Phone Xperia T2 Ultra Dual is positioned on the market as a middle-class device, a functional and stylish gadget with a wide range of options for listening to audio, photographing and recording video. The model has a fairly large screen, a capacious battery and a wide range of hardware resources (such as, in particular, built-in flash memory).
According to one of the classifications adopted in the expert community of the IT market, a smartphone can be attributed to a phablet type device. The term is quite new. It is intended to characterize a device that occupies an intermediate position between a smartphone and a tablet). This approach to the classification of mobile gadgets, according to a number of marketers, will reflect a new trend in the assembly of devices: when brands do not have a sense in competing in technologies, a contest can be organized in the field of device design engineering. Moreover, it is possible to do this in any segment. Budget "phablet" - why not?
How successful is the solution proposed by Sony in this regard? To what extent is the phablet theory valid for the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual? What are the features of this device?
What is in the box?
The phone’s standard delivery set contains, in fact, the device itself, a USB cable for connecting to a PC and recharging, an adapter for power supply from the outlet, and also the necessary documentation. There are headphones such as MH410c, very simple in terms of technology, but quite functional. Other accessories, such as a case, Xperia T2 Ultra Dual is not equipped as standard. However, finding such products is not a problem. It is enough to take a walk to the nearest mobile phone salon. Many experts, by the way, praise the box itself, which comes with the phone - it looks expensive and stylish.
Design and dimensions
Most experts praise the phone for its good design, noting the elegance of a slim body and stylish display. Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Dual, experts believe, has an appearance that is equally suitable for men and women, as well as people of all ages. It can be said that the target audience of buyers of the device is quite wide.
Those who tested the device note that it is very comfortable to use. The smartphone is pleasantly in the hand, fits easily into a pocket or purse. The device is medium in size (length - 165.2 mm, width - 93.8, thickness - 7.65). The phone is available in three color shades - white, black, and purple. The body of the device is made of high quality plastic.
From the ends - cute silver-colored inserts. The front camera, like most other smartphones, is located above the display. Near it are two standard sensors - lighting and movement (proximity). The voice speaker is covered with a perforated strip made of metal (very similar elements are also present in the lower part of the body and at the back). The audio jack is located on the right side of the unit. At the back is the main camera, equipped with a flash and a microphone, as well as the NFC radio component.
On the right side of the case there is a plug, when opened, the user will see slots for SIM cards (standard and micro-SIM). On the left side is a microSD card slot. The phone also has a micro-USB connector, through which the device can be connected to a PC and other devices. The phone is equipped with a small indicator light, which is red during charging.
According to some experts, the manufacturer has tried to make the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual phone as compact as possible for its category. In particular, according to some testers, the display occupies about 74% of the entire front panel.
From a design point of view, this device can be attributed to devices that implement the OmniBalance principle, actively promoted by Sony. This concept implies giving the devices such an appearance in which its viewing from all sides would be characterized by visible symmetry and clarity of lines. At the same time, according to some experts, a rather simple material for making the case - plastic, does not completely correlate with OmniBalance. Although there is an opposite point of view. It is often found, in particular among users who have left reviews regarding the operation of the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual. In their opinion, plastic can no longer be considered typically "budget" material. If only because different brands (as well as devices of different classes) have a very different polymer quality. In expensive segments, users note, plastic is also often used.
Dual SIM support: theory and reality
The device supports the simultaneous use of two SIM cards that work in almost any communication standard that exists today, including LTE. However, there is one caveat: at the same time, both cards can not work in the mode of using the most modern standards. That is, if a user wants to access the Internet using LTE technology, then he can do it with only one card. The other in this case will only work in the 2G standard. However, this feature is not unique to the Xperia T2. The noted features of the simultaneous use of two SIM-cards are also characteristic of most similar models.
Screen
Smartphone Xperia T2 Ultra Dual is equipped with a display, the diagonal of which is 6 inches. Manufacturing technology - TFT. Screen resolution - 1280 x 720 pixels. There is support for HD mode. Experts note that the picture on the display is clearly visible at any viewing angle. The fact that the display technology is not the most modern confuses some experts. Still, TFT is a standard that is a thing of the past and confidently replaced by newer solutions. However, those specialists who do not agree with this point of view argue: the fact that this technology is still relevant indicates its undeniable practicality. Sony brand, they believe, as one of the most advanced in terms of the latest standards, chooses TFT for a reason. This technology, in particular, can greatly affect the necessary balance of phone functionality and energy saving. It is known, for example, that many more modern screens (in particular, working according to the OLED standard) consume more battery power. The user receives in return very few advantages in terms of picture quality.
Iron and performance
Like many other smartphones manufactured by Sony, this device is equipped with high-performance hardware. It has a powerful MSM8228 processor with four cores. The clock frequency of the chip is 1.4 GHz. The video subsystem of the smartphone is running an Adreno 305 chip . The device is equipped with 1 GB of RAM. There is 8 GB of internal flash memory. You can install additional modules, and the phone supports almost unlimited capacity. The device, according to experts-testers, works quickly, without freezing and braking. The device has a stereo sound reproduction system (the best listening results will be if the plug-in headset supports the same standard). The device is equipped with a Bluetooth module in the 4th version, there is also support for the Ant + standard (which is most often used to connect sports devices to a smartphone). There is a module for communication via Wi-FI. The DLNA standard is supported.
