The latest smartphone offering from Sony comes in the form of the Xperia tipo, an affordable Android handset for the smartphone-curious. The phone measures 103mm long and just 57mm wide and is easily held in one hand. Weighing just 99.4g, the Xperia tipo is very light and a ‘premium rubber’ casing which is easy to keep clean.
Its 3.2" screen is small, compared with other smartphones on the market, but works well for its size. The 3.2MP camera does take a clear picture but does not have a front-facing camera which is becoming standard in smartphones. The tipo runs on Android OS v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, has a 800MHz single core processor, 512Mb of RAM and 2.5Gb of internal storage with a microSD slot (which unfortunately cannot be accessed externally). Users can also set data limits for surfing, chatting or gaming online to control costs.
The ‘lock’ button on the top left can be difficult to access as it’s not raised up from the base of the phone itself. The locking mechanism is slow to react and takes a couple of seconds for the screen to light up/shut down. The USB port for charging and connecting it with a computer, along with the volume control are all standard.
The touch screen can be problematic and is not as sensitive as it should be. Several attempts may be needed before the user can access the app desired. This can be very time consuming and frustrating and is something Sony need to look at.
While it includes all the major features of a smartphone, it is not up to the level of other leaders in the market like Samsung Galaxy, iPhone or HTC, but holds its own in the budget smartphone category.
The Xperia tipo is available on both prepay and bill pay from €99.
Fiona Donnellan
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers