Sony Xperia S lt26i specifications. Mobile phone Sony Xperias Lt26I: description, specifications, prices. Media player reviews

New flagship with new features

However, the Sony Xperia S model itself was announced even earlier, at the beginning of the year, during the CES 2012 exhibition. And now, finally, the final sample is in our editorial office: we meet and test the new Sony flagship Mobile (formerly Sony Ericsson), which will remain so for quite some time long time- until the fall for sure.

In the field of production mobile devices At Sony now everything is unusual and new. It all started with the “breakup” of the Sony Ericsson brand, from which at the beginning of this year only “Sony” remained. The division of the Japanese company that develops phones and players is now called Sony Mobile - and, we hope, it will soon also deal with tablets with readers, which are still under the control of “big” Sony.

Further, new line or, more precisely, the new NXT series in the Xperia line is the “Next generation”, new generation, as the company itself says. It is clear that this is an emphasis on the turning point in the life of the company's mobile division after the breakup: a new brand, new design, new policy. From the old one - only the logo: an unshakable circle remains on all devices and does not change a bit.

From the global tops, all this novelty is transmitted below - to the devices themselves, their positioning, appearance and even packaging. Sony Xperia S comes in a cardboard box of an unusual format: flat and wide, it is not at all similar to the narrow parallelepipeds of Nokia and HTC, for which they are new packaging is a copy of an iPhone box.

From this package comes a flat black box with many opening compartments - even though it is made of cardboard. True, the compartments themselves are not so dense: a charger with a USB input, a USB-micro-USB cable, an HDMI cable and a wired stereo headset with in-ear headphones. The equipment, at first glance, is not rich, but even here everything “breathes” with novelty - even if it is not striking, then the thoughtfulness in the development process is certainly noticeable. It turns out that new block High-power batteries can charge a phone battery much faster than their predecessors, and this also has a certain turning point: after all, smartphones, which have grown in inches and are packed with gigahertz, have a very short lifespan for a long time, and in terms of batteries and their charging, nothing has changed globally. But with the new one charger literally a ten-minute recharge is enough to extend a smartphone conversation for an entire hour, and this is truly an innovation. Not a breakthrough, of course, but the main thing is that the care and effort of the developers to create at least something new is visible, and this little thing is really pleasing.

Characteristics

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260, CPU 1.5 GHz, dual cores
• GPU Adreno 220
• Operating system Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread
• TN type LCD touch display, 4.3 inches diagonal, 720×1280 pixels, capacitive
• RAM 1 GB, flash memory 32 GB (25.8 GB available)
• Communication GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS/EDGE
• Communication 3G UMTS HSPA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Bluetooth v2.1 EDR
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Hotspot
• TV-Out
• GPS, AGPS
• FM radio
• Camera 12 MP, autofocus, LED flash
• Lithium-ion battery 1750 mAh
• Dimensions 128x64x10.6 mm
• Weight 144 g

Design

New design... It turns out that you only need a little to become completely different from others. And although the new design of the Sony Xperia S (as, in fact, the P and U models) has common features with the previous Sony models Ericsson, especially in terms of the curved back, but due to new materials, which the developers themselves call the new generation of soft touch, the devices look completely different. And they certainly don’t look like Apple or Samsung products, with which users of numerous forums usually compare any new product. No, everything here is our own, our own, not copying anyone.

As for that very “new” soft touch, its innovation is not only less velvety and more similar to the blued steel of a weapon, but also certain protective properties: during the demonstration of the device, the organizers literally draw ballpoint pen on its surface and then playfully erased. This looks especially impressive on the white body of the Sony Xperia S. By the way, the new flagship has only two color variations: black and white, and both look equally interesting. Black, as already noted, resembles blued steel, even though it is plastic. White is certainly softer, but the chopped features of the new design prevent even the white version from being called feminine. It will look quite appropriate in men’s hands too.

Despite the large screen size - 4.3 inches, the communicator fits quite comfortably in the hand. The dimensions are large, but not so large as to become a burden on the palm. The weight of the device is too large for wearing in the breast pocket of a shirt, but it is quite suitable for other clothes, and the good quality of assembly of all the parts means that there is no need to be too careful with it. Of course, you shouldn’t put the Sony Xperia S in the back pocket of your jeans, but it would be blasphemy to cover such an interesting-looking device.

Most of the front surface area is occupied by a screen covered with protective glass. Above it there is a slot for the auditory speaker and sensor eyes and front camera. Here, under the glass, there is an LED hidden, notifying about certain events - for example, charging the phone. I didn't like the speaker gap: it is not covered by any grille, has sharp edges and is unpleasantly rough when in contact with the ear. In addition, dust accumulates in this gap over time. A nice grille would definitely not hurt here. Above the speaker hole is the inscription “Sony” - now there is only one, without “Ericsson”.

The most unpleasant design feature is located under the screen, at the bottom of the case. Here the monolith of the body is unexpectedly intersected by a completely transparent strip of plastic, on which pictograms indicating the buttons are applied. But this is not what’s unpleasant, but the fact that when you click on these icons, nothing happens. The sensors themselves (damn them!) are hidden under tiny, barely noticeable dots placed above this strip. Many friends who had the chance to touch the Sony Xperia S for the first time unanimously report erroneous clicks and curse the developers. We also encountered multiple erroneous clicks in the first days of using the device. Then, of course, we got used to it, but the residue, as they say, remained. By the way, below this transparent strip there remains a small fragment of the surface that is not covered by the protective glass. This lower part of the body looks like a separate cover and, in fact, it is such in another model - Sony Xperia U. In addition to the main one, that one is expected to have as many as three multi-colored replacement covers.

