The flagship smartphone XPERIA X1 will remain so until the model with the code name goes on sale (hopefully at the end of this year). Interest in it is fueled by excellent case materials, a large 3-inch display with a resolution of 800x480, a QWERTY keyboard and an intriguing interface - X-panels, which are desktop-like shells with different functionality. The set came out interesting, if not unique, but at the same time contradictory.

Frankly, the editors gg I was tormented by doubts whether or not to take this smartphone for review. It was announced last year at Mobile World Congress 2008, and went on sale just under New Year. At the same time, an extremely small quantity of this phone was delivered to our country. It is not cheap and you can only buy it “to order” - you will not find it on the open market. Truly Hamlet's question was finally resolved in favor of “to be,” since the model still turned out to be iconic and interesting, despite the fact that its exit was delayed. In addition, we are experiencing certain tender feelings to the brand Sony Ericsson(as well as to someone experiencing better times Motorola), therefore, could not resist the temptation to hold the company’s flagship smartphone in their hands, even if it was developed in the depths of HTC (although both companies do not comment on this fact, however, without denying it).

A little history

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 model produced the effect of a bomb exploding at Mobile World Congress 2008 in the literal sense of the word. No one expected such a step from the company - to take and abandon in one fell swoop Symbian platforms UIQ, into which huge resources have been poured, announce a new flagship on Windows Mobile. Even such a small thing as support for microSD memory cards and the refusal of Sony cards seemed like a reasonable step towards the consumer, bordering on corporate blasphemy. A huge display with advanced resolution, a QWERTY keyboard and a promised innovative interface - all foreshadowed success and fueled the interest of a public unprepared for such shocks and a sharp turn in the course that the company was taking. At first I promised a new version Windows Mobile, but Microsoft failed here, and in the end the model came out with a slightly updated version 6.1. In reality, there were slightly more problems. In June, HTC announced a similar product (we are, of course, talking about the HTC Touch Pro). And it reached the shelves much earlier than the “experiment”, having arrived before the crisis. In addition, distributors of Windows Mobile systems, due to their specific nature, are closer to the computer audience than to the mobile audience. And HTC's position in this segment in the second half of 2008 was stronger than ever. As a result, of all the advantages, the XPERIA X1 has only partially metal case, a promised interface with the ability to create custom shells (it was assumed that independent developers would be able to create their own panels) and an army of fans of the Sony Ericsson brand, who were eagerly awaiting the new product.

Specifications

The undoubted advantages of the model include a 3-inch display with a resolution of 800x480. Let me remind you that the Asus Eee PC 4G netbook had a similar resolution. Of course, there is some profanation with ease of use here, which is widely replicated by the media, but in general it is believed that it is convenient to view websites on a 3-inch display with such a resolution. Although on the same Asus Eee PC 4G this convenience is questionable, despite the significantly larger physical dimensions of the screen. For comparison, the characteristics of HTC Touch Pro are shown. They are both available for sale in limited quantities (there are noticeably more offers of HTC Touch Pro, but they could have been imported even before the crisis, counting on pre-New Year sales). The price for both models revolves around the amount of 5,000 hryvnia.

Appearance

Taking into account the QWERTY keyboard, the device turned out to be not very large, but the metal parts made it quite weighty. The base of the chassis on which the keyboard itself is located is metal. When closed, it looks like a metal rim on the case, and when open, the metal around the keyboard gives the device an expensive look. There are LEDs in the corners that light up for incoming and missed calls and messages.

The keyboard, at first glance, is extremely similar to a computer keyboard - a long space bar, an L-shaped Enter, but it obviously takes a long time to get used to. Moreover, some keys simply require this. For example, a button with a Windows icon or a completely “intuitive” “ok” key. And the lack of cursor control arrows is confusing at first - to move the cursor you need to move your fingers to the upper block with the display, where the navigation module is located.

Despite the fact that we received a test copy and it was severely “beaten by life” (for example, this explains the absence of a rubberized plug hiding the mounting screw in the upper right corner of the photo). But the metal battery cover and soft touch material on the back look like new. Sony Ericsson did not skimp on materials in this model. Apart from the dust that constantly gets stuck in all the small cracks on the case, the device looks like new.

At the bottom end there is a loop for attaching a keychain, cord or other pendants. At the top there is a 3.5 mm jack and a power button.

The right side panel contains the traditional camera power button and volume control keys. Pay attention to the speaker gap (on the left side of the top and right side of the bottom pictures). There is a USB connector on the left - it is used for charging and for exchanging data with a computer. By the way, the XPERIA comes with a charger, as is the case with the HTC, in the plug of which you need to plug this same USB cable. That is, charging in any case comes from USB.

