to increase the contrast and brightness of the image in various applications. For example, this may be relevant when viewing pictures in the gallery. The picture is bright, colors are vibrant, viewing angles are good. The display is superior in image quality to its predecessor, the Sony Ericcson Xperia Neo V; there is more brightness margin here.

Viewing angles and brightness margin are typical for a screen of this type. TFT does not have such maximum angles as SuperAMOLED, which is noticeable in the pictures.

Filling

The smartphone runs on the Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread operating system. There will subsequently be an update to version 4.0 in the second quarter of 2012. It uses a dual-core STE U8500 processor with a frequency of 1 GHz. There is 512 MB of RAM, as well as 8 GB of internal memory. It is not possible to install a memory card here; there is no connector. Of this memory array, about 4 GB is available for user data.

The smartphone works quickly, without delays.

Menu

At the top of the screen there is a service line, which displays the time, battery charge, and signal reception level indicator. Active connections and other data are also displayed there. By clicking on it, you can find out in more detail what programs were downloaded, what messages and letters were received, or what files were received via Bluetooth.

Both preinstalled images or wallpapers from Sony, as well as your favorite pictures, are used as design elements. There are seven different colored menu themes available. In addition, shortcuts and folders are placed on the desktop. For the latter, you can choose one of eight design options and assign it a name. Icons are added by dragging them from the phone menu directly into this area.

Of course, there are widgets here too, you can also add them to your desktop. There can be five such screens, their number does not change. An interesting function works: you can swipe with two fingers different angles, all desktops will shrink and appear on one screen. The widgets have been improved, for example, a large list of icons is available for making various connections, which is initially hidden in a small rectangle. Weather forecast data is animated and beautifully displayed.

There are 5 icons at the bottom of the screen. These are multimedia, messages, menu entry, contacts and dialing. If you click on media, an additional menu will pop up with those applications that are in this category.

The Application Manager is activated by the Home button. It displays 8 programs and in essence it is not a traditional task manager. As you know, Android closes applications on its own, based on the amount of free RAM.

The smartphone menu consists of several work zones, initially there are three. If you install additional applications, then over time there will be more such areas. There are 20 icons on the screen on a translucent background, under which you can see the wallpaper installed on the main screen. Icons can be arranged in a way that is convenient for the user. There is also sorting by several criteria: alphabetically, frequently used, recently installed. The icons are beautiful and neatly designed. The camera icon will remind you of the NEX series cameras, and the radios are Sony receivers.

When the screen is locked, the display shows the date and time. To unlock the screen, you need to swipe your finger along from left to right. If you do it the other way around, the silent mode is activated, as indicated by the additional icon. Can display here Additional Information about missed calls, new messages, emails, calendar events and Facebook notifications. If such notifications seem unnecessary, you can turn them off.

Phone book

The smartphone has a convenient assistant for importing contacts both from a SIM card and from Facebook and Google accounts; they are displayed in a single list. A backup copy of the list of numbers is created on a memory card; the data can later be restored. Sorting by first and last name works.

When you create a new contact, many fields are created. This Various types telephone numbers, email addresses, means of quick communication (AIM, ICQ, Gtalk, Skype and others), residential addresses and others (nickname, note, Internet call).

The smartphone has a list of letters of the alphabet located on the right side of the screen. If you press your finger on this line and move down or up, a letter will pop up on the screen - a kind of quick search, which helps in cases where the phone has several hundred, or even thousands of contacts. The search works by the first letters of the contact name for both language layouts.

There is a menu of favorite numbers where you can add the most popular contacts. A quick menu is available: you need to click on the icon with a contact photo, after which you can call, send a message via SMS or email, or view data on Facebook.

Call log

You can access the call log directly from the phone book; it is highlighted in a separate tab. There, a single list contains dialed numbers, received and missed calls; for clarity, they are marked with icons of different colors. By clicking on a line, you can delete a number from the call log, add it to a contact, or perform some other actions. If you select a number from the list, detailed information about the call will be displayed.

By viewing your call history, you can not only make phone conversation with the selected subscriber, but also send him an SMS or email from this list, without going to another menu. Dialing is carried out using a convenient virtual keyboard. There is an automatic search for numbers that match the numbers.

Messages

For SMS and MMS there is a common folder where received messages go. When sending, adding various objects to the SMS can automatically convert it into an MMS. Messages are grouped by recipient into a correspondence feed. When dialing a subscriber's number, the phone displays a list of matching numbers in alternating numbers.

While typing, a small field reserved for characters will be displayed. The longer the message, the more the space allocated for the character set increases. The device can copy, cut and paste text. A convenient cursor is used for navigation, which helps to correct typos and highlight the necessary sections of text. In addition, you can use arrow buttons.

Intellectual text input is available, when word correction and auto-completion systems help you type text, allowing you to avoid wasting time correcting errors. Possible options words are shown as a separate line above the keyboard. Copying and pasting of fragments is supported. Now Sony has implemented Swype, which simplifies text entry.

Email

To work with e-mail it starts automatic setting mailbox (if it is not Gmail, which connects immediately after the email address is entered during the initial activation of the phone). It includes entering basic information (login, password). The phone perfectly understands various encodings, supports loading attachments (you must insert a memory card, otherwise this function will not work) in familiar formats.

When creating a letter, you can also attach various files from the device memory to it. The function of copying text and automatically checking the mailbox works (the interval is set manually). The device simultaneously runs two applications – Gmail and E-mail. The only difference is that in the first, mail comes only from the gmail.com server, while the second application works with any mail storage.

You can create several accounts for email, and each of them has its own color. This is convenient because you can view mail for each mailbox separately, and display messages from all accounts in one. Sorting mail by date, subject, sender and size works.

Camera

The smartphone uses a 5-megapixel Sony Exmor R module with backlighting, autofocus and LED flash. To launch the camera, use a dedicated key on the side of the smartphone. By holding it down for a few seconds, the shooting mode starts; this can be done from any application; it is not necessary to go to the main menu. I liked the high launch speed of the camera, as well as the very fast saving of pictures.

The most original feature of the device is fast shooting. The smartphone can take a photo in just 1.5 seconds. You need to point the device at the target, hold down the shutter button, and in a moment a photo will be taken. It’s very convenient because you don’t need to unlock the device, wasting precious time. The main thing is to hold the button until the frame appears on the screen, otherwise you may shoot the wrong object.

The interface is designed not only for landscape, but also for portrait mode. The screen displays auxiliary icons that make it easier to set up photography modes and conditions. In the upper left corner there is a settings mode, at the bottom the flash is turned off. At the top right is a lever for switching between photos and videos, then there is a shutter button. Even lower is a stack of icons that show thumbnails of recent photos. If you click on it, you can go to the gallery.

Various options are available:

Image capture mode: normal, panorama, 3D panorama, multi-angle view, front camera.