Bought it for my wife, was very pleased with the phone.hardware keyboard & android experience & AT&T 3G these were a must criteria narrowed down to Motorola milestone 2 / desire Z / xperia pro
milestone 2 rejected as available in US only with Verizon as droid 2 (CDMA)
desire z not available in amazon , available in eBay costly for what it offers and z-hinge sounds terrible (in fact ordered one and then cancelled it)
The Xperia UI is very polished, and doesn't necessarily need to be replaced by stock android AOSP or CM7(CyanogenMod 7). No green android figures here, UI is aesthetically very mature, good for business environment. Looks like Sony borrowed UI elements from CM7. (Update: Lockscreen has limited options, cannot launch apps unlike Sense 3.0 and cannot control default music player from lock screen possible to control music player from lock screen for replacement music apps like 'Cubed')
The keyboard has a nice feel to it the space between the qwerty keys is adequate with just the right amount of travel (press feedback).(Update: Hardware keypad is backlit which switches off even if open after some time of inactivity to save battery)
the body is plastic which Sony rates as scratch resistant, but its a 'fingerprint magnet'; screen is good.
One very nice thing hardware buttons in the front which is gradually disappearing from all touchscreen models. So it helps when you got water on your fingers.
the 'contacts' app list supports full integration with Facebook. overall nicely done. Default number option for a contact is not present.
The battery should be good for an android device(1500 mAh), i have not tested it fully yet. looks like it should hold up full charge for 35-45 hours or so. showing 76% left after 11hours of heavy use (lots of calls mostly, surfing on WiFi if required) have to test on weekday for realistic figures. (Update: My office desk is at basement so VERY poor reception, the battery lasted about 33 hours with heavy usage)
Performance is good, could work with GPS (Google navigation) while playing music. Office editor , virus scanner, pre-installed. Swype can be installed and works just fine. (Update: Quadrant Score of 1447)
Loudspeaker is good (loud too). Music (Sound reproduction) is quite good. (Update: Music player has some limitations (like no repeat option or may be i could not find it; can be replaced by any other android music app)
(Update: StorageComes wth 8GB Class 2 MicroSD card)
Skype has the potential to utilize video calls it starts up but closes when Skype detects that device is not officially supported (i guess software restriction) front camera resolution is ok.
Primary Camera tested only in low light its good day photos should be better, (8MP, HD video).
Curious thing Headset provided looks like Sony proprietary. It did not support my other Phone's headset (Palm Pre)
Customization Supports custom ringtones. did not root it yet (as the phone's for wife).
Rest all features are android standard, android version Gingerbread 2.3.3.
Apps suggested to make the phone complete Extended Controls, QQPlayer, Root Explorer, Swype, Lookout, Dolphin Browser, EasyTube, Skype etc.
Did not test DLNA, only some of the Sony bloatwares can be uninstalled.
Overall verdict -
'must buy' if need unlocked, no contract, android with hardware keyboard with AT&T 3G frequencies. T mobile patrons should go for G2.
Call quality is good, especially the speaker phone, use that feature all the time.
Apps load very fast.
Battery life goes fast if you stream video but that seems to be the case with all Android phones.
I installed Advanced Task Killer and end any applications that I am not using. This has helped tremendously with the battery life. I usually will have 50% left when I plug it in after a normal work day.
Qwerty keyboard is very nice, camera takes good pictures and videos.
This phone does not come with a screen protector so I would recommend buying one with it. I used my phone without a screen protector for the first two weeks and could see faint scratches starting to form.WARNING: If you need to use tethering on this phone (MK16a) don't update the phone to ICS (4.0.x) because it won't work. It seems that there is something wrong with the update for the 2011 Xperia "a" models and tethering doesn't work in any way (USB, WI-FI or Bluetooth).
Having said that... Currently I love this phone becouse the QWERTY keyboard and because the speed with Gingerbread 2.3.4. With ICS the phone ran very slow even when I rooted the phone and used Titanium Backup to remove some of the sofware that came with the phone (e.g. Let's Golf).
Because of the tethering issue on ICS I decided downgrade to Gingerbread 2.3.4, and found that the 4.0.2.A.0.42 build have an exploit that makes it possible root the phone with that version.
Now the phone is running like a charm, very fast and all is working fine.
The screen of this phone isn't as good as the Samsung's but it's ok.
Other thing that I realized is that it doesn't have sensor light to automatically adjust the screen brightness.
Overall this phone in good hands is an amazing phone for less than $300.I promised myself that I would wait until Sony Ericsson came up with a better cell phone than my C702. Until recently, no cell phone had made me drop my C702. Don't get me wrong, I loved my C702; however, I needed a cell phone that was able to get a 3G or faster Internet connection. Enter the Xperia pro! I fell in love with it at first sight! I knew that this was the phone that would satisfy my needs. The phone is aesthetically beautiful and extremely versatile! I love the HDMI connectivity to my Sony Bravia HDTV! I also love the HD camera and the 8.1 mp still camera! I also love the fact that I can connect to the Internet via my Xperia pro wherever and whenever WiFi is not available! I can even create my own Internet hotspot from my Xperia pro! Wow! The QWERTY keyboard is super easy and comfortable to operate! Oh! I almost forgot the voice-operated search using Google! And, if you have the right Bluetooth headset, you can press the earpiece and activate the voice command to call anybody on your contacts list without holding the phone! I can just go on and on! One thing that I hate, though, is the fact that Sony Ericsson does not have a case for it! I have had to settle for inferior-quality products. I will keep checking, though! Overall, the Xperia pro gets my "Two thumbs up!" rating!I LOVE THIS PHONE.
Product was as ordered. I have no complaints.The graphics are AWesome, the 32gb micro I bought was just what it needed even though it came with an 8gb.
OMG... The camera is off the hook, the audio is greaaaatttt.
The front facing camera is okay but whatever. SONY ROCKS
0 comments:
Post a Comment