Sony Xperia go review

Sony continues to develop successful ideas embedded in niche models of past years. The new Sony Xperia go - a compact phone with a waterproof housing replaced the familiar Sony Ericsson Xperia active , Sony's first secure Android smartphone. The model is already sold in Russia, and it is time to tell you a little more in detail about what Sony has prepared for its customers.

Design

Immediately striking is the reversal of the concept of an unsinkable compact smartphone by 180 degrees: the niche Xperia active has been replaced by the all-civil Xperia go. The highest level of phone protection remained unchanged, but the image completely changed: if the Xperia active was bright (black-orange or black-and-white), with a catchy detail in the form of a powerful connector like a towing eye, for attaching a strap, then the Xperia go is modest and nothing gives out his superpowers. Like James Bond, who has not yet had time to drink vodka with martini.


Traditional photo with a matchbox

Ergonomics

The most noticeable feature of Go ergonomics is the lack of a camera key. The reasons are clear: fewer buttons - fewer slots through which water and sand can penetrate the inside of the case. But still unusual.

A camera key on the lock screen should be a replacement for it. This and the fast capture mode fast capture in total give a fairly quick launch of the camera even without a button.



The lack of a camera button made us complain about the location of the power button (which is also a screen lock) on the upper end of the case.



The traditional solution becomes not very convenient when you try to take a quick shot: reflexively turning the phone to the "landscape" position, you find that you have to unlock the screen with your little finger - or rotate the phone again, losing precious seconds. It is no coincidence that the camera button is always located on the side - so it is in the most convenient place when taking pictures. The power button on the right side, like on the Xperia P, for example, would save the situation, but alas ... Go owners will have to develop a habit: first unlocked the screen, then turned the phone. Or shoot in a "portrait" orientation.

The display of the smartphone seems to be raised above the front surface of Go, which forms a smooth ledge under its lower part. This relief not only forms the recognizable appearance of Sony Xperia, but also allows you to conveniently place your thumb there in the usual position - without the risk of accidentally pressing one of the three touch keys located just above.



It resembles the ideology of human curvature (human-like bends), suggesting the sharpened design under human hands.

There, below, there is a microphone.



The volume rocker is usually located in the right place.



There are only two connectors left, the most necessary - microUSB and headphones. Both are closed with tight plugs, which, however, are easily picked out with a fingernail at the edges.





When you remove the headphone or USB cable from the connector, a warning appears on the phone screen about the need to close the plugs back - otherwise, they say, there is no waterproofness to you.



The care is pleasant, but superfluous - the dangles hanging on an elastic band are not aesthetically pleasing, and frightening - but how come off. Therefore, Go owners are unlikely to forget to put them in their place. And the on-screen warning can be turned off.

Despite the fact that the model belongs to the category of compact ones, it cannot be called small. The dimensions of the device are 111 x 60.3 x 9.8 mm - in the breast pocket of a jacket or shirt, it fits just fine, but it is confident in the hand. 3.5 - 3.7 "is probably the ideal size in terms of convenience for palms of any size.

Protection

Dipping such beauty under water was not just a pity - scary. Theoretically, the information I know about the high level of moisture and dust protection of the information warmed my soul a little - nevertheless, compared to the plastic bright orange Xperia active, the Xperia go looks like an Oscar nominee next to a hunter in full gear - well, where is he, in a tuxedo, in the swamps. In addition, on a trip, Xperia go served as a hot spot, distributing Wi-Fi to my other mobile devices - if that happened, I would have been left without the Internet. However, everything went like clockwork: the test "put the phone in water and call him" the device went with a bang. In total, Go lay in the water for about five minutes, receiving calls and continuing to distribute wi-fi! Theoretically, he could lie there for half an hour, but I did not take the risk of checking this. As they say, they themselves sink uranium scrap in mercury.



Sony Xperia active is protected by IP67 ( Ingress Protection Rating 67 ). This means the maximum (sixth) level of protection against dust:

some dust may enter, however, this does not interfere with the operation of the device. Complete contact protection

- and a high (seventh of eight) level of moisture resistance:

during short-term immersion, water does not enter in quantities that interfere with the operation of the device. Permanent work in submerged mode is not expected.

By the way, during this test, the utilitarian essence of the material of the Xperia go case appeared - being wet, it does not slip at all in the hands. You can take it to the sea without fear of drowning by accident to the joy of the archaeologists of the future. This is a good solution compared to the same Xperia active, the smooth plastic of which was much more slippery. It dries too quickly.



In the comments to the post, they gave a link to a wonderful video that demonstrates not only water resistance, but also the impact resistance of Xperia go. I think this is extreme from the category of “you can do it at home” - unless, of course, you have Xperia go, and not an ordinary smartphone:

Insides

After water procedures - it's time to look from the inside, as they affected the phone.

The cover is removed with a recess in the lower right corner of the housing. It is easy to notice, because the armor of the smartphone “shines through” it in turquoise color. Having picked up the lid, we pick it up around the perimeter and remove it.



Inside the water - like on the Xperia active, the main protection is carried out by the internal armor - on Go it is all bright turquoise. Handsomely. So for whether the lid fits snugly against the body, you don’t have to worry; it doesn’t solve anything here.



