Today we know about such well-known and popular models from Sony, such as the Xperia Z3 or Tablet Compact. These devices have become such due to the high build quality, powerful equipment, affordable price. They appeared as if from nowhere - before we had not heard of such a line as the Xperia. However, it has become a platform for many other high-quality models. One of them was Sony Xperia Sola. We will talk about her in this article.
General view
The device, which we will describe, was born a long time ago. Back in March 2012, a presentation of this model took place and, it would be useful to note, this event was truly significant. Yes, Sony Xperia Sola could not be called the âmost powerfulâ or âcoolestâ smartphone that would conquer the market. But the developers tested a lot of new features on the model, such as the ability to work with contactless key fobs. The engineers working on it, obviously, hoped to highlight some new direction in the field of mobile devices in this way. In addition, a number of technological innovations were also presented, which, unfortunately, did not take root and are not used on modern models.
Nevertheless, at one time the device was worthy - in all respects as a whole. Today, of course, these parameters may seem backward due to the fact that the market jumped forward. But the Sony Xperia Sola is also quite capable of surprising those who aren't chasing technology.
Housing
Traditionally, a review of the model should begin with a description of the outer shell - the body of the device. It is made of plastic, and, according to reviews about the model, the entire device consists of two parts: matte and glossy. The first is used on the front, and the second is present only on the back cover. Due to such a proper combination, it is very convenient to work with the phone - it does not try to get out of hand during a conversation. The design of the model is strict, but laconic - it is a classic âbrickâ with right angles (without any smoothing and rounding). Undoubtedly, this makes the model stricter, giving the appropriate image to its owner.
As customer reviews on Sony Xperia Sola show, the assembly of the model is not perfect: if you click on the device, creaking is heard. However, this is not critical, because their reason is the back cover, which can be completely removed.
The advantage of plastic as the main material for the device case is a high level of strength, as well as unpretentiousness in everyday use. Plus, again, the matte part is less prone to damage than gloss.
Display
The phoneâs screen is always its âbusiness cardâ. This is the case with the Sony Xperia Sola. The technical characteristics of the model indicate that the display is small here - just a diagonal of 3.7 inches. For comparison: this is smaller than that of the iPhone 4. Due to this, the obvious advantage of the model looms - the ability to carry the phone, for example, in a small pocket and at the same time always stay in touch.
The resolution here reaches 480 by 854 pixels - not so much, but quite enough for such a small (in physical dimensions) device.
A negative feature of the screen of this model can be called a high degree of dust. This is a feature that many review authors have noticed. On Sony Xperia Sola (photos from social networks with this phone are proof of this) dust is very easily generated. What is the reason is hard to say; This is probably due to static electricity and some kind of magnetic field around the display. But the fact remains - after a couple of hours after the device lies on the table with the screen up, you can see a layer of dust on it. Not very nice, but not critical.
A pleasant bonus to the buyer from the Sony developer is a special technology that minimizes the number of scratches on the screen. As reviews of the Sony Xperia Sola show, the technology is working successfully. And thatâs all - until the advent of modern safety glasses!
CPU
For 2012 - the release date of the device - the "filling" of the model does not look the best. To understand this, just look at the specifications describing the Sony Xperia Sola. It is noted here that the smartphone has 500 MB of RAM and 1 GHz clock frequency. Yes, seeing these numbers, you might think that the device âslows downâ quite seriously. Nothing like this.
In practice, as evidenced by the numerous tests that we were able to find on the Internet, the phone works very smartly. No âglitchesâ or âfreezesâ were detected, despite the fact that such a platform as the STE U8500 is used here.
Perhaps the whole thing is in 2 cores, which allow you to keep up to the level of performance of the entire device. Another option is a qualitative optimization of the device at the development stage. Simply put, Sony obviously knows how to make quality phones. And this model is one of those that prove it.
Camera
The device has one (main) camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels. Again, we can mention the new technology of automatic focus and face recognition, which was then not present on all smartphones. The images that make the Sony Xperia Sola smartphone look quite clear - complaints can arise only, perhaps, with regard to color reproduction. However, this is not a problem of Sony alone, many budget models (which can be safely attributed to this one) also have problems such as high-quality color display in photographs. A nice bonus, again, is the diode flash located on the back of the phone. With her, there will be more chances to make a high-quality picture in the dark.
Battery
During the characteristics of the mobile phone, which we are conducting, we cannot but mention such an important element as the battery. Perhaps at the stage of buying a gadget you least think about it - but in the process of work, believe me, the battery capacity will be more important than ever. After all, this directly determines how long your smartphone will work. If the battery has a small capacity; or if the device itself consumes too much, then its owner will have enough problems and troubles. Itâs trivial to arrange for the phone to "live" until the end of the working day, which is not so simple. Therefore, according to the specifications announced for Sony Xperia Sola, the device was equipped with a 1320 mAh battery. True, reviews indicate that the phone is not enough for full-fledged work longer than 1 day.
Communication
Like all modern smartphones, the object of our today's review has the functions of connecting to both the mobile Internet and Wi-Fi network. Both of them work quite smartly - this is confirmed by reviews of those who happened to conduct a series of tests. Regarding mobile Internet, it should be noted that additional configuration may be necessary to work with it. According to the reviews, you need to download the file of automatic additions from your mobile operator, after which the Internet will become available. In the role of a device for Internet surfing, Sola shows itself from a rather good side - everything is loaded quickly and conveniently, Floating Touch technology helps. It works simply: the deviceâs screen somehow âfeelsâ when you bring your finger to it. This, in turn, highlights the links on the pages or makes it possible to react accordingly to the wallpaper on the screen saver. In general, this feature is also new for the mobile industry - but, as the years have shown, for some reason none of the manufacturers took it to the âwide armamentâ.
