Mom's Birthday Gift : Sony Xperia C (Review)

I wrote this a week ago, but not wanting to spoil the surprise just in case Mom stumbled onto this blog, I decided that it is perhaps better to post this after I gave it to her.

Her birthday is coming up and I had completely zero idea what to get for her until that one time when she called me and the connection failed. It had been going on for months, and we are quite certain it's because of her phone. It's a Samsung Galaxy Y (yes, the lowest end smartphone model of that time) and she has been complaining everything about it, from the small screen size to the insensitive keyboard. It gets so frustrating for her but she had no time to go look for a new phone.


So I decided to get her a new one. It was hard because I have a limited budget, and if I spend on this, it means foregoing 3 months of extras. But I guess her happiness is better than mine so it's okay. After a few days of careful consideration and googling (IB does not allow me the luxury of musing over this for weeks), I picked Sony Xperia C. I know my mom prefers Samsung (although the experience with Galaxy Y is less than awesome), but my experience with Sony (proud owner of Xperia SL over here!) has been good. And also because B suggests Sony as well, so the decision is cemented.

We got it for RM680 :) + RM100 for memory card and casing. The original recommended retail price from Sony is RM900 right now. So yeah I saved RM220 :D

The stuff they give is standard: a black charger with separate wire, a white headset and a startup guide. 

^ This is the original Sony Xperia C picture. I don't have a good camera right now to take good shots of white phones, so these photos will have to do. It looks the same. There are three colours: black, white and purple. I picked white because it looks nice in white and can go with all sorts of casing colours. :)

^ Here's an actual picture I found online of the front of the phone..

The back is significantly easier to photograph since there is no reflective screen, so here's my photo of it ^.

Got a flip case to go with it. Here's the front of the phone inside the case. :)

A red cover because Mom would've liked a red version, but there's no red version for Xperia C.

Because I'm only going home in 5 days, I get to play with it for a while! Heh. Also to ensure everything is running smooth so that when it gets to her, it's all okay. The camera quality is decent. It's not anything spectacular, but it's good enough for a phone I guess, especially for my mom since she just takes normal photos casually. Shutter is slightly slow than other phones though because apparently Sony hasn't tried to fix it. =.= 

Outdoor views:

Close-up:

Indoor shots:

Pinksie gets to be a model! ^ :D

Text:

(it's decent and legible, but you won't get super sharp text 

because they took out the special scene function for documents. :/ )

It's really quite unfair to make lists of what I like and not like after getting to use it for just a couple of days, but here goes some of the stuff I've observed. I won't be posting a list of the technical specs because you can get that anywhere online.

• Size. The size is good for a Sony of that price. The screen is big and has adequate clarity, making viewing a pleasure. The built could be slimmer, but then Sony isn't competing for the thinnest phones even in its flagship models. 
• Material. The material used is entirely plastic, so don't expect a premium feel of aluminium and glass like the Xperia Z versions. However, it still feels nice holding it, and if you're using a phone case, the back won't even matter. 
• Design: Lookwise, it is almost exactly an Xperia Z on first impression. It's a good thing because the design looks high-end. As much as Samsung is going for a rounded look, Sony goes for sharper edges. It's more rectangular and has a distinct Sony look. 
• User Interface. It's decent I guess, although a bit of rearrangement and deletion is needed to customise it to your liking.
• Sensitivity. Satisfactory. Of course it's much better than low-end phones, and the keys respond fast enough. I typed the first few paragraphs of this post on it and it's great. Also helps that the screen is large enough for a bigger keyboard.
• Camera. It's acceptable like I said above, if you're not a hardcore fan of phone cameras. It's perfectly fine for casual photos of family, friends and your dog. 8MP is also more than sufficient. However, the VGA front camera sucks (who uses VGA anymore anyway??) so if you're going to skype on the phone frequently or take selfies a lot, it may be a problem. If not, you can just ignore the front camera.
• Memory. Internal memory of 8GB is not enough. The good thing is you can buy SD cards and put in 32GB max extra, unlike my SL phone which has no card slot. 
• Price. I guess the price is the best part about the phone. It's affordable for all that it offers, all the quad-core stuff and so on.

Verdict: I have no idea of the sound or the battery life because I didn't try the sound and I didn't use it long enough to accurately gauge the efficiency of its battery. But I must say that it gives plenty of bang for your buck and the specs aren't too shabby either, with dual-sim for those of you with two phone numbers. If you're looking for a phone that is affordable and decent for a normal everyday life and don't want to pay extra for all that unnecessary blings, this is for you. 

And to know that for my mom, this is really all she needs and wants from a phone, and that I am able to purchase it especially at a price level that she would approve of, is wonderful. 

I am happy. :)