But in the case of the Sony Xperia S, this is not at all the case: the lower fragment, with the “Xperia” inscription printed on it, is rigidly linked to the rest of the body, and in it, at its lower end, there is even a hole made for attaching a strap - convenient, but unfortunately rarely used modern smartphones function.

The remaining three edges are scattered with control elements and connectors covered with plastic covers: micro-USB on the left, micro-HDMI and volume rocker on the right, and on top there is a 3.5 mm audio input for headphones. There is also a power key there.

But I was pleased with the separate button for activating the camera on the right side: its presence is a rarity for modern Android smartphones. The keys themselves are small, their travel is short, and the location of everything except the photo button is completely inconvenient for a left-handed person. For some reason, the power key suddenly “moved” to the very left edge of the top end, where it can only be reached using the second hand. “Volume” is a little better, but for some reason it was moved to the very middle, where the grip is usually the tightest. The developers’ initiative in this case turned out to be punishable: everything had already been invented a long time ago, and there was no point in spoiling one’s karma once again.

The back plastic cover is remarkable: it is exactly a cover, the size of the entire surface of a smartphone, but only a SIM card slot is hidden under it, and nothing else. The battery here is non-removable, and the slot could be on the side, like other smartphones. It is not clear why there was any trickery with this cover, weakening the overall rigidity of the structure. By the way, the SIM card here, in accordance with new fashion trends, is used in micro format, and this is an alarm bell. This means that the quiet life is over, and users will very soon find themselves divided into two camps whose SIM cards do not fit each other. Now no one is confident that he will be able, if necessary, to use a friend’s phone or an old spare one gathering dust in his bag. Nowadays, not everyone can move a card from their own phone to a tablet. When moving to near and far abroad, it is also not a fact that you will be able to immediately buy a micro-SIM on a tray from a local operator - checked. Someday all mobile phones will work with micro-format cards, but this transition process, like the recent transition of all proprietary connectors to a single micro-USB standard, will be painful for some. The modern SIM card wasn't big enough to shrink it even further.

As a result, the overall impression of using the Sony Xperia S was ambiguous: on the one hand, there are good materials and high-quality assembly, an interesting, unconventional design and comfortable, well-thought-out dimensions. But, on the other hand, the inconvenient location of the buttons and the dubious usefulness of some innovations do not allow us to give the new flagship a solid “A” for its exterior.

Screen

The screen in the Sony Xperia S is a regular liquid crystal TFT TN matrix, but with an HD resolution of 720x1280, physical dimensions of 95x54 mm and a diagonal of 4.3 inches. With such a high resolution in the given physical dimensions, the picture turns out to be quite clear and smooth; naturally, you won’t notice any graininess - the pixel density in this screen is extremely high. In addition, the picture is further improved using proprietary Mobile Bravia Engine technology, which makes it even more realistic. This technology is software, and it only works while viewing photos and videos. According to the manufacturer, the technology allows you to display the picture in a more natural way for the eye, adding clarity, saturation, contrast and, moreover, removing some of the noise.

The colors on this screen look, of course, more realistic than on acidic AMOLEDs, but the picture seems to lack saturation and looks slightly velvety. This may be because the display lacks brightness, even at maximum level. By the way, there is no automatic brightness adjustment in the settings, only manual. The outside of the screen is covered with protective mineral glass that is scratch-resistant. The screen responds sensitively to finger touches; no erroneous clicks were noticed.

Sound

The sound of the external speaker was not particularly pleasing: it is loud, but mostly high frequencies, no bass. However, it does not choke at the maximum volume level, remains clean and perfectly functions as an alert for an incoming call - you won’t miss a call even on the street. In addition, the sound here is processed using proprietary xLoud technology. This technology developed by Sony does not affect the sound quality in any way, but serves to enhance the volume of the main speaker. To ensure that the table surface does not interfere with the propagation of sound, back cover there is a small protrusion that raises the speaker opening above the surface.

But the sound of the media player in the headphones, including the included ones, was quite satisfactory: the sound was loud and clear, and low frequencies were present. Sony Xperia S can definitely be used as an audio player, especially since there are a lot of settings, including an equalizer with ten preset values ​​to choose from (you can set your own).

Camera

The device has two cameras: the front one, for video communication, and the main one, with automatic focusing and LED backlight. The matrix resolution of the front module is 1.3 megapixels, the camera is quite suitable for video conferencing and for using the screen as a mirror.

The main camera module is more interesting: the 12-megapixel camera (f/2.4 aperture) is equipped with a Sony Exmor R CMOS matrix and produces images of very decent quality. Maximum size photos when shooting with default settings (9 MP, 16:9) turn out to be 4000x2250, and when switched to shooting mode 4:3, 12 MP - 4000x3000. The quality and clarity of photographs in original resolution can be assessed by clicking on the thumbnails. An interesting observation: in the first picture, when enlarged, you can even see the numbers on the car’s license plate, which looks tiny against the general background.

Thanks to the possibility of automatic focusing, text taken from paper or a monitor screen remains perfectly readable.

