Smartphone review Sony Xperia E5. Nice and inexpensive
Following the Xperia X series, Sony introduced a new budget smartphone - Xperia E5. It is made in a compact plastic case, built on a MediaTek quad-core processor and is sold for incredibly modest (by Sony standards) money. We thoroughly tested this device and will try to talk about it without typical shortcuts like “phone for a student” or “anti-crisis gadget on Android”.
Sony Xperia E5, as the name implies, continues the budget series E. However, it is not very similar to the previous Xperia E3 and Xperia E1. You could even say that it is more like the recent the Xperia the X . E5 is available in two colors - black and white. The front panel is completely covered with glass, so it is glossy, and the side faces and the rear panel are matte, velvety to the touch.
There are exactly three buttons on the right side: two are responsible for adjusting the volume, and the third is the power and lock keys. These controls are in their usual places, namely in the upper third of the hull. In other devices, Sony experimented a little with the layout of the buttons (for example, in the Xperia X and X Performance the volume rocker was at the bottom right), but the Xperia E5 is more traditional in this regard.
On the left side there is a plug under which there are connectors for a nanoSIM SIM card and a microSD memory card. The top end contains only a mini-jack for connecting headphones or a headset, and on the bottom there is a microUSB port for connecting a charger and a data cable.
The screen is five-inch, IPS matrix, resolution - 1280x720. The density of points, at first glance, is not high - only 294 ppi. However, in practice, individual pixels are not visible to the naked eye. The display is as comfortable in operation as in the case of the Sony Xperia XA . Note the high brightness and contrast - the screen allows you to read the text in clear sunny weather.
The plastic case made it possible to make the smartphone quite lightweight - it weighs only 147 g. Often, budget devices are not assembled in the best way, increased gaps between the components, noticeable backlashes and creaks when squeezing are not rare. In the case of the Xperia E5, none of these problems manifests itself - the panels fit snugly, there are no movements, and when trying to squeeze and twist the smartphone does not make any sounds.
The main camera uses a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor and a high-aperture lens - F2.0. The characteristics can hardly be called advanced, but the shooting quality was surprisingly high for a budget smartphone. And although the Xperia E5 focuses more slowly than the top-end smartphones with 23-megapixel cameras, the output picture is sharp and contrasting - take a look for yourself.
The front camera is enough to take a self portrait in daylight or talk on skype. The picture quality is quite decent for five megapixels.
It seems that smartphones with single-core processors are irrevocably a thing of the past. Now multi-core processors are also in budget models, including the Sony Xperia E5. The device is based on a MediaTek 6735 processor with four cores and a frequency of 1.3 GHz. The ARM Mali-T720 chip is responsible for the graphics. The amount of RAM is one and a half gigabytes. There is 16 GB of internal memory, about ten are available to the user plus there is a microSD slot that supports cards up to 256 GB. And, of course, the smartphone is equipped with all the necessary wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.1 with support for aptX, Wi-Fi (802.11a / b / g / n /), NFC. In addition, it supports LTE, which fully works in all networks of Russian operators.
In benchmarks, the results were not bad for a budget model. 30 thousand smartphone typed in AnTuTu, 538/1435 in Geekbench 3 for tests on one / several cores. Of course, the flagship handsets show more impressive results, but if you evaluate the performance in typical applications and the reaction speed of the interface, then Xperia E5 does not allow itself any delays or slowdowns.
The battery capacity is 2300 mAh, it provides about two days of operation when used with the power saving mode turned on. Or a full day of active work with music, occasional video views and social networking. The PCMark test showed a result of five and a half hours, but in it the smartphone was tested in very merciless mode - with a high display brightness and active wireless connections.
Xperia E5 immediately comes with the latest version of Android - 6.0 Marshmallow. The system gets along well with the hardware of a smartphone, a quad-core processor and 1.5 GB of RAM is enough for Android to work quickly. Customization of OS from Google, of course, at the highest level. You can customize anything and anything: different themes, changing the appearance of desktops, moving out widgets and adjusting their sizes. In short, if you like to poke around in the settings, the possibilities of individualizing Marshmallow will definitely please you.
During standard use, with frequent switching between instant messengers, VKontakte and Facebook applications, surfing the Internet, the Xperia E5 did not show signs of “fatigue”: it briskly launched new applications without delays. In heavy games, everything is also pretty good - World of Tanks Blitz significantly warms the smartphone, but overall it goes without problems.
Sony branded applications are immediately installed on the Xperia E5: for example, PlayStation. You can use the phone as a remote control, as well as remotely start downloading from the digital store to the set-top box. This is convenient when, for example, you are sitting at work, and the console is in standby mode. We bought goods via a smartphone, and by your return home the game is ready to launch.
In general, the budget smartphone from Sony is quite capable of pleasantly surprising. If you need a working device with a good built-in camera and the current version of the operating system for little money, then the Xperia E5 will be a very good option. Especially for those who are used to dealing with branded things, and not with Chinese noname-crafts.
Design and appearance
Sony Xperia E5, as the name implies, continues the budget series E. However, it is not very similar to the previous Xperia E3 and Xperia E1. You could even say that it is more like the recent the Xperia the X . E5 is available in two colors - black and white. The front panel is completely covered with glass, so it is glossy, and the side faces and the rear panel are matte, velvety to the touch.
