The Sony Xperia Tipo is the latest
addition to the Xperia smartphone range, and it’s undoubtedly the baby of the
family. It comes in at around $150, with an 800MHz single-core processor, 512MB
of RAM, 2.5GB of storage, 3.2MP camera and a 3.2-inch 320 x 480 display.
Price: $160
Website: www.amazon.com
Ratings: 3/5
Sony
Xperia Tipo
It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich,
which in terms of specifications is the standout feature. While its specs are
mostly the same as its competitors or slightly weaker in some cases - it is one
of very few handsets at around this price that runs Android 4.0.
The first thing that hits you with the Sony
Xperia Tipo is just how chunky it is, at 13mm thick. Conversely, its height of
103mm and width of 57mm are both on the small side, as you’d expect from a
low-end phone.
The build quality isn’t bad, though at
99.4g it’s pretty lightweight. Rather than sporting a plastic back like most of
its rivals, the Sony Xperia Tipo comes with a premium rubber coating on the
battery cover. This is designed to wipe clean with a wet cloth, keeping your
phone looking new.
Android 4.0 works reasonably well on the
Sony Xperia Tipo, is well laid out and looks good. Anyone coming from another
Android handset will be right at home, but even those new to the OS should be
able to pick it up quickly.
Android
4.0 works reasonably well on the Sony Xperia Tipo, is well laid out and looks
good.
Scrolling between home screens is glitch less,
and operating the phone in general is smooth and responsive. Android 4.0 isn’t
quite the joy it is on some handsets, though. This is mostly down to the small
screen size, leading home screens to feel cramped - particularly when widgets
are added to the equation.
Given the limited 2.5GB of internal storage
in the Sony Xperia Tipo, you might think that media wasn’t a big priority for
it - and you’d be right.
More to store
Obviously the storage is expandable, but
that requires an additional investment, and even then this is unlikely to be
your media player of choice.
The tiny low-resolution screen is useless
for watching videos on, and while photos look OK on it, they lack the crispness
and depth of color that higher-end phones display.
Sony states the battery can manage up to
five hours’ talk time, 30 hours of music, three hours of video and a whopping
470 hours of standby. With light use (about 90 minutes of talk time, 45 minutes
of web browsing, sending a few texts and Wi-Fi always on), the battery was
still at 17 per cent after 30 hours. Heavier use drained it a lot faster, but
we think most users could easily get a day of use out of it before it needs a
charge.
We were fairly impressed with the Sony
Xperia Tipo. Barring the occasional judder, you wouldn’t know it had such
modest specs. It’s responsive, has solid battery life, and is one of the only
low-end handsets running Android 4.0. However, its screen is uncomfortably
small for typing, it’s also poor for videos, and the contacts and messaging
side of things could use work.
No
room: The lack of internal storage is a distinct drawback
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Pros
·
Cheap
·
Runs Ice Cream Sandwich
·
Good battery life
Cons
·
Chunky
·
Small low-res screen
·
Poor contacts and messaging
Dimensions
·
Height: 103mm
·
Width: 57mm
·
Depth: 13mm
·
Screen size: 3.2-inch
·
Weight: 99.4g
Specification
·
Supplier: www.amazon.com
·
OS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
·
Processor: Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800MHz
·
RAM: 512MB
·
Storage: 2.5GB
·
Expansion: microSD
·
Rear camera: 3.2MP
·
Front camera: None
·
Screen type: TFT
·
Screen resolution: 480x320
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