During the demonstration of the Sony Xperia S, company representatives emphasize the shooting speed of the new communicator's camera. Indeed, literally 1.5 seconds pass from pressing a key to taking a picture, even when the screen is locked. That is, with the Sony Xperia S you don’t need to select anything from the menu if you need to take an urgent photo on the go - just take out the phone and hold down the camera button. By the way, in the settings you can change the purpose of this button to turn on the camera without taking a frame, for example.

The module can also shoot video in Full resolution HD (1920x1080) and take panoramic photos. You can evaluate the quality of video shooting using the example of a 10-second video (MP4, 1920×1080, 17 MB). An example photo is in front of you. The quality and resolution are not great, but overall the feature looks attractive.

Software

Sony Xperia S runs a familiar version of the operating system Android systems 2.3.7 (Gingerbread), but this model has already been promised an update to version 4.0 in the second quarter of this year. It also has its own software shell, which slightly changes and complements the standard one. Android interface, but not much. Five at a time home screens The desktop is scattered with proprietary widgets (like the weather), the general internal list of programs can be sorted by several parameters, and when you turn it on for the first time, the proprietary application offers to configure the smartphone.

Another interesting feature: using software application Media Remote this smartphone can serve as a remote control for controlling Sony equipment, and this is just part of the ecosystem that the company is creating. During the recent exhibition in Barcelona, ​​the Sony Mobile stand demonstrated various ways of interaction between smartphones, tablets and Sony TVs, turning these bundles either into multimedia combines or into game consoles. For example, the communicator is equipped with an HDMI port and can be connected to a TV using a cable, turning into a multimedia center. The mentioned Media Remote program does not require a cable at all; it works via wireless network and allows you to control other devices connected to this network, such as Sony players or Bravia TVs.

Sony Xperia S is also PlayStation certified, which turns it into a full-fledged portable gaming console with the ability to download and play compatible games from the PlayStation Store. These are mainly games for the first PS One console, adapted for smartphones, or new games specially written for them.

Performance

The Sony Xperia S hardware platform (model LT26i) is built on a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 single-chip system with a central processor based on ARMv7 architecture, which contains two cores operating at a frequency of 1.5 GHz. Besides central processor, there is an Adreno 220 graphics coprocessor. All this power is served by 1 GB random access memory. There is 32 GB of flash memory on board, and it cannot be expanded with memory cards due to the lack of a slot for them.

In Quadrant Standard, the communicator confidently overtook another owner of an HD screen - Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and according to the results of the comprehensive AnTuTu Benchmark, both flagships are almost equal, but the Galaxy Nexus is slightly ahead (6260 points versus 6146).

In terms of graphics performance in NenaMark2 (v2.2), the Sony Xperia S is again ahead: 37.5 fps versus 24.7 fps for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

In respect of battery life Sony Xperia S cannot and should not shock with records. If you're lucky, it will last until the middle of the next day, but it's better to charge every evening. This, naturally, applies to normal workload modes, when Wi-Fi module turned on, and GPRS does not turn off, plus a few phone conversations and SMS, a little surfing the Internet and listening to music. The operating time will be greatly reduced if you use GPS navigation or watch a movie. Continuous listening to music on headphones lasted about 23 hours, and watching a movie in an AVI container with a resolution of 720p drained the battery in 5 hours.

Bottom line

When comparing with competitors - with those models that today claim to be flagships - it is worth considering that Sony Xperia S is a flagship new season, which “shot” the first of the new products. Now the smartphone is already available for pre-order in Sony Stores at a price of 24,990 rubles. But the rest of the top new products have not yet reached the shelves, so the summary table now includes the flagships of last season, which will soon be replaced.

As can be seen from the table, no outstanding breakthrough happened with the release of the Sony Xperia S. Perhaps only in terms of Sony cameras The Xperia S may be considered one of the market leaders, but it is not a fact that the Nokia N8 will give up without a fight in the competition for supremacy.

However, the Sony Xperia S is worthy of the title of flagship. It showed excellent results in synthetic tests, has an interesting, unconventional design, high-quality case materials and decent hardware characteristics. Considering its pedigree and not a shocking price even at the start of sales, the new top Sony smartphone can count on a serious share of attention from buyers.

This year, as in the previous two Sony Ericsson, Sony, to use the words of the classic, “is in a hurry to live and in a hurry to feel.” Like LG, the company hastily announces and brings new products to the market, trying to get ahead of competitors in technology. On the one hand, such a rush allows the first to sell a smartphone with an HD screen ( Galaxy Note doesn’t count), on the other hand, buyers are doomed to receive an update to Android 4.0 later than buyers HTC One or new Galaxy S III, about which there are only rumors for now. In any case, it has a number of other advantages - good design(especially if you remember how similar numerous Android smartphones of competitors are to each other, you will never confuse them with this model, and it with other Sony Ericsson models that came out earlier), good performance, the ability to experiment with the newfangled NFC (only Sony came up with how to do this in a user-friendly way) and an interesting camera with 3D shooting capabilities, borrowed from Sony cameras.

Technical specifications and equipment Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

So, the main thing that we will remember is a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720, a 12-megapixel camera, a 2-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz and NFC support “enhanced” by two smart tags that allow you to perform a chain of operations. But there is no support for memory cards, there is a non-removable battery inside, and on the case there is a place for a microHDMI socket. It is worth remembering that, according to the latest telephone fashion, the device uses microSIM cards. Today this is a unique set of characteristics, although everyone has long known that 12 megapixels is less interesting than, for example, a xenon flash, and the lack of memory expansion is completely viewed with hostility by geeks for whom it is extremely important to control everything, despite the fact that that the whole world has long ago given a damn about installing a memory card in a phone with 32 gigabytes. Also worth mentioning unique opportunities photography in 3D (including panoramas), but more on that later.