The lid makes an ambivalent impression. On the one hand, it looks reliable. On the other hand, after the phone accidentally fell, it flew off along with the battery that fell out of its compartment. In these two pictures she is not sitting tightly, perhaps it is worth re-shooting this angle for full review. The stylus with its black cap hides in the phone body like a partisan in the forests of Transcarpathia - finding it is not so easy and quick. However, I have completely lost the habit of using it. Moreover, my last three phones had touch screens and I got the hang of hitting the right place (if necessary) with the tip sharpened like a razor nail

The navigation block, to be honest, ended up being redundant. Six keys, a navigation key, and even an optical joystick (which is actually neither optical nor a joystick - everything is just like a guinea pig). Basically, there is a small touchpad in the center of the navigation block. The same is found in Samsung Witu and a number of other models. To be honest, the author of such navigation would like erect a monument Ask some questions. For example, why, with two soft keys, make a separate “ok” button (which, by the way, is duplicated on a QWERTY keyboard and is still completely unclear in what situation it is used). The buttons for accepting and rejecting calls are quite justified. As well as a separate key that launches the very X Panels that were talked about so much in the announcement. But this key should be placed separately somehow. For example, I would make the panels launch in a simpler and more natural way - by pressing the center of the navigation key. Which is usually used to enter the menu. By the way, this optical joystick can be disabled in the Windows Mobile settings and you can use the navigation key as usual.

The SIM card is easy to install. It is supported by a special plate, which must be pressed in order to pull the card back out.

But although the memory card can be removed without turning off the phone, its connector is hidden under the cover. Therefore, when replacing a memory card, the cover will have to be removed. This photo also clearly shows the stylus in its niche and the 3-megapixel camera module with LED backlight.

Appearance video

Interface and X-Panels

X-panels are a key element for working with Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. As an alternative, you can use the standard Windows Mobile menu, but it’s hard to say which is worse. There was a feeling that the developers of X-panels did not bother to familiarize themselves with similar add-ons to the operating system (there are already a lot of them, but we could start from the most common one - TouchFLO 3D, created by HTC). To be fair, it must be said that there are already eleven additional panels available for free download (lucky phone owners can get access to download new panels directly from the phone). These are panels for accessing Evernote, Facebook, Skype, Windows Live services. But in general, for a phone that went on sale six months ago, these are, of course, crumbs. The X-panel menu is called up by pressing a special key. At the same time, an icon gallery appears with all installed panels. There are not so many of them and they duplicate each other, differing for the most part only in color design. Visualization of the panels is implemented in 3 ways - you can arrange them like a fan this way, or you can arrange them like that. But this is all self-indulgence; the only convenient way is to arrange them in a table. To remove or add new panels, you need to press the settings button.

The Google panel is used to launch the corresponding services. Its presence is more like a nod of politeness to your partner, rather than a reasonable necessity. The problem with all X-panels is that to launch some application that is not on the current panel, you need to enter the panels menu, select a “more different” panel, wait for it to load (a few seconds) and only then launch the application. It would be difficult to come up with a more complex mechanism. Another useless but beautiful panel is the fish panel. They simply float across the screen with a clock and react to the touch of your fingers - you can drive them away. This is where all the fun ends.

The remaining panels are quite similar to each other. The panel loading process is implemented like in the Apple iPhone. That is, first the overcompressed image is loaded (apparently, it is believed that since it is there, the idiot user is sure that the application loaded instantly), and after 3-4 seconds, it does not acquire clarity - this is the downloaded application with the X-panel. But in general, it’s all better to see in the video below.

X-panels

The most useful (and the only truly convenient) panel is developed by the St. Petersburg company Spb Software. Apparently, it will be included in the standard package (let me remind you that I had a test sample). The panel has three tabs - diary, main applications and contacts.

But, as popular wisdom says, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times: Spb Shell panel

Two more standard panels have purely entertainment functions. It is completely incomprehensible why their functions are not combined - I have never seen a phone in my life in which switching between the radio and the media player required so much time and action. In addition, if you load one of them, the second will inevitably be unloaded from memory, which is generally strange for a multitasking device. The media panel is animated quite nicely and, in addition to listening to music, allows you to watch videos and photos. But the radio panel is extremely ascetic - it looks quite adequate and is convenient to use, but the stations in the memory, you must admit, this is, to put it mildly, wrong. Most likely it's all about the haste with which the developers made this panel.

Radio panel

Among the “relatives”, the most interesting (after the Spb Shell panel) panel is called XPERIA. It has many settings, allows you to add RSS feeds, select blocks that will be displayed on the desktop. It would be appropriate to say here that XPERIA is a phone aimed at those who prefer to be constantly online. The first thing the smartphone does after entering the PIN code is connect to the Internet and try to keep its owner up to date with all the news (mail and RSS channels). These opportunities cannot but be appreciated by those who are truly interested in them. The device does not let you forget that it is now 2009.

Similar settings, however, are available for the remaining two panels, which are modestly called (minus for marketers - it was possible to come up with something memorable, but there was not enough time, intelligence, or both at once) “panel 1” and “panel 2”.

A couple more interesting screenshots - the first shows access to Google's Picasa panel, the second shows the Comm Manager application used by HTC. It allows you to easily and simply manage all the communication capabilities of the phone (although it is not clear how the “airplane” mode differs from turning off the phone).

And here google maps Never before have they looked as good on a phone as they do here. Of course, this is due to the high resolution of the screen and its size. Perhaps, in this form they are really comfortable to use.

For the sake of formality, I’ll also provide screenshots of the Windows Mobile settings. They are standard, as you would expect. And they don’t carry anything unusual or previously unseen.

Camera

It is worth saying that premium smartphones, which certainly include the XPERIA X1, have never been distinguished by advanced cameras. It's not that their customers would refuse a good camera in their device. Rather, manufacturers do not equip their devices with advanced cameras so that the price, already comparable to the cost of a laptop, does not rise to the cost of an expensive laptop, limiting the number of buyers (and reducing production resources, which, in turn, will also lead to higher costs). The camera in the XPERIA X1 is quite standard, three megapixel with autofocus and LED backlight. Logically, it should be similar to the one in the HTC Tocuh Pro, but I liked the camera in the HTC Touch Diamond, which I had the pleasure (or displeasure - depending on how you look at it, there were a lot of disappointments) to use, less. Plus, the XPERIA X1 camera has the ability to select an autofocus zone when shooting - to do this, you just need to activate the appropriate mode and simply tell the device what to focus on by pointing your finger at the corresponding area of ​​the display. By the way, the autofocus, either due to the unfinished version of the device or something else, gave frequent failures during macro photography, focusing on the general background (in this case it was the background, the focus of which did not interest me at all). But in the forced focusing mode, everything worked just fine - no matter how hard you tried to find flaws in the operation of the automation, it would not have been possible. The default resolution is 2048x1280, corresponding to the display proportions. But if you wish, you can choose 2048x1536 (that is, 4:3). In practice, the camera simply cuts off a strip at the top and bottom, but everyone can decide at what resolution to shoot on their own. For printing, of course, 2048x1536 is better. But maybe someone takes pictures to watch them on their widescreen monitor or TV. Examples of pictures in original resolution are available by clicking on the preview. The images will open in a new browser window. You can view the entire gallery, consisting of fifty photographs, in

Advantages: The main advantage of the X1 is that Sony has finally turned its face to generally accepted standards: firstly, regular microSD memory cards instead of the less common Memory Stick, secondly, a 3.5mm audio jack and miniUSB instead of a combined Fast Port, like a bathroom, and c- thirdly, not very favorite but very standard Winmobile 6.1. Total - now you can use relatively cheap memory cards, any ears, synchronize and charge both it and the player with the camera via the same cord, install a lot of programs from a huge pile of software easily available on the Internet (filling the gaping gaps in the standard software) . The speed is quite sufficient for the operation of almost all programs (I just haven’t tried video playback, the screen is still not for cinema), the system’s operation is quite stable, in 4 months the reset was needed 3 times. Of the other advantages already listed in previous reviews, I would like to repeat about cute design, high quality workmanship, complete set wireless interfaces, reliable signal reception and fast network search, quite decent operating time, excellent picture quality. Quite decent standard headphones - not Sennhaiser, but you can listen to music quite well.

Flaws: What I personally didn’t like: despite the excellent picture quality, the screen is narrow and you can only poke into the on-screen keyboard with a stylus. And the retractable layout is far from QWERTY; the keys are still too small for my not very thick fingers, plus there is no cursor control. :-(Moreover, when you call up the on-screen keyboard, a scroll bar does not always appear, especially in the program registration window: entering the registration code blindly when the input window is completely blocked by the pop-up keyboard is still a pleasure. The buttons on the control panel are also not very convenient - well, very well positioned The stylus (by the way, quite convenient) was also too clever - even after 4 months of use, when I remove it, I remember their Japanese mother. And for placing the reset button under the cover (And this is in a device running Windows!!!), the developers are generally sentenced to lifelong use of only this one. model. When reading, the scroll wheel is really missing, but this is Sonya’s own patent :-(4 LEDs on the ends of the device are cool, but absolutely impractical: if the machine is in your hand or in a holster, this illumination is not visible, and in the sun they are not visible. The external speaker is easy to accidentally block and then it is almost inaudible. There is no indication of the operation of the wireless interfaces; if you forget to turn it off via Comm Nanager, you will waste the battery. The reliability of the network signal level indication leaves much to be desired: maybe after 5 minutes. in the same place, after 4 bars, show one, but the call goes through normally and the connection is stable. The battery charge indication is displayed in 10% increments - well, a very controversial decision. Changing the firmware via the Internet and SEUS is also not for everyone; you could give users a choice: update automatically or download the required firmware themselves. The equipment is ascetic: a spare stylus for a Russian person is a useful thing, it’s either broken or loved, but the lack of a holster, protective film and fastening in the car is, in my opinion, redneck. It wouldn't affect the price that much.

