The smartphone was announced a couple of years ago and immediately attracted the attention of ordinary fans of Sony gadgets. Immediately it is worth noting that this is not a flagship device with support for Full HD-sweep like the Z and ZL lines, so the model fit into the segment of budget devices worth up to 10 thousand rubles.
Looking at the main characteristics of the Sony C5303 phone , we can say that it is intended to replace the NXT-series devices, that is, the Xperia of the S and P versions. One of the most remarkable features of these series by which they are easily recognizable is the polycarbonate inserts at the bottom parts of devices. Here it is designed much nicer and does not divide the gadget into two parts, as it was implemented in the previous generation.
So, the subject of today's review is the Sony Xperia C5303 smartphone. Characteristics of the model, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the appropriateness of the purchase will be considered in our article. We also take into account the opinions of experts in this field and the reviews of ordinary users.
Equipment
The device comes in a nice and massive box made of thick cardboard in a brand-specific design - black on white. Unlike competing counterparts, the gadget is packaged in a square rather than a rectangular box. The company was clearly not worried about the ergonomics of the interior, therefore, each accessory has a separate place without regard to the floor layout.
The front part shows the device itself in full view, and on the back you can see the most remarkable characteristics of the Sony SP C5303 in the form of a small specification. The ends are habitually reserved for distribution surroundings - labels, barcodes and stickers.
Contents of delivery:
- smartphone "Sony C5303";
- specifications, specifications and other information in one big book;
- mains charger ;
- a cord for recharging and synchronizing with a PC;
- headset.
Options can be called familiar for this segment. There are no covers, films and other additional accessories here, but it’s for the better. Users in their reviews of previous generations of Sony smartphones have repeatedly complained about a plain-looking pouch, now too thick a film, or a plain stylus.
Therefore, the company decided to shift the burden of choosing accessories to the shoulders of users and at the same time reduced the price of a good couple of thousand rubles, which is very important for the domestic consumer. Separately, it is worth noting the very high-quality headphones in the package. They fully reveal the musical qualities and characteristics of the Sony Xperia SP C5303. Users leave completely positive reviews about them and are not limited to using a headset only with a phone.
Appearance
Compared with previous generations of gadgets, the design characteristics of the Sony SP C5303 can be called unusual. Here glass and plastic parts are chained with an aluminum rim, which is laid around the entire perimeter. Users leave mixed reviews about this decision.
On the one hand, yes, such an exterior looks unusual and fresh, but on the other hand, deliberately thickened edges, coupled with sharp polished edges, add massiveness to it. And in the era of all kinds of "ultra", including thickness, this is not the most attractive solution for a good half of users who follow fashion trends.
Nevertheless, the design characteristics of the Sony SP C5303, such as weight and dimensions, fall within the definition of "medium." A smartphone cannot be called small, but you can’t call it a “shovel” either. But such a major solution has its undeniable advantages. Many users in their reviews put five points of ergonomics of the device. The device fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and operated with one hand is a pleasure.
Design features
It is also worth noting that the design characteristics of the Sony C5303 are distinguished by the absence of gloss, which almost completely eliminates the ubiquitous fingerprints and dust. Yes, the case is plastic, not metal, but looking after it is very simple.
Despite the fact that the back cover of the model is removable, a non-removable battery is tightly located under it. There you can also find slots for an SD drive and a mobile operator’s card. Users in their reviews separately thank the manufacturer for the fact that the characteristics of the Sony C5303 allow for a “hot” replacement of both a memory card and a SIM card. After replacing the latter, the device independently performs a mini-reboot to update information on the mobile operator.
Phone Features
The front of the smartphone is completely covered by a transparent protection - glass. The latter is without sides and is completely flat. Glass goes the same for all color modifications. By the way, there are only three of them - white, red and black.
One of the most notable design features of the Sony C5303 is its transparent insert at the bottom of the gadget, and here it plays a far from static role. Depending on specific factors, the strip changes color. It notifies you of incoming messages, missed calls, and current phone charging. In addition, while viewing photos, she can mimic the overall color style of the pictures, like a chameleon, or act as a musical equalizer.
Judging by the reviews on the smartphone, the transformation of the everyday characteristics of the Sony C5303 into an attractive visualization delights users, and especially the younger generation. Such a solution allowed the brand to largely stand out from the general mass of competitors.
Interfaces
The usual three keys under the screen, which could be seen in previous generations, the phone Sony Xperia SP C5303 is abolished. Now they are touch-sensitive and located directly on the display. Many users leave mixed reviews about this.