I had a gray package, which did not include (another reason to buy the original) an HDMI cable and a couple of tags with NFC tags. Inside the box was a pack of booklets, a USB cable with an L-shaped plug, a power plug with a USB socket, and a wired headset with earbuds.

The headphones of the headset are the most ordinary, but they are earplugs with rubber seals that provide sound insulation. In the end, it’s good when the phone comes with “plugs” that don’t constantly fall out of your ears, and it’s good when they say Sony on them, despite the fact that all electronics have been produced in China for many years.

Frankly speaking, a smartphone for 6,500 hryvnia could use a player control panel on the headset wire, but that’s how it is.

Sony Ericsson is written on the fork (in fact, they shouldn’t remake it, since the car has already been produced). The second inscription “Green Heart” recalls the environmental direction of the company. This is when they save on the wire; the company tries to reduce the amount of plastic and all sorts of poorly recyclable materials in order to cause less harm to the environment when the plug becomes unusable and ends up in a landfill.

The USB cable, as I already said, has an unusual L-shaped microUSB plug. Which, taking into account the location of the microUSB socket, can even be called justified - it looks more aesthetically pleasing and there is less chance of the wire breaking.

Appearance of Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

When turned off, it is almost impossible to determine the boundaries of the screen - it looks great. Pay attention to the three white, barely noticeable dots above the transparent panel - these are touch buttons, we will return to them later.

The back cover is pleasant to the touch thanks to the matte plastic good quality, it looks expensive and looks like a top five, although you should understand that it is quite possible to scratch it. And the days of lacquered surfaces in phones seem to have sunk into oblivion with the advent of large and easily soiled touch screens.

The bend at the end makes me think of the XPERIA X10 model. Thanks to this, the designers managed to maintain some continuity. At the bottom end there is an element that has become rare - a loop for attaching a lanyard or keychain. The double volume key, despite its already miniature size, was made concave. This improves ergonomics—it makes volume control more comfortable by touch—and gives designers another line of ode to their honor. Well, the hardware camera button is a separate special thanks for the fact that Sony remembers its role in the development of electronics and does not follow Apple’s lead.

Behind the cover, which occupies almost the entire back surface of the phone, only the microSIM card slot is hidden. In my opinion, by abandoning memory cards and a removable battery, it was necessary to go further and generally make a non-separable case, and place the microSIM slot on the side. It would look even more stylish.

Example of video recording in FullHD Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The video is provided for pro forma purposes, to view it in FullHD, you need to go to the YouTube website by clicking on the video and select FullHD there. While shooting video, zooming works (using the volume key), but the results of digital zoom are predictably disgusting; it’s better not to do this.

Impressions from work

In real conditions Sony XPERIA S shows himself with best side. It works quickly and always makes an excellent impression on others thanks to its transparent insert. He has a good bright screen With excellent angles review. However, I noticed a few of it weaknesses. Firstly, the touch keys are especially inconvenient to use on this device. The point is not that you need to press not on the key icons, but a little higher - you quickly get used to it. The touch keys are very difficult to press in some places; you have to press them twice or even three times over and over again. Secondly, the starting camera takes a picture not so instantly - a couple of seconds pass, and the picture is sharp only if you shoot at a long distance. When shooting macro, the focus simply does not have time to reach. And somehow it happened that on a short distance I have to shoot a lot more often. I was also completely disappointed by the lack of a macro mode. In the example images there is a frame with a branch where I unsuccessfully switched focus modes in the hope of catching a swollen bud in focus. Even touch focusing did not help - the focus stubbornly did not set, assessing the entire area of ​​the frame over and over again. Thirdly, I am personally upset by the lack of a normal package of widgets - to the buyer XPERIA S (LT26i) will have to or be content with a meager set installed widgets, or search for something in the Google store. In fact, the only thing that can be called useful is the weather widget, which has finally begun to suit me. The complete uselessness of the DLNA function in practice seemed somewhat strange to me, since everything that the phone could reach (which, by the way, it handled very well) was not reproduced by the standard video player. No, it is clear that Sony, as the owner of the large studio Sony Pictures, cannot approve the use of the DivX codec, but it’s 2012! The problem, of course, can be cured by installing a third-party player that plays everything with a bang - gigabyte files, MKV, HD resolution, and so on. But why open access to DLNA while blocking the ability to play video from home network- unclear. Otherwise, I was very pleased with the device, especially appreciating its incredible image boost. Sony jumped over its head by creating after objectively beautiful XPERIA Arc even more amazing design Sony LT26i.

Bottom line

• good recognizable design and excellent materials;
• excellent bright screen with HD resolution;
• a decent camera with FullHD video recording and 3D shooting capabilities;
• high performance.

• geek factor (you can’t remove the battery or insert a memory card);
• the need to wait for an update to Android 4.0;
• temporary technological leadership, which will be leveled by competitors in the summer;
• poor sensitivity of touch buttons.
High performance
Face id

Weak 4G
Unstable communication level
Missing fast charging

An excellent smartphone in its price category. Screen with good color rendering, large battery capacity, high performance.




Video review of Vernee Thor

Fingerprint scanner
Fast 4G
Design
Price

Non-removable battery
Weak cameras
Gets very hot when playing games

A model for those who do not play top graphics games and are not a fan of selfies. The rest of the characteristics are excellent. Especially the performance of the device. And the display.