What I didn't like

The disadvantages take on a noticeable advantage. Within a year, all the paint on the back of the phone had been scraped off. It’s impossible to figure out the phone’s functions (I couldn’t find bluetooth for 2 weeks), the usb stopped working and I can’t even sense it. Inconvenient charging and a hole for it in the phone (compared, for example, with the hole from the T700 model).

What I liked

Well, in principle, the phone is good to use. Normal color. Lots of different applications, quite a lot of memory. The touch screen is good.

What I liked

Compared to other models, IZH simply does not!!!

What I didn't like

The impression is disgusting. Complete disappointment. All functions are performed with long delays, the quality of materials is low, the buttons are small, the interface and controls are nonexistent. The device periodically glitches, the alarm system is extremely inconvenient, and it is almost impossible to control the display with your fingers (many buttons cannot be pressed due to their small size). The device and its filling are absolutely not thought out! With all this, it is very expensive, disproportionately, wildly expensive - I paid 27 thousand for this device! Give me back my iPhone!

What I liked

At first glance, it is an outwardly attractive and functional model. But this is only at first glance.

What I didn't like

see comment.

What I liked

In my opinion.....there are not many of them:((

What I didn't like

fragile, inconvenient, very big!

What I liked

beautiful, unique sliding keyboard, touch display

What I didn't like

Very low sensitivity of the phone itself. Very high sensitivity of the sensors (screen, joystick. Doesn’t hold the battery charge well. And it just goes away and doesn’t come back for a long time....

What I liked

What I didn't like

not enough built-in memory, the X panel is slow, the phone has Windows, a weak speaker, a bad camera, an uncomfortable qwerty keyboard (you can’t feel the button being pressed) in general the phone is not very good, it doesn’t justify its price!!!
PS: I'm waiting for Nokia N97!!!

What I liked

Made beautifully!

What I didn't like

The touch screen is constantly glitching.
He doesn’t want to work at all in the cold.
The battery costs 1500, but it lasts for a maximum of a day.
Charging after a complete discharge is not possible at all; it begins only after removing the battery.
All contacts are gone.
It is simply impossible to quickly dial a number; you need to do a lot of unnecessary manipulations to select the required subscriber.

What I didn't like

Camera, surprisingly small buttons.

What I liked

operating system windows, beautiful design, smartphone.

What I didn't like

The light in the bag turns on spontaneously, apparently from magnets. For this reason, the battery drains quickly. A similar situation is observed with a colleague’s N97.

What I liked

Everything is fine

What I didn't like

Weak antenna, weak GPS, weak speaker...

What I liked

Visually beautiful, the device is already three years old since I bought it, and I’m still not ashamed to take it out.... The battery, I’m still charging it on the third day, not bad for a communicator with a three-year-old battery.... What a winmobile, with all arising from the software, everything you need has been installed for a long time and is free....

What I didn't like

1-Heavy
2-in the menu there are small symbols and inscriptions, this also includes the phone book, VERY small entries, and in the alphabetical index you can only get to the letters with a needle:(((I must say thank you that at least in documents you can zoom in on the text.
The 3-button keyboard is terribly inconvenient, even for women’s small fingers; the buttons are small and close to each other with a beveled surface. As for the display keyboard, I was never able to find a transition to a permanent set of Latin letters; I have to suffer with the push-button keyboard.
4-The battery only lasts for a day; if you listen to music or play kerchief during the day, it will run out twice as fast when watching a video.
5-Charging via USB is very slow, through a non-native one USB cable I can't charge the device at all.
6-Periodically freezes, the PDA can only be revived after removing the battery:(((
7-The sound of the external speaker is not the best, and it is also poorly located on the body. When you hold the PDA in your left hand, the speaker closes and the sound is almost inaudible.
8-And the most terrible disappointment turned out to be that it is IMPOSSIBLE to set your own melody for the call. Only a few standard midi melodies are offered - this is simply a fiasco for a modern multifunctional device. It's a shame that the phone failed at the simplest function!!!