There are exactly three buttons on the right side: two are responsible for adjusting the volume, and the third is the power and lock keys. These controls are in their usual places, namely in the upper third of the hull. In other devices, Sony experimented a little with the layout of the buttons (for example, in the Xperia X and X Performance the volume rocker was at the bottom right), but the Xperia E5 is more traditional in this regard.
On the left side there is a plug under which there are connectors for a nanoSIM SIM card and a microSD memory card. The top end contains only a mini-jack for connecting headphones or a headset, and on the bottom there is a microUSB port for connecting a charger and a data cable.
The screen is five-inch, IPS matrix, resolution - 1280x720. The density of points, at first glance, is not high - only 294 ppi. However, in practice, individual pixels are not visible to the naked eye. The display is as comfortable in operation as in the case of the Sony Xperia XA . Note the high brightness and contrast - the screen allows you to read the text in clear sunny weather.
The plastic case made it possible to make the smartphone quite lightweight - it weighs only 147 g. Often, budget devices are not assembled in the best way, increased gaps between the components, noticeable backlashes and creaks when squeezing are not rare. In the case of the Xperia E5, none of these problems manifests itself - the panels fit snugly, there are no movements, and when trying to squeeze and twist the smartphone does not make any sounds.
Camera
The main camera uses a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor and a high-aperture lens - F2.0. The characteristics can hardly be called advanced, but the shooting quality was surprisingly high for a budget smartphone. And although the Xperia E5 focuses more slowly than the top-end smartphones with 23-megapixel cameras, the output picture is sharp and contrasting - take a look for yourself.
The front camera is enough to take a self portrait in daylight or talk on skype. The picture quality is quite decent for five megapixels.
Iron and battery
It seems that smartphones with single-core processors are irrevocably a thing of the past. Now multi-core processors are also in budget models, including the Sony Xperia E5. The device is based on a MediaTek 6735 processor with four cores and a frequency of 1.3 GHz. The ARM Mali-T720 chip is responsible for the graphics. The amount of RAM is one and a half gigabytes. There is 16 GB of internal memory, about ten are available to the user plus there is a microSD slot that supports cards up to 256 GB. And, of course, the smartphone is equipped with all the necessary wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.1 with support for aptX, Wi-Fi (802.11a / b / g / n /), NFC. In addition, it supports LTE, which fully works in all networks of Russian operators.
In benchmarks, the results were not bad for a budget model. 30 thousand smartphone typed in AnTuTu, 538/1435 in Geekbench 3 for tests on one / several cores. Of course, the flagship handsets show more impressive results, but if you evaluate the performance in typical applications and the reaction speed of the interface, then Xperia E5 does not allow itself any delays or slowdowns.
The battery capacity is 2300 mAh, it provides about two days of operation when used with the power saving mode turned on. Or a full day of active work with music, occasional video views and social networking. The PCMark test showed a result of five and a half hours, but in it the smartphone was tested in very merciless mode - with a high display brightness and active wireless connections.
operating system
Xperia E5 immediately comes with the latest version of Android - 6.0 Marshmallow. The system gets along well with the hardware of a smartphone, a quad-core processor and 1.5 GB of RAM is enough for Android to work quickly. Customization of OS from Google, of course, at the highest level. You can customize anything and anything: different themes, changing the appearance of desktops, moving out widgets and adjusting their sizes. In short, if you like to poke around in the settings, the possibilities of individualizing Marshmallow will definitely please you.
During standard use, with frequent switching between instant messengers, VKontakte and Facebook applications, surfing the Internet, the Xperia E5 did not show signs of “fatigue”: it briskly launched new applications without delays. In heavy games, everything is also pretty good - World of Tanks Blitz significantly warms the smartphone, but overall it goes without problems.
Sony branded applications are immediately installed on the Xperia E5: for example, PlayStation. You can use the phone as a remote control, as well as remotely start downloading from the digital store to the set-top box. This is convenient when, for example, you are sitting at work, and the console is in standby mode. We bought goods via a smartphone, and by your return home the game is ready to launch.
conclusions
In general, the budget smartphone from Sony is quite capable of pleasantly surprising. If you need a working device with a good built-in camera and the current version of the operating system for little money, then the Xperia E5 will be a very good option. Especially for those who are used to dealing with branded things, and not with Chinese noname-crafts.
Main technical characteristics of Sony Xperia E5
Display diagonal : 5 inches
Display resolution : HD (1280x720 pixels, density ~ 294 ppi)
Chipset : Mediatek MT6735 (4 cores at 1.3 GHz)
Memory : 1.53 GB operational, 16 GB non-volatile, microSD card slot up to 256 GB
Main camera : 13 megapixels, autofocus, video recording in Full HD resolution
Front camera : 5 megapixels with wide-angle and high-aperture optics
Battery : Li-ion, 2300 mAh, non-removable
SIM card format : nano-SIM
Operating system version : Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Dimensions and weight : 144x69x8.2 mm; 147 g
Price in Russia : 13 990 rubles