So what do we see inside?

The most important thing here is the location of the SIM card. It is installed in a special removable tray, which is already inserted into the corresponding connector, covering it tightly. The SIM card on Xperia go uses a standard one.





The microSD card slot closes differently using a rubber plug. Engraved on the body of the circuit will not allow to confuse the location of the cards during installation.



The connector for removing the cover turns out to be the “ear” for the strap - an elegant solution that allows you to save on extra holes. And convenient - as you can see in the photo, you don’t have to worry about sticking the strap, the method of fastening it here is the most convenient of all - and reliable, at the same time. Yes, this is definitely a more elegant and successful solution than it was.



The phone’s speaker is covered with a film:



From an interesting point, the rubber plug of the headphones is completely bent, you can tear it out and insert it back if you wish. But not necessary.



Some parts are covered with pieces of soft plastic, such as electrical tape, which I did not dare to tear off - I still have to use it later.

Hard

On board the Xperia go is a dual-core 1 GHz processor, a 5 MP camera with the ability to shoot 3D panoramas and just panoramas, and 720p video.



The battery capacity has grown compared to the Xperia active - 1305 mAh versus 1200. The results of the battery test show that it was not in vain:



I think there is no need to explain how large the battery is for the phone, which is positioned as an apparatus for an active lifestyle. In addition to the increased battery capacity, to increase the work on a single charge, energy consumption optimization also works: for example, a display that has increased to 3.5 "has a resolution of the same 480x320 pixels, which is also a plus of efficiency.

Moreover, to say that this is not enough is impossible. You can probably find fault with the pixelization of the image - the ability to see the pixels has already become considered a drawback. However, in everyday use it is imperceptible, much more important is the amount of content that breaks onto the screen. In this sense, everything is OK: one desktop holds 16 application shortcuts, or, for example, 5 large widgets:



In the browser, pixelation flaws are felt more clearly: for example, on the Yandex main page it is clear that it’s rather difficult to read news headlines in its standard form, you need resize:





Whether this is an acceptable sacrifice in the name of saving is up to you. In general, at the household level, Sony Xperia did not feel any damage compared to full-size models - there is no contrast that was when, for example, I picked up the old 2010 Xperia mini after the Xperia X10.

A dark spot in the Xperia go biography - problems with network loss, which owners of some devices complained about - already in the past, they were solved by the firmware released on August 2.

Software

Xperia go was charged with Android version 2.3.7, and belief in an early update to Ice
Cream Sandwich:



A separate folder on the desktop contains widgets for all the special applications that go with Go:



- compass, flashlight, pedometer, personal miCoach trainer and curly app FigureRunning runs.

The first two are generally familiar from the reviews on this blog, and are generally well known and often found. Unless the compass was amused - with its demand to write out the “eight” with the phone in the air to calibrate the settings. It’s funny, I probably looked from the side when I made passes with my hands with a concentrated view on the street - from the side of the phone, I guess I couldn’t see :)



MiCoach's Adidas-branded app is an electronic personal trainer who will help you develop a workout program and give you valuable guidance along the way. The application is fully localized - there is a Russian version in the list of languages. Choose a training program, set up voice prompts, choose a male or female voice will push you and start - and forward, to a healthy lifestyle.



The FigureRunning app offers you to turn your jogging routes into drawings on a map of the area. There is a game element - the new colors of the pencils open gradually, and the social element is the ability to follow friends' successes. The application website has examples of such drawings:



- but you can come up with something even better than the Statue of Liberty.

Equipment

Sony Xperia go comes in a branded cardboard box-case. The packaging of go is made in turquoise, in the color of the insides, in tones. Inside, in addition to standard headphones and an adapter for microUSB, I, along with a plug for discharging from the network, I found only an adapter from microSIM to a standard sym-size.



However, there is a special Xperia go package, called the Xperia go sports edition, which includes:

• Sony Xperia go smartphone (yellow)
• Sports arm case
• Sports lanyard
• Special headset mounts
• Wired stereo headset
• Charger unit
• USB cable for data transfer and charging.

My copy, as you probably already guessed, was black, butThe manufacturer promises more white and yellow body colors . White in the photo looks nice, and it remains only to regret that he did not fall into my hands. I hope he is not very easily soiled. Well, yellow Go is for those who miss the good old bright Xperia active.



By the way, according to the color perception research that I read once, yellow is the most catchy - more noticeable even than the same orange.

Specifications

Let us summarize the facts and figures scattered throughout the text in one place and see what happens:

• Dimensions: 111 x 60.3 x 9.8 mm
• Weight: 110g
• Screen: 3.5 ”480x320 Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine technology for better image quality
• 5MP camera with fast shooting technology (1.5 seconds from a locked state)
• Scratch resistant mineral glass with wet finger technology
• the highest level of dust and moisture protection for a smartphone - IP67
• Dual core 1GHz processor
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on board with the upcoming upgrade to 4.0 (Ice
• Cream Sandwich)
• Battery 1305 mAh
• Black, white and yellow body colors

Summary

Compact size
Moisture protection
Increased battery size

High pixelation of the picture
No camera button

The device is already being sold at a price of ~ 13 thousand rubles .