What I liked

Good screen resolution - Separate connection for headphones (mini jack) from charging (mini USB) - A good find of the company - a photocell, convenient to use when viewing lists, text or Internet pages. -The case is assembled soundly without cracks, so tightly that the back cover has to be torn off with force;)

What I didn't like

Slow, the battery lasts for 5-6 hours of active life, moisture damage damages the keyboard.

What I liked

All in one

What I didn't like

the body is fragile. Within a year of use it cracked in several places.
Also, after a year of use, it started to glitch...it takes a long time to switch panels and makes poor contact with the BT headset.
If you carry your phone in your pocket, not only will the paint on the case wear off, but also on your jeans.

What I liked

The phone is comfortable and stylish. camera for 4, convenient retractable keyboard, touch joystick and nice panels

What I didn't like

Now let's talk about the shortcomings. Suddenly, out of the blue, more than half of the phone numbers saved in Contacts disappeared. It’s good that there was a spare Excel file where I prudently dropped the numbers for backup storage. But still, I spent more than 2 hours restoring the information. And many of the recently introduced numbers have disappeared forever. This is really annoying, this is a real problem that calls into question the reliability of the communicator.
In addition, several times there were incomprehensible freezes, which were eliminated by a soft reboot. For that kind of money to have such problems? Question....

What I liked

I’ve written about the advantages before.

What I didn't like

It's a buggy model... you constantly have to reboot for the hangs to disappear. The battery is missing. A very weak case... the lid instantly flew off and the camera was cut off.

Frame:

• The device is designed as a side slider. Case material - plastic, there is also a metal frame around the case
• On the front panel there is a 3-inch touch display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. Above the display there is a speaker hole in the form of a horizontal strip. In the left corner of the speaker there is a camera for video telephony, in the right corner there is a light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the touch display
• Below the display there is a block of control keys with a 5-way key in the middle. The central button has a built-in touchpad, which is controlled by simply moving your finger and is used to navigate through the menu. On either side of it there are call accept/hang up buttons, OK buttons and X-panel in the form of triangles.
• When the communicator is opened, access to the QWERTY keyboard is available, which consists of 42 separately spaced keys. White backlighting for all keys
• On the right side at the top there is a paired volume key, and at the bottom there is a camera shutter button
• On the left side there is a miniUSB connector, without any plug. A little to the left of it is a slot for a stylus. Below you can see the external speaker hole, which is covered with a mesh
• At the top end there is a power button and a standard 3.5 mm mini-Jack for connecting a stereo headset.
• At the bottom end in the middle there is an eyelet for a strap
• On the back side at the very top there is a separate block dedicated to a 3.2-megapixel camera and an LED flash. Just below is the battery cover, under which is hidden a slot for microSD memory cards with hot-swappable support.
• On the left and right ends there are four light indicators that flash green or red depending on the state of the phone or missed events, which can be manually configured in the device menu.

Hardware:

• Qualcomm MSM7200A processor, 528 MHz
• Built-in memory - 512 MB, of which 280 MB is available
• RAM capacity - 256 MB, of which 200 MB are available

X-panel

• The X-panel shell is a set of nine panels that serve to perform various tasks and functions. You can also download additional panels from the official Sony Ericsson website. It is possible to launch only one panel at a time; multitasking is not provided for them. By default, the communicator already has seven standard panels installed:
• “Today” is a standard WM desktop, which is designed as a separate panel
• Shell 1 - has a standard set of functions, this is viewing weather, news, events. Work with wireless connections. You can place shortcuts to the necessary programs.
• Shell 2 - has a similar set of functions as in shell 1, but with a different design
• Google services - panel with shortcuts to Google services pages
• Multimedia - a set of programs for viewing photos, videos, listening to music. There is access to games and contacts list
• Radio - allows you to listen to the radio and save up to six radio stations in the device’s memory
• Fishes - a simple screensaver with a floating clock and fish

Camera:

• Maximum photo resolution: 2048x1536 or 2048x1280 (wide) pixels
• White Balance: Automatic, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Sunny, Cloudy
• Effects: negative, overexposure, sepia, black and white
• Image quality: economical, normal, high
• Video recording: 640x480, 320x240 pixels at 15 fps, video format - 3gp

Communications:

• From communication capabilities GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB provided
• GPS navigation is based on the standard Qualcomm gpsOne chip. Cold start time is about 2 minutes. Hot start time is less than a minute.
• Bluetooth version 2.0 with EDR support. There is support for profiles: Generic Access Profile (GAP), Dial Up Network (DUN), Object Push Profile (OPP), Hands-Free Profile (HFP), Headset Profile (HSP), Human Interface Device Profile (HID), Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), Personal Area Network Profile (PAN), SIM Access Profile (SAP), File Transfer Profile (FPT)
• Wi-Fi on the phone works without problems. Connection to the access point is carried out automatically, without unnecessary settings. It is possible to adjust the signal strength to save battery power.
• Connection to a computer is made via a USB interface. USB standard - 2.0. The average data transfer speed is 1 Mb/sec.