When Sony finally dumped Ericsson from its mobile phone division, its first flagship model from the new brand was the Sony Xperia LT26I, priced at €449 in France, £399 in the UK and $700 in Singapore. With a high screen resolution and a 12-megapixel camera, the smartphone claimed to be the best Android device, but, according to users, the efforts made were not enough.

Design

The first mistake is the design. When Sony phone Xperia LT26I was first introduced at CES exhibition, users really liked its strange style, but upon closer acquaintance with the device, they were no longer so sure. The clean piece of plastic that goes under the screen still looks frivolous, but otherwise the model leaves its owners indifferent - it’s just an ordinary smartphone.

There is a gap along the entire edge of the back panel, and some ports are covered with plastic plugs, so the phone does not seem to be a premium device at all, as the manufacturer positions it. Even having a white model doesn't help, as it lacks the harmony of the contrasting matte white plastic lid and black glass on the front. The gaps are even more noticeable on a white background, although the black model is also missing something.

The funny thing is that the manufacturer managed to do almost everything right. The Sony XperiaS LT26I's matte finish looks and feels good, the elements on the back are neatly lined up, and the plastic section is nice and clean. The phone fits well in the hand. Despite the 4.3” screen, the device feels manageable and the soft curve of the lid makes it quite comfortable, although users would have preferred slightly more rounded corners.

Controls

The plastic section has 3 white icons indicating the locations of the touch buttons located above, each of which is highlighted with a tiny white dot in the center. But more importantly, they are illuminated from within. During a call, message notification, or simply when charging, the icons light up. However, these touch buttons that provide front panel The phone has a minimalist look, not very practical. Not only does it take time to get used to pressing the dots rather than the symbols underneath them, but even when you hit the right spot, they don't respond very quickly. The user has to repeatedly poke at the same place to get a response.

At the other end of the vast black front panel there is a speaker and a 1.3-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video at 720p resolution, which is great for video calling.

Connectivity

The gaps at the edges of the back panel are explained by the fact that it is removed, revealing access to the SIM card slot and... nothing else. The ability to expand memory using a Micro-SD card and a removable battery are not provided. Phone owners do not understand why Sony needed to make the entire back panel removable in order to replace the SIM card. You can also remove a small area that covers the bottom of the phone, but there is nothing there. The manufacturer offers a decent 32 GB of internal memory, but the lack of an expansion slot will scare off many.

You can find much more on the sides of the Sony Xperia LT26I black phone functionality. On the right there is a camera shutter button, a volume rocker and a Micro-HDMI connector for displaying content on a large TV screen, if you additionally purchase a cable with the appropriate connectors. On the left is a Micro-USB connector and a charging port. Unfortunately, USB ports and HDMI are covered in bulky plastic covers that are completely impractical - if you have to charge your smartphone every night, why cover this connector at all?

Another small omission is the power and screen lock button. It is located on the top edge next to the headphone jack, so it is difficult to reach if you use one hand. More and more phones are smartly placing it on the side where it's easier to reach, making Sony users regret the omission.

Display

Probably the biggest feature of the Sony Xperia S LT26I phone is its HD screen. Its resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels was a noticeable improvement over the 480 x 800 displays that were prevalent at the time, although it did not reach iPhone settings 4S with its pixel density of 326 dpi.

There is very good evidence that more pixels in a smaller area has its limitations, but in this case there is clearly a noticeable advance. Images, videos, games, websites and more look more realistic, sharper and just plain nicer. More information can be placed on the screen without compromising readability. Websites in particular benefit from the extra display width by displaying web pages at full size.

But there is a small problem: the Sony Xperia LT26I display characteristics are such that a slight deviation to the left or right is enough to reduce color accuracy and contrast. Is this a disaster? No, as the overall quality of the LCD screen is good, the colors are bright and clear, the brightness is high and the blacks are deep. However, some premium phones are a little better in this regard.

Interface

At the beginning of the smartphone's production, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS was installed on it, and then updates to Android 4.0 and 4.1 followed. Sony also slightly changed the interface, providing it with light proprietary changes.

The lock page allows you to either unlock the phone or switch between silent and normal modes. Pressing and holding the power button will allow you to take a screenshot, as well as turn on airplane mode or turn off the device.

The home page lets you go to any of five desktops and populate them with apps and widgets. The manufacturing company offers many widgets, including weather forecasts, software recommendations, games and movies, useful tips and tips, message channel social networks, media player, music and videos of friends, viewing photos and videos, links to Sony Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services. Most of them seem pointless - it’s better to use space more efficiently and place quick switches, a music player, a clock and a row instead of application shortcuts Google search. However, it is noticeable that widgets have little effect on the phone's performance. Navigation between the pages they are installed on does not slow down, and shuffling them around does not affect 3D animation.

Along the bottom of the Sony Xperia S LT26I black screen, the usual set of icons is supplemented by a Media folder, which provides quick access to the gallery, music player, FM radio and camera, store Google Play, messaging and telephone programs. Of course, it can be replaced with anything. Sony's app drawer has familiar settings that let you sort programs alphabetically, by frequency of use, by installation date, or in your own order. On the other hand, there are no notification area settings, no quick access to the media player, turning on airplane mode or wireless Internet access, which are quite common on other Android smartphones.