When testing a device using benchmark programs, the following results are achieved. In the popular AnTuTu program, the smartphone showed a performance of about 19.3 thousand units. Quadrant achieved 9.9 thousand points. In another application common among testers, the Geekbench 3 phone shows about 400/1300 points. Experts note good phone results when checking with the Stability Test.
The device, like many other Xperia smartphones, shows good performance not only in tests, but also when checking in game mode. It is known that modern gamers are used to having fun on mobile gadgets in the same way as on ordinary PCs. Therefore, manufacturers create games for smartphones and tablets that are in no way inferior in schedule to their "large" prototypes. Of course, in this case, the devices require a particularly high performance.
The testers who launched games on the phone (such as, for example, Asphalt 8) were very pleased to observe the absence of noticeable braking and freezing of the device. The quality of the displayed graphics is rated as high. True, with prolonged use of the smartphone in game mode, the device’s case, as some experts note, can noticeably heat up.
Software
The Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Dual smartphone is controlled by the Android OS in version 4.3 (it is possible to upgrade to 4.4.2). There are several pre-installed branded applications (such as, for example, Sony Select, Office Suite, Evernote). There is a TrackID program that can find the names of the songs being played on the Internet. The phone is preinstalled with a proprietary player.
The phone is also equipped with a branded shell management system - Xperia Home. This firmware contains original themes and interesting animation. In general, experts note the good quality of the software present in the device. According to experts, almost all Sony Xperia smartphones are characterized by this positive feature, as the brand pays special attention to the quality of software.
Camera
The camera has a fairly large resolution - 13 megapixels. Experts note the high quality of the pictures taken by her (according to some experts, even when viewing photos in detail on a large computer screen, it is not visible that they were made on a smartphone). It is possible to use various photo effects (including, in particular, augmented reality options ). The camera can also record videos in HD format with good quality, according to experts. There is a defocusing mode of retouching (though it works only for the front camera). There is an option Timeshift Burst, which allows you to make one and a half dozen photographs in 1 second. Many experts praise the device for the high quality of the camera in HDR mode.
Battery
The operating time of the phone, declared by the manufacturer, in active use is 16 hours, while listening to music - 89, while watching video - 11. The battery has a sufficiently large capacity - 3000 mAh. Experts who tested the device received a generally comparable with the stated battery life of the smartphone in different modes. Many of them were especially pleasantly surprised by the results shown when watching the video. Not every device is capable of playing movies and clips for 10 hours or more.
Expert Summary
Experts believe that at a fairly inexpensive price, this device gives the user a wide range of features. Many praise the device for its good design. A drawback noted by some experts in comparison with the flagship smartphone model (Ultra) is the body assembly materials (but there is a point of view that this feature can not be considered a minus). The characteristics of the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual smartphone, experts say, compensate for the insufficiently "prestigious" (according to some) case materials.
Many experts prefer to call the device exactly “phablet” (or its closest synonym - “tablet-smartphone”). Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to consider that the manufacturer has equipped the device with a set of characteristics that would allow us to say that the user has a rather original gadget in their hands. Not a smartphone, not a tablet, but something that combines the advantages of both devices.
Does this mean that the Sony brand will be able to become a leader in "competition" with other manufacturers of "phablets"? The question, of course, is ambiguous. But the fact that the Japanese corporation has prepared arguments in favor of choosing its devices is undeniable. Sony's “phablet” is stylish, beautiful, convenient, functional, and sufficiently productive.
What users say
It will be interesting to get acquainted with the opinions of users of the phone. What are the characteristics of the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual reviews? How similar or contrary to the opinions of experts given above?
Users note the stability of the device, the high quality of the camera, the presence of a large number of useful applications pre-installed at the factory, a pleasant sound. Of course, many owners note the fact that the price set by the manufacturer Xperia T2 Ultra Dual (from $ 320 and above, depending on the "appetite" of the implementers) even more than corresponds to the functionality of the device (as well as the level of its performance and execution of design elements )
Some users praise the phone for performance, express a positive attitude to the fact that it has a large amount of flash memory preinstalled with unlimited support for additional modules. The fact that RAM is relatively small, the main part of the owners is not recognized as a disadvantage.
They praise the phone for the stability of voice and Internet connections, regardless of the access technology used. Users, like many experts, identify as a positive feature of the smartphone a fairly long battery life without recharging.
Many owners of the device note the convenience of using it, the ergonomics of the case, the ease of device management. A large number of users praise the Xperia T2 smartphone for its successful design and nice looking color scheme of the case, good color rendering on the display.
It is quite acceptable to consider that the opinions of device users and experts, in general, coincide. Both of them mainly praise the smartphone. Of course, there are experts who compiled a review characterizing the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual and identified shortcomings. But even if one of the users or experts who tested the device finds a minus and voices his point of view publicly, there will always be someone who can provide weighty counterarguments.