Competing devices:

• HTC Touch Pro
• Glofiish M800

Equipment:

• Communicator
• Battery
• Stylus
• miniUSB cable
• Charging block
• Wired stereo headset
• Adapter with 3.5 mm output
• CD with software
• Documentation

Mid-level model with a nice design and balanced characteristics

Last spring in Barcelona during the Mobile World Congress, Sony not only felt proud of its flagship smartphone Xperia XZ Premium, which was favored by the press and critics, but also managed to present a new product from the middle class, which became the successor of the Xperia XA family. New smartphone, called the Sony Xperia XA1, does not have cool flagship features, such as recording slo-mo videos at 960 frames per second, but it can also do something. Today we present a detailed review of one of the most balanced and affordable models of modern smartphones from the Japanese manufacturer.

Main characteristics of Sony Xperia XA1 (G3112)

• SoC MediaTek Helio P20 (MT6757), 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 @1.6/2.3 GHz
• GPU Mali-T880
• Operating system Android 7.0
• Touch display IPS 5″, 1280×720, 293 ppi
• RAM(RAM) 3 GB, internal memory 32 GB
• Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
• MicroSD support up to 256 GB
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
• LTE Cat.4/6 networks (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.2
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
• USB Type-C,USB OTG
• Main camera 23 MP, f/2.0, autofocus, 1080p video
• Front camera 8 MP, f/2.0, fixed. focus
• Proximity, lighting, magnetic field sensors, accelerometer
• Battery 2300 mAh
• Dimensions 145×67×8 mm
• Weight 143 g

Appearance and ease of use

In the new season, Sony Mobile is not going to deviate from long-standing traditions: all new smartphones, including the Xperia XA1, use the familiar Loop Surface principle. That is, the metal frame, bending, with its curved edges extends onto all panels - front, back and end.

At the same time, the body continues to remain “square”, with sharp corners, this is also a signature touch of all mobile devices of the Japanese brand. Company representatives steadfastly endure all user complaints about the sharp corners of Sony smartphones tearing their pockets, and continue to stand their ground.

The body of the Sony Xperia XA1 has a shape that is not quite familiar to ordinary smartphones, with a very thin frame on the sides of the screen, but with very wide upper and lower margins. The result is a thin and long, elongated device, and its sharp corners (without any rounding at all) visually lengthen it even more. Of course, the narrow device is held well in the hand due to a comfortable grip, but it cannot be said that, for example, the Huawei Nova 2 with slightly wider sides, but much smoother contours and rounded corners, fits worse in the hand.

The case turned out to be non-slip and non-marking, but its matte plastic back wall is instantly covered with numerous and quite noticeable scratches, this is noted by many users who have encountered the problem. The cute Sony Xperia XA1 can quickly lose its presentable appearance if measures are not taken to protect it.

At the top on the front panel, in addition to sensors and front camera, there is an LED event indicator.

At the bottom, as usual for Sony smartphones, there are no touch buttons, but at the same time there remains an empty, unoccupied space almost two centimeters high. By modern standards, a device with such indents looks somehow old-fashioned, old-school.

The glass surface of the panel has subtle curves on the sides, but the sloping edges are barely defined and the bends are minimal. The smartphone, which costs 22 thousand rubles, did not receive a fingerprint scanner at all, and this is a rather strong minus of the Xperia XA1; it is impossible to find an excuse for this at such a price.

On the back side there is only a single camera eye with a flash, also single. The flash is not very bright. These elements do not protrude beyond the surface, so the smartphone lies firmly on a hard surface.

Hardware buttons are located on the right side. The one that is responsible for power and locking has a round shape, the rest of the buttons are of the usual shape, oblong.

Naturally, there is a traditional Sony dedicated key responsible for working with the camera. The Xperia XA1 model does not have protection from dust and moisture.

You can simultaneously install three cards into the smartphone: two Nano-SIM format SIM cards are placed on the sled, and next to it there is a separate slot connector for a microSD memory card, without a retractable tray. All connectors are covered with a convenient cover that does not need to be pulled out with a special key or paperclip. All Sony smartphones automatically reboot as soon as the SIM card slots are removed from the case, regardless of whether the cards are installed in the slots.