Firmware
At the time of the release of the device, the Sony Xperia Sola (the characteristics confirm this) was equipped with Android 2.3.7. Even then, they promised an update to the 4th generation of the legendary OS. So it happened - if you start the phone now, you will see that it works on the old, second version of the operating system from Google. A logical question arises - how to flash Sony Xperia Sola? How to upgrade it to the 4th generation of Android? After all, the possibilities that this modification provides to the user cannot be compared with those that are characteristic for 2.3.7.
This is done very simply - as on all mobile devices. First you need to connect the phone to a Wi-Fi network (since downloading so much data on wireless Internet will be irrational); then the system itself will offer to download updates. It may take an hour, but it's worth it. The updated modification will be more stable and functional compared to the previous generation.
However, now the device comes with the next version - 4.0.4, which, in turn, is characterized by the presence of an even greater number of problems. If you own a Sony Xperia Sola, be careful when asked to install a new version. It may happen that it gets even worse and the device simply stops functioning normally.
Mistakes
In general, the model itself can be called quite reliable in terms of long service life. Xperia Sola does not contain any characteristic weaknesses or frequently occurring errors that would indicate a clear flaw on the part of the manufacturer. Nevertheless, there are some of the most characteristic problems that can be read about in the reviews. For example, this is a situation where the Sony Xperia Sola does not turn on. This happens for various reasons: a sloppy user may have broken the screen unlock button, which led to a lack of response from the device. Another option is a banal breakdown of the port for charging the phone, which led to the inability to charge the phone and then turn it on. Maybe everything is much worse, and water got into your phone, which led to the lack of a vital reaction.
Be that as it may, the Sony Xperia Sola mobile phone is a fairly reliable device, although it does not last forever. As the reviews show (this information, of course, goes somewhat âahead of scheduleâ, since we will disclose it in more detail in the next part of our article), the phoneâs life is about 1.5-2 years. Then the problems begin, which can no longer be fixed. They are associated with failures both at the hardware and software levels. If you have problems even before the expiration of this period, then first of all you need to contact specialists who will provide professional assistance.
Reviews
Like any other model, our Solo has a lot of customer ratings. What is most interesting is the variety of opinions that users share with this smartphone. All of them can be divided into positive and negative - depending on how its owner reacted to the device.
As for the âplusesâ, here they are obvious. Firstly, the price. At this price, there were not many models with similar parameters on the market (even in 2012). Due to this, the phone can be called truly accessible to everyone. As the reviews show, even today many people continue to use it (and quite successfully). Secondly, a number of technological moments are pleasing. For example, Sony is famous for the quality of its camera matrices. This is what we observe in the case of the Solo model: even with a 5 megapixel camera, the pictures come out quite good (with the exception of color, as was already emphasized). Thirdly, the device has a lot of functions that will be useful to any user. Internet, calls, any program with Google Play - all this makes this device truly universal.
There are also a number of other positive points. For example, one person likes the case and its texture, and the other is delighted with the special coating on the screen, which allows you to forget about scratches. In fact, the model has many advantages - and, having started using it, everyone can feel them.
As for the shortcomings, then, as you know, without them anywhere. The model belongs to the budget price class, so it is not surprising that it has its own weaknesses. One of those, as shown by recent recommendations and evaluations of customers, is software. Today, the current version of the OS for the phone is Android 4.0.3. It is clearly not designed for devices with such low technical data, so you canât even install basic programs on many phones. For this reason, many users try to reflash their device. This can be done using special software on the computer (for example, using the Cyagen program). True, if you do not understand the features of the firmware, it is better to entrust this matter to someone more experienced or take it to a service center. And do not forget that by reflashing the device, you lose the guarantee on it (because you lose root-rights to the device).
In addition to the above, there are other weaknesses. For example, short battery life. We already mentioned this above: the battery on this model has a capacity of only 1320 mAh, due to which minimal operations (working with mobile Internet or listening to music) very quickly drain the battery. In addition, customer reviews indicate that over time, the battery life decreases by 20-30 percent. Ultimately, the phoneâs activity cycle decreases even more.
Customers also note excessive âinhibitionâ of the model in certain situations. This concerns, however, phones that have been working for more than a year and a half or two years. It even happens that with an incoming call, the user is unable to pick up the phone, because the necessary buttons do not appear on the screen. You must admit that such a function as calls is basic in a smartphone - therefore, it is very inconvenient to work with a device in which it does not function properly.
And, as another drawback, we can mention periodic malfunctions of the Android system. This can be, for example, unauthorized disconnection of 3G, turning off the phone in the midst of work, the sudden closure of some applications. Most likely, the reason for this is how the Sony Xperia Sola was tuned during the release of the device. Perhaps, even at the production stage, the phone was not properly optimized, which is why such problems arise.
Is the purchase justified?
This smartphone, as already mentioned, was released in 2012. Of course, today there are many more advanced models that are offered cheaper than the Sony Xperia Sola. Therefore (unless you are a fan of this version of the device, or you are not offered it for 1 ruble), it makes no sense to purchase it now.
On the other hand, as most reviews show, at the time of the release of the novelty, many were happy with their purchase. The device cost only 12 thousand rubles - and this despite the fact that it had a fairly good configuration for those times. Yes, it may have been difficult to use it for longer than 1-2 years - regular âfreezesâ, âbrakingâ and other troubles began. With this arrangement, the phone was probably to be replaced.
Solo Experience for Sony
In general, the model was not bad. Yes, there were certain flaws in it, but the general concept - an inexpensive smartphone with a lot of functions - turned out to be justified. Moreover, it is possible that some technologies used by the company for the first time formed the basis of other modifications from Sony Xperia, which made the brand as recognizable as it is now.