|
|
 |
|
|
Sony xperia ion review: punching above its weight class - China Color HDMI Cable by grehh hernjer
|
|
|
Sony xperia ion review: punching above its weight class - China Color HDMI Cable by GREHH HERNJER
|
|
| Article Posted: 08/26/2013 |
| Article Views: 68 |
| Articles Written: 1951 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
| Word Count: 1655 |
| Article Votes: 0 |
|
Sony xperia ion review: punching above its weight class - China Color HDMI Cable |
|
|
|
|
|
Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
|
|
Of course, all that would mean nothing if the photos didn t turnout well. Fortunately, colors were bright and vibrant, thoughperhaps to the point of being slightly over-saturated at times(more on that in a moment). Low-light performance wasn t tooshabby either, but the Ion s Exmor R sensor isn t a miracleworker there was still quite a bit of grain present in shotstaken in darker locales. C est la vie.
The Ion can also record 1080p video at 30fps, and results weregenerally passable — test recordings generally displayedplenty of detail, and additional features like image stabilizationand the ability to light up the LED flash came in quite handy. Theprocess isn't entirely flawless though, as the camera tendsto take a few extra moments getting into focus when you'reready to begin shooting and the image stabilization canoccasionally be hit or miss. Now, about that over-saturation issue I was talking about it snot entirely the camera s fault. It s worth noting that theimages look extra vivid on the device itself thanks in part toSony s use of their Mobile Bravia engine, and that their level ofvibrance will vary once you move those photos onto other devices.And speaking of which Display: Since the Ion is the first Sony smartphone I ve worked with in awhile, I wasn t quite sure what to expect from its 4.6-inch, 720pReality Display.
As such, seeing the bright, crisp display come tolife for the first time was actually a bit of a surprise sure,it lacks the deep blacks seen on AMOLED displays but the LCD panelSony s using is no slouch (especially since at 342 ppi it beatsthe Galaxy S III and the iPhone 4S at the pixel density game). Thedisplay s viewing angles are actually quite good, though preparefor the colors to wash out a bit the further you move away fromdead center. The screen s performance in daylight seemed respectable at best.Since Sony doesn t include an option to automatically set screenbrightness, you ll have to manage that yourself should you decideto venture into the outside world, and the screen tends to getoverwhelmed unless brightness is cranked up full blast. As I ve mentioned before, Sony s Mobile Bravia engine plays asignificant role in how images and video appear on that sizablescreen. With the Bravia option on (note: it s on by default)colors were vibrant and vivid to the point of being slightly luridat times this was especially apparent in one of my test videos , where the Xperia ion tended to make a stage lit mostly in bluetake on a notably purple cast.
It wasn t necessarily a bad change (I actually think it gave thevideo some cinematic flair), but not everyone may enjoy the effectsengine has. In addition to pumping up colors, the Bravia enginealso sharpens the image, leading to the double-edged sword ofslightly crisper images and video versus the potential annoyance ofseeing more jaggies. Occasionally nuclear colors aside, I thinkleaving the Bravia engine on is generally a plus; it adds a bit ofpop to the viewing experience, and it s simple enough to shut downif it gets to be too much. For a closer look at the difference, take a look at this image the left side is a screenshot of a photo I took with the BraviaEngine off, and the right is a screenshot of same image with theBravia Engine on (click to enlarge).
Performance: The Ion s spec sheet would ve been considered top-tier just lastyear, but my how times have changed since then. We ve sinceentered the age of the quad-core chipset (even though most of themdon t end up on U.S. soil), but the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3processor nestled inside the Ion's curved frame still hasplenty of game. The device seemed plenty responsive when put to theusual gamut of daily tasks swiping between menus was butterysmooth, as was pulling down the notification drawer and scrollingthrough my innumerable contacts. Similarly, I had no trouble at allwatching Top Gear reruns on Netflix or building obtuse structuresin Minecraft Pocket Edition.
If you want to break things down numerically, the Ion managed tosqueeze out an average Quadrant score of 2872, which roundly put toshame my trusty Galaxy Nexus (average: 1812). It s still a longways off from HTC's ostensibly mid-range One S (generallyaround 4-5000 depending on the circumstances), but the Ioncertainly has enough horsepower to be a daily driver for all butthe most demanding users. In terms of network performance, I m loath to admit that Icouldn t latch onto an LTE signal in my particular corner of NewJersey (a problem that I imagine isn t unique to me consideringAT&T s LTE network is only live in 41 cities), but I managedto pull down an average of 7.3 Mbps down and 1.3 Mbps up. Itdoesn't sound great, but the Ion actually performed slightlyahead of other AT&T devices — namely an iPhone 4S and anunlocked Galaxy Nexus — I tested alongside it.
Though one of the Xperia Ion s main draws is going to be thatnifty camera, Sony is positioning it as more than just a mediacreator it s also a media hub. As you might expect from acompany that launched the working group behind it, the Ion is DLNAcertified, and it was a snap to get it linked up with myDLNA-compatible LG smart television and media server. From there, Iwas able to fire up the included Connected Devices app and sling mymedia onto the big screen. Streaming videos from my media serverproved to be a breeze too, and it didn t take long before Plex wasserving up (dorky) content to the Ion. If you ve got a micro-HDMI-to-HDMI cable handy, you can alsoconnect the Ion directly to your television at which pointsomething very interesting happens.
Once the connection is inplace, the Xperia swaps its stock launcher for an upscaled versionmeant to be displayed on a television, allowing users to fire upapps and pore through media on the phone. Provided you've got an HDMI-CEC (or SIMPLINK, or Viera Link,or whatever) compatible television, you'll also be able tocontrol the Ion with your television remote. The ability to takeany compatible television and effectively turn it into a smarttelevision set certainly has its appeal, and while it'sgimmicky and it's fun, it's hardly the kind of thingI'd want to use for any extended period of time. When it comes to sound, the Ion is actually sort of a mixed bag.Call quality was generally very clear, but even with the volumecranked all the way up, I still had trouble hearing the person onthe other end of the line.
The same goes for the Ion s mainrear-mounted speaker — for a device that s so centeredaround media, you would think that Sony would have bothered to popa better speaker in the thing. Even at maximum volume (which,again, doesn t seem that loud) the speaker produces sound withmuddy middles and almost non-existent lows. I'll admit that Ican't be too surprised as it's relatively rare to getan unabashedly good speaker in a smartphone, but I was a taddisappointed nonetheless. Battery: For better or worse (I usually lean toward the latter), Sony hasopted to seal the Ion's 1900 mAh battery under that blackmetallic plate I'm so fond of. Though the road warriors amongyou may miss the ability to swap out spare batteries as needed, theIon does a fine job of chugging along throughout the day.
Since I started using the Ion as my go-to phone earlier this week,I've averaged about eight to nine hours of consistent useeach day — checking my email, firing off text messages,watching the same clip of a tap dancing Broadway starlet over andand over — you know, my usual routine. If you re not thesort to check your phone at every possible moment, you can expectto squeeze closer to 13 hours out of the thing before needing tojuice up again. If you're planning to binge on some video content though,expect that figure to plummet to roughly six hours, andthat's if you're mighty careful with all the rest ofyour settings. Head-To-Head With The HTC One S And iPhone 4S: Conclusion: For all of the Ion s foibles (and there are quite a few), there sstill plenty to like here. The Xperia Ion definitely leans to themore premium end of the mid-range spectrum, and it tries valiantlyto punch above its weight with features like its solid camera,media functionality, and great display.
Its price tag too makes apretty compelling statement there are far worse things you couldget for $99. Ah, but the real question is whether or not it s worth your money.I was originally going to say that if you re in the position whereyou really can t justify spending an extra $100 on atop-of-the-line smartphone, then the Ion will do in a pinch. Nowthat I ve thought about it a bit more, that s selling the Ion abit short. Despite how harsh I may have been with some of my comments, Ireally do think the Ion is a good phone. The problem here is thatlike with many mid-range phones, the Ion straddles that very fineline between "good" and "great," and itdoesn t seem to have quite enough oomph to push it over the edge.
Strangely enough, this may well changedown the line — with a few minor tweaks and perhaps a helpingof Ice Cream Sandwich, the Xperia Ion may eventually grow to becomea must-buy, but it's not quite there yet.
I'm a professional writer from China Color HDMI Cable, it offers large excellent products about China Color HDMI Cable, and many more. Please don't hesitate to click it !
We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Color HDMI Cable , TV Scart Cable for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Color HDMI Cable.
Related Articles -
China Color HDMI Cable, TV Scart Cable,
|
Rate This Article  |
|
|
|
|
|
Do you Agree or Disagree? Have a Comment? POST IT!
| Reader Opinions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author Login |
|
|
 |
Advertiser Login
ADVERTISE HERE NOW!
Limited Time $60 Offer!
90 Days-1.5 Million Views
|
|
TIM FAY
After 60-plus years of living, I am just trying to pass down some of the information that I have lea...more
|
|
|
|
|
LAURA JEEVES
At LeadGenerators, we specialise in content-led Online Marketing Strategies for our clients in the t...more
|
|
|
|
|
ALEX BELSEY
I am the editor of QUAY Magazine, a B2B publication based in the South West of the UK. I am also the...more
|
|
|
|
|
GENE MYERS
Author of four books and two screenplays; frequent magazine contributor. I have four other books "in...more
|
|
|
|
|
SUSAN FRIESEN
Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, ...more
|
|
|
|
|
STEPHEN BYE
Steve Bye is currently a fiction writer, who published his first novel, ‘Looking Forward Through the...more
|
|
|
|
|
SHALINI MITTAL
A postgraduate in Fashion Technology. Shalini is a writer at heart! Writing for her is an expression...more
|
|
|
|
|
ADRIAN JOELE
I have been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 12 years and I like to share my kn...more
|
|
|
|
|
JAMES KENNY
James is a Research Enthusiast that focuses on the understanding of how things work and can be impro...more
|
|
|
|