At the top end there is an audio output for headphones (3.5 mm), as well as an auxiliary microphone.

The bottom end is given over to the speaker output and a universal USB Type-C connector that supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode. The main conversation microphone is located at the very bottom of the front panel, not at the end.

Sony Xperia XA1 is available in four colors: white, black, gold and pink. The front panel under the glass in all cases matches the overall color of the case, which visually makes the design more holistic. In addition, Sony has decided to always set the color themes of the interface in accordance with the color of the body, which makes the image of the product complete.

Screen

The Sony Xperia XA1 features an IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Perhaps, formally, this glass belongs to the category of 2.5D glass, but the sloping edges are very weakly expressed, the curves are barely visible. A certain image enhancement technology is used without any symbols or names. The screen dimensions are 62x110 mm with a diagonal of 5 inches. The resolution is 1280×720, the pixel density is about 293 ppi. The frame around the screen has a minimum (about a millimeter of the black frame and about a millimeter of the body itself) thickness on the sides, a total of 2 mm. But the indentations at the top and bottom range from 16 to 17 mm.

You can manually adjust the display brightness or set automatic settings based on the ambient light sensor. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 4 simultaneous multi-touch touches.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both devices (Sony Xperia XA1, as it is not difficult to determine, is on the right; then they can be distinguished by size):

Both screens are dark, but the Sony screen is still darker (its brightness in the photo is 108 versus 112 for the Nexus 7). The tripling of reflected objects in the Sony Xperia XA1 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (also known as the touch sensor) and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower rate than with regular glass.

When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, its maximum value was about 490 cd/m², and the minimum was 40 cd/m². The maximum value is high, and, given the excellent anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the right of the logo on the front panel). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. This function is dependent on brightness adjustment. If it is at a minimum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 5.5 cd/m² (dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 110 cd/m² (normal), in a bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a slightly cloudy day outdoors - about 10,000 lux) increases to 500 cd/m² (even slightly more than the maximum with manual adjustment). If the brightness slider is at half scale, then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 50, 210 and 500 cd/m² (a little bright in the dark). If the brightness control is set to maximum - 110, 320, 500 cd/m² (the first two values ​​are too high). We were more satisfied with the option with a slider of about 10% - 30, 140, 500 cd/m². It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This screen uses an IPS type matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades (except for the very, very dark ones when deviating along one diagonal) and without significant color shifts even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Nexus 7 and Sony Xperia XA1, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (across the white field in full screen), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K .

White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.

And a test picture:

Colors are moderately saturated on both screens, and the color balance is noticeably different.

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Sony Xperia XA1 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the greater brightening of blacks, and there are also signs of inversion of dark shades.

And a white field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens decreased noticeably, but in the case of the Sony Xperia XA1 the drop in brightness is slightly less. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a purple or reddish tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 860:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 25 ms (12 ms on + 13 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 35 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.20, which is equal to the standard value of 2.20, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:

Due to the presence of dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the output image (in dark images, the brightness tends to decrease), the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades gray almost all over the screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. In general, such non-disabled brightness correction does nothing but harm, since it reduces the visibility of gradations in the shadows in the case of dark images. In addition, this dynamic adjustment, when displaying any image other than a white field on the entire screen, significantly reduces the brightness, which impairs readability in bright light, and the constant adjustment of brightness can be very annoying.

Color gamut is close to sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:

As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation. The grayscale balance is good, as the color temperature is close to the standard 6500K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is below 10, which is considered acceptable for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This smartphone has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the intensities of the three primary colors.

That's what we tried to do, the result is data signed as Corr. in the graphs above. As a result, we slightly improved the balance on the white field, but in fact it makes no sense to make corrections in this case. In the settings you can choose one of three correction profiles.

The photos above are taken for option Switch off. Note that the correction only works in Sony applications - when viewing images and, apparently, in the video player. This is what happens if you select a profile Extreme brightness mode:

The color contrast increases, nothing remains of the naturalness of the colors. In mode Image enhancement image correction is not so extreme:

Let's summarize. The brightness adjustment range of this screen is wide, the anti-glare properties are excellent, which allows you to comfortably use the smartphone both on a sunny day outside and in complete darkness. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages include an effective oleophobic coating, no air gap in the screen layers and no flickering, good uniformity of the black field, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and good color balance. The disadvantages are the low stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane, as well as the non-switchable dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices (and the most important thing is the visibility of information in a wide range of external conditions), the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Cameras

The front module has a 1/4″ Exmor R sensor with a resolution of 8 MP, as well as a 23 mm wide-angle lens with f/2.0 aperture and autofocus, but without its own flash. The maximum light sensitivity of the matrix is ​​ISO 3200.