On the one hand, this adds convenience to management, but on the other hand, the useful screen area from this becomes slightly less: instead of the specified 1280 by 720 pixels, it is 1184 by 720. It seems to be a little, but nevertheless affects the visualization.
Mechanical buttons are located on the usual places for Sony gadgets. The power button, camera activation and volume rocker are all on one side, and the other is empty. The solution seems to be convenient, but, for example, when you take a screenshot of the screen, that is, when you need to press simultaneously, problems arise.
The classic 3.5 mm headphone minijack is located on the top, and the micro-USB interface is on the bottom. The latter serves both to charge the Sony C5303 phone, and to synchronize it with a personal computer and other peripherals.
Screen
The matrix for the smartphone was not the most successful, and, judging by the user reviews, the main complaints are to the viewing angles. Even with a slight rotation of the screen, it becomes whitish, and the saturation of colors disappears. In all other respects, the matrix proved to be quite worthy: pixelation is invisible, the font is not loose, and responsiveness is at an acceptable level.
A resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels is enough for a 4.6-inch display with a pixel density of 319 ppi. The brightness and contrast with the head is enough for normal work indoors, but on the street, in direct sunlight, it is quite difficult to make out information. Therefore, you have to either look for a shadow, or close the gadget with your palm.
Display Features
There are no questions about the automatic adjustment of brightness and contrast. The sensor works as it should and does not blind the user unnecessarily. In any case, all the settings can be easily knocked out in the menu, since the tools for this are intelligently implemented.
The screen itself is completely covered with mineral glass. There are no protective films that were glued directly on the conveyor, but they, in principle, are not needed. A high-quality oleophobic coating protects the screen from fingerprints and dust, but if they remain, they are removed literally with one movement of the hand (with a napkin or handkerchief). Judging by user reviews, reinsurers still stick films and, as a rule, of mediocre quality, and then complain about the abundance of fingerprints and dirt on the screen.
Performance
A device was built on the basis of the Qualcomm chipset of the Snapdragon S4 Pro series, which is also called the MSM8960T. The dual-core processor works in tandem with the Adreno graphics accelerator from the 320 series. On board there is 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory.
By modern standards, these are very modest indicators, since the internal drive can be expanded with third-party memory cards up to 32 GB, so there should be no problems with data storage.
The device’s interface works like a clock, and there are no complaints about it: the tables scroll smoothly, the icons are responsive, and regular applications launch very quickly. Despite the modest amount of RAM, gaming software is surprisingly cheerful. Of course, “heavy” modern applications will be choked with one gigabyte of RAM, but when resetting the graphics settings to average or minimum values, the situation is more or less corrected.
Cameras
Here we have a solid middling for our segment. The front camera of 0.3 megapixels is suitable only for making avatars and at least some kind of communication on video messengers. And the main camera boasts quite decent photos. The latter are obtained only under normal lighting conditions, and even a powerful flash does not save in the dark.
The output is photographs in a resolution of 3104 by 2328 pixels or a video sequence in an HD scan - 720 r at 60 frames per second. The camera interface has a ton of settings for almost all occasions, so there is nothing to experiment with.
Autonomy
The device is equipped with a 2370 mAh lithium-ion battery. The indicator is not the largest, especially for a voracious Android fraternity, in addition, to pull out the battery in case of which, alas, is impossible. Such decisions have long been adopted by venerable Chinese brands like Huawei, Xiaomi or Meizu. But there they at least added capacities up to 3000 mAh. But Sonya is far from the most successful implementation.
Nevertheless, it is impossible to call a voracious battery, especially when the Stamina corporate mode is on. The latter provides a good saving of energy resources and significantly increases the battery life in standby mode.
At maximum load, the smartphone lasted with dignity for almost three hours. If we compare with similar competing gadgets of other brands, then this figure can be called average. Galaxy S4 - 1 hour 30 minutes, NTS One - 2 hours 15 minutes, LG Nexus - 3 hours, LG Optimus - 3.5 hours. In mixed mode, the device will calmly last all day.
Summarizing
In general, the device turned out to be very good. One of the main advantages of the gadget is its original appearance with an attractive dynamic insert at the bottom. Such a decision will surely appeal to the beautiful half of humanity and young people.
In addition, the smartphone boasts a decent set of chipsets, thanks to which modern gaming applications, albeit at medium settings, but work without problems. The advantages can also be written exceptional build quality and non-marking materials.
It’s rather difficult to record mediocre cameras and a whitish screen, because the cost of the device does not imply the presence of a premium matrix and 12 or 16 megapixels in the camera. So here we have a solid middle peasant who fully justifies the funds invested in it.