Performance

Overall, the Sony Xperia LT26I has excellent performance thanks to its 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor MSM8260 Snapdragon. According to reviews from users who subjected the phone to the usual tests, although it lags behind the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Apple iPhone The 4S has a lot to offer. For example, SunSpider 0.9.1 shows a result of 2677 ms versus 2261 ms for the iPhone 4S and 1973 vc for the Galaxy Nexus. The RightWare BrowserMark test showed a score of 63,102, compared to 89,530 for the iPhone 4S and 99,472 for the Galaxy Nexus.

Software

Sony XperiaS LT26I copes well with its everyday duties. The smartphone provides clear sound from both ends of the communication line. Messaging is also easy thanks to the excellent messaging app, large and responsive touch screen, as well as a slightly improved Sony keyboard.

Job Email matches what you can expect from the Android platform. The smartphone provides quick and easy navigation through messages, and graphically rich HTML emails look great on the large display with high resolution.

Sony has integrated Facebook but not Twitter, which is an odd omission. This application It's not even preinstalled. The integration allows you to view a contact's interests, photos, and updates on their page. This is quite useful, although it is nothing revolutionary.

Things are better with web surfing. Gorgeous screen makes the journey through world wide web much more exciting, which is also facilitated by a simple interface and support for Flash video.

Multimedia

Multimedia options include a music player, FM radio and a photo app, while installing a third-party video player will allow the phone to play almost any video and look and sound great. According to user reviews, mkv files with a resolution of 720p are reproduced without difficulty.

Sony Xperia S LT26I: camera characteristics

It's sad that one of the most important features of a smartphone wasn't as good as expected. In footage taken at good lighting, you can see additional detail compared to 8MP models, but the photos are incredibly grainy with a lot of noise from image compression. According to user reviews, pictures come out very poorly in low light conditions - the phone is unable to set the correct exposure, and its flash is weaker than usual.

At the same time, the camera speed is excellent. Sony XperiaS LT26I is capable of capturing 6 frames in 10 seconds. The user also benefits from a dedicated camera button, which allows you to quickly launch the corresponding application and instantly take photos. This makes it easier to take self-portraits or subjects that are difficult to see on the screen to press the shutter. In addition, there are excellent panorama and 3D panorama modes (the latter cannot be viewed on a phone) and a decent selection of scenes and modes. However, users remain dissatisfied with the quality of the images.

Battery life

Fortunately, the situation with the phone's power consumption is much better. Although the Sony Xperia LT26I's 1750 mAh battery does not set any records, according to user reviews, it passes basic test and is able to last without recharging for a day and a half.

Conclusion

With a high-definition screen, a 12-megapixel camera and several unusual options, the Sony XperiaS LT26I should have matched the best models of its time, but this did not happen. The quality of the display and image sensor did not meet user expectations. The design, although quite attractive, is nothing surprising. It's just a decent high-end phone, not the sensation it could have been.

This year, as in the previous two Sony Ericsson, Sony, to use the words of the classic, “is in a hurry to live and in a hurry to feel.” Like LG, the company hastily announces and brings new products to the market, trying to get ahead of competitors in technology. On the one hand, such a rush allows the first to sell a smartphone with an HD screen (Galaxy Note does not count), on the other hand, buyers of Sony XPERIA S are doomed to receive an update to Android 4.0 later than buyers of HTC One or the new Galaxy SIII, about which there are only rumors. In any case, the XPERIA S has a number of other advantages - good design (especially if you remember how similar numerous Android smartphones of competitors are to each other, you will never confuse them with this model, and it with other Sony Ericsson models that came out earlier) , good performance, the opportunity to experiment with the newfangled NFC (only Sony has figured out how to do this conveniently for the user) and an interesting camera with 3D shooting capabilities, borrowed from Sony cameras.

The editors thank the online store
for kindly providing the Sony XPERIA S smartphone for review

This year, as in the previous two Sony Ericsson, Sony, to use the words of the classic, “is in a hurry to live and in a hurry to feel.” Like LG, the company hastily announces and brings new products to the market, trying to get ahead of competitors in technology. On the one hand, such a rush allows the first to sell a smartphone with an HD screen (Galaxy Note does not count), on the other hand, buyers of Sony XPERIA S are doomed to receive an update to Android 4.0 later than buyers of HTC One or the new Galaxy SIII, about which there are only rumors. In any case, the XPERIA S has a number of other advantages - good design (especially if you remember how similar numerous Android smartphones of competitors are to each other, you will never confuse them with this model, and it with other Sony Ericsson models that came out earlier) , good performance, the opportunity to experiment with the newfangled NFC (only Sony has figured out how to do this conveniently for the user) and an interesting camera with 3D shooting capabilities, borrowed from Sony cameras.

Technical specifications and equipment Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

So, the main thing that we will remember about the Sony XPERIA S is a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720, a 12-megapixel camera, a 2-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz and NFC support “enhanced” by two smart tags that allow you to perform a chain of operations. But there is no support for memory cards, there is a non-removable battery inside, and on the case there is a place for a microHDMI socket. It is worth remembering that, according to the latest telephone fashion, the device uses microSIM cards. Today this is a unique set of characteristics, although everyone has long known that 12 megapixels is less interesting than, for example, a xenon flash, and the lack of memory expansion is completely viewed with hostility by geeks for whom it is extremely important to control everything, despite the fact that that the whole world has long since given a damn about installing a memory card in a phone with 32 gigabytes. It’s also worth mentioning the unique 3D photography capabilities (including panoramas), but more on that later.

I had a gray package, which did not include (another reason to buy the original) an HDMI cable and a couple of tags with NFC tags. Inside the box was a pack of booklets, a USB cable with an L-shaped plug, a power plug with a USB socket, and a wired headset with earbuds.

The headphones of the headset are the most ordinary, but they are earplugs with rubber seals that provide sound insulation. In the end, it’s good when the phone comes with “plugs” that don’t constantly fall out of your ears, and it’s good when they say Sony on them, despite the fact that all electronics have been produced in China for many years.

Frankly speaking, a smartphone for 6,500 hryvnia could use a player control panel on the headset wire, but that’s how it is.

Sony Ericsson is written on the fork (in fact, they shouldn’t remake it, since the car has already been produced). The second inscription “Green Heart” recalls the environmental direction of the company. It is when save on wires the company is trying to reduce the amount of plastic and all sorts of poorly recyclable materials in order to cause less harm to the environment when the fork becomes unusable and ends up in a landfill.

The USB cable, as I already said, has an unusual L-shaped microUSB plug. Which, taking into account the location of the microUSB socket, can even be called justified - it looks more aesthetically pleasing and there is less chance of the wire breaking.

Appearance of Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

When turned off, it is almost impossible to determine the boundaries of the screen - it looks great. Pay attention to the three white, barely noticeable dots above the transparent panel - these are touch buttons, we will return to them later.

The back cover is pleasant to the touch thanks to the matte plastic of very good quality, it looks expensive and looks like a top five, although you should understand that it is quite possible to scratch it. And the days of lacquered surfaces in phones seem to have sunk into oblivion with the advent of large and easily soiled touch screens.

The bend at the end makes me think of the XPERIA X10 model. Thanks to this, the designers managed to maintain some continuity. At the bottom end there is an element that has become rare - a loop for attaching a cord or keychain. The double volume key, despite its already miniature size, was made concave. This improves ergonomics - volume control becomes more comfortable by touch, and designers get another line of ode to their honor. Well, the hardware camera button is a separate special thanks for the fact that Sony remembers its role in the development of electronics and does not follow Apple’s lead.

Behind the cover, which occupies almost the entire back surface of the phone, only the microSIM card slot is hidden. In my opinion, by abandoning memory cards and a removable battery, it was necessary to go further and generally make a non-separable case, and place the microSIM slot on the side. It would look even more stylish.

The signature feature of the smartphone is a transparent insert. Last time used transparent elements I met it in LG GD900. Everything was still more interesting there, but the topic, as they say, “didn’t work.” In this case, the insert does not look like a revolution, but simply a design element used with taste and grace.

The transparent panel contains icons of three touch keys. One hundred percent of the people to whom I showed the device tried to click on the icons, although the buttons themselves are located higher (those three inconspicuous dots). On the one hand, this looks like a violation of all usability principles, on the other hand, you get used to it in five minutes, so you can’t even call it a problem.

Under the camera lens there is a backlight LED, a second speaker and a second microphone, designed to cut off external noise during a conversation.

Close-up of the back panel without cover. The white area in the center of the case is an approximate area for contact using NFC tags.

The plugs for HDMI and microUSB are made very tight. They are difficult to knock off and also difficult to put back in place. But when closed they fit perfectly, they fit like a glove.

Video from Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The video takes 11 minutes, but in addition to the appearance of the device, it demonstrates the interface (evaluate its speed yourself and draw a conclusion - is it smooth enough for you?) and a pre-installed set of applications.

Performance Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The results of synthetic performance tests of the Sony XPERIA S are just some kind of balm for the heart. The smartphone overtakes last year's dual-core LG Optimus 2X and is very close to its equal-class Galaxy Note with its 6408 points in AnTuTu. The Vellamo browser benchmark shows 1250 points - this is one of the best scores I have ever seen. Ahead are only Asus Transformer Prime and the Chinese Xiaomi Mi-One (read “Xiaomi Mi-van”). AnTuTu Tester showed an honest 10-finger multi-touch sensor. The device feels like it works quickly, but the animated wallpaper, coupled with the proprietary interface, makes scrolling through desktops a little slower than we would like.

Interface and installed applications Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The smartphone has five desktops. I have not found a way to somehow reduce or, conversely, increase their number. You can choose from seven theme options that differ in background color. The set of pre-installed widgets is traditionally scanty (compared to what Samsung and HTC do); the widgets themselves are called mini-programs.

The set of pre-installed applications takes up almost three full screens. In addition to the standard set Google applications, there is Facebook, Foursquare, Evernote, WatsApp, Astro file manager, NeoReader program for reading QR codes, McAfee antivirus Security and office suite OfficeSuite. Among our own developments, it is worth noting the LiveWare accessory manager and the Media Remote, which works with Sony equipment. There is also special application to view 3D photos and panoramas on the screen (it shows files in MPO format as usual JPG). And also all sorts of whistles like PlayNow, an NFC tag manager and an intriguing XPERIA apps Football Downloads.

XPERIA S uses the new weather widget of the AccuWeather service (it seems that these guys managed to sell their services to all smartphone manufacturers without exception, while each drawing their own interface). Other new interesting widgets compared to XPERIA Arc I just didn't notice. There is clearly still work to be done here.

LiveWare Manager allows you to assign one of three accessories to launch one application. There are similar applications on Google Play, but most users will not look for them - they will either be lazy, or (more likely) will not even know about such opportunities. Therefore, the idea is good, deserving of all approval, and fits into the general strategy of Sony, which manages to stuff its laptops with a bunch of pseudo-useful programs that frankly clog the system. In this case, LiveWare is a useful thing, which I actively used. We'll have to look for its analogues for everyday life on other phones.

The Football Downlods app turned out to be a pretentious dummy. It feels like football fans, like children, should be happy about every little thing. In this case, we are talking about a dozen background images and ringtones in the form of sound effects that can be heard in the stadium.

But this application can be called useful, but, unfortunately (and here one cannot blame Sony for defending its interests and the interests of fans of the brand) it can only be used with the company’s audio-video equipment. It would be interesting to try, but, alas, I didn’t have a Sony TV at hand.

Camera interface and sample images Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The camera has its own version of the interface, different from what it provides operating system. The main differences are the image stabilizer, the ability to select a focusing mode (for some reason there is no macro, but there is five-point focusing and focusing by pressing a finger). There is an adjustable (depending on its width) smile detection mode. You can configure how to press the shutter release - a hardware button or a touch button. And also what to do when you press the camera button in a locked state - launch the camera or not, take a photo right away or wait for other actions by the photographer. Well, and, of course, there are 3D shooting modes - fortunately, Sony got the hang of this with its 2011 line of photo and video cameras.

There is a special section in the album for viewing 3D photographs (in 2D, of course). The pictures simulate 3D image shaking (I didn’t notice the depth effect at all), and the panoramas are shown as a slow scrolling of the picture across the screen from left to right.

Unfortunately, this week brought very little sun, which did not allow us to appreciate the camera's capabilities in all its glory. On the other hand, when you need to photograph or video something, the weather may not be kind to you either. Overall, the photo and video results were predictably good, but not ideal. The camera is slightly “yellow” and is inferior to the reference camera - for Android this is samsung camera Galaxy SII/Galaxy Note.

You can download pictures in original resolution in the photo gallery on Torba.

Example of video recording in FullHD Sony XPERIA S (LT26i)

The video is provided for pro forma purposes, to view it in FullHD, you need to go to the YouTube website by clicking on the video and select FullHD there. While shooting video, zooming works (using the volume key), but the results of digital zoom are predictably disgusting; it’s better not to do this.

Impressions from work

In real conditions, the Sony XPERIA S performs at its best. It works quickly and always makes an excellent impression on others thanks to its transparent insert. It has a nice bright screen with excellent viewing angles. However, I noticed a few weaknesses. Firstly, the touch keys are especially inconvenient to use on this device. The point is not that you need to press not on the key icons, but a little higher - you quickly get used to it. The touch keys are very difficult to press in some places; you have to press them twice or even three times over and over again. Secondly, the starting camera takes a picture not so instantly - a couple of seconds pass, and the picture is sharp only if you shoot at a long distance. When shooting macro, the focus simply does not have time to reach. And somehow it turned out that at a short distance I have to shoot much more often. I was also completely disappointed by the lack of a macro mode. In the example images there is a frame with a branch where I unsuccessfully switched focus modes in the hope of catching a swollen bud in focus. Even touch focusing did not help - the focus stubbornly failed to achieve, assessing the entire area of ​​the frame over and over again. Thirdly, I personally am upset by the lack of a normal package of widgets - the buyer of an XPERIA S will either have to be content with a meager set of installed widgets, or look for something in the Google store. In fact, the only thing that can be called useful is the weather widget, which has finally begun to suit me. The complete uselessness of the DLNA function in practice seemed somewhat strange to me, since everything that the phone could reach (which, by the way, it handled very well) was not reproduced by the standard video player. No, it is clear that Sony, as the owner of the large studio Sony Pictures, cannot approve the use of the DivX codec, but it’s 2012! The problem, of course, can be cured by installing a third-party player that plays everything with a bang - gigabyte files, MKV, HD resolution, and so on. But why open access to DLNA while blocking the ability to play video from your home network is unclear. Otherwise, I was very pleased with the device, especially appreciating its incredible image boost. Sony jumped over its head by creating, after the objectively beautiful XPERIA Arc, the even more amazing design of the XPERIA S.

Bottom line

Sony XPERIA S is a true representative of the “Sony style”. This is a modern (before the release of 4-core competitors, although it will remain fast even after their appearance, but the image charge of technological leadership will inevitably fade away) smartphone with an outstanding appearance, a good camera and a built-in 32 GB drive. It seems to me that it was created simply to drive geeks into a frenzy with its set technical characteristics and design. This device is not for those who want to update firmware from morning to evening, change memory cards every 2 hours and be sick of the delay Android updates until the next unavailable (and it will always loom on the horizon) version. This is a smartphone for those who want to buy a beautiful and modern thing that can impress others not only with FullHD video shooting and 3D panoramas, but also with its remarkable design and good materials. Therefore, we can confidently recommend the Sony XPERIA S for purchase. Recommend it to everyone who does not suffer from a particularly severe form of techno-boring. 4 reasons to buy Sony XPERIA S (LT26i):

• good recognizable design and excellent materials;
• excellent bright screen with HD resolution;
• a decent camera with FullHD video recording and 3D shooting capabilities;
• high performance.

4 reasons not to buy Sony XPERIA S (LT26i):

• geek factor (you can’t remove the battery or insert a memory card);
• the need to wait for an update to Android 4.0;
• temporary technological leadership, which will be leveled by competitors in the summer;
• poor sensitivity of touch buttons.