The shooting quality is good: the image is bright, the sharpness across the entire field of the frame is satisfactory, there are no complaints about detail.

For the main camera, Sony used its 1/2.3″ 23-megapixel Exmor RS module for mobile devices with a pixel size of 1.22 microns. The 23mm wide-angle lens has an f/2.0 aperture. The maximum light sensitivity of the matrix is ​​ISO 6400, but you can manually set only ISO 3200. There is a digital 5x Clear Image zoom and proprietary electronic stabilization SteadyShot, as well as fast hybrid autofocus.

The control menu is standard for all Sony devices; it is not very convenient, since the settings are scattered in different places, but for regular users this is no longer a problem. Automatic and manual shooting control modes are standard; it is possible to download and install additional modes. As usual, there is an AR effect with augmented reality.

Manual settings, as usual, offer access to shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, white balance and focus options. True, the camera always turns on in auto mode if you use the side button.

The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 1080p with the H.264 codec; there are no 4K and 60 fps modes. The camera does not cope well with video shooting. Focusing does not fail, but the image is loose, detail is not as high as we would like. The sound recording is clear, but the noise reduction system suppresses certain frequencies too much, deafness appears, and the sound loses its natural liveliness.

• Video No. 1 (27 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 2 (25 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps, H.264, AAC)

	The sharpness across the frame is quite good.
	The camera does relatively well when shooting indoors.
	The camera copes with macro photography.
	The text is well done.
	The license plates of nearby cars are distinguishable.
	Sharpness according to plans is not bad.

The camera turned out, as follows from most reviews, not bad. It copes well in high light, but at the slightest drop, large grain from the noise reduction begins to appear. However, it does not always spoil the details: in most cases, the noise reduction is quite accurate. You can often notice small areas of out of focus around the edges of the frame. Otherwise, the camera is really quite good and will cope well with documentary shooting.

Telephone and communications

MediaTek Helio P20 supports LTE Cat.6 with maximum download speeds of up to 300 Mbps, and in some regions it Sony model Xperia XA1 is supported, while others can use slower LTE Cat.4 (up to 150Mbps). A large number of LTE FDD and TDD frequency bands are supported, including all three of the most common bands in Russia (Band 3, 7, 20). In the city limits of the Moscow region, the device did not behave quite confidently, it took a long time to “catch” the network, demonstrated far from the maximum possible speeds in familiar test places, and there were always one or two “sticks” on the indicators, although this, of course, was not A completely objective indicator. In general, I got the impression that once again the Sony smartphone is not doing very well with the sensitivity of the radio modem, such a sin is common with them.

In addition, Bluetooth 4.2 is supported, both Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), there is NFC with support for Mifare Classic, that is, the device works with an application for travel documents. You can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode.

When dialing a number, Smart Dial is supported with search by the first letters in contacts. In the phone book you can find standard Android capabilities for sorting and displaying contacts.

Software and multimedia

The software platform uses Android OS version 7.0 and its own proprietary shell, which changes little from series to series. However, updates happen, and right now it's the closest thing to stock Android.

Not for the first time in Sony smartphones Xperia uses Xperia Actions technology, which studies user behavior and helps in different situations with customizable settings and personalized recommendations. For example, Xperia can learn to detect what time you usually go to bed and wake up, so it can dim the screen brightness and lower the call volume at those times. Smart Cleaner automatically disables unused apps and clears the cache to free up memory.

Also familiar is the set of pre-installed programs that move from model to model (Movie Creator, Sketch, AVG antivirus). By default, all Sony smartphones come with a SwiftKey keyboard pre-installed.

To play music, the device uses a familiar branded player with a familiar set of settings for optimizing ClearAudio+ sound.

The sound of the main speaker is rather faded and quiet; there are no two stereo speakers, as in older models. In headphones, the device sounds more or less decent: the sound is clear, loud and rich, although there is not an abundance of low frequencies, and it cannot be called crystal clear. To use certain headphone models self-made Sony has pre-installed ready-made profiles. There is also a built-in FM radio. But, as usual, there is no voice recorder application on Sony smartphones.

Performance

The Sony Xperia XA1 hardware platform is based on a single-chip system MediaTek MT6757 (Helio P20), made using 16-nanometer technology. This SoC includes eight 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores in two clusters with a frequency of 1.6 or 2.3 GHz. The dual-core Mali-T880 GPU is responsible for graphics processing. The amount of RAM is 3 GB, and the built-in flash memory is 32 GB. Initially, 23 GB of file storage and 1.7 GB of RAM are free.

MediaTek MT6757 (Helio P20) is a relatively recent SoC released in 2016, designed for mid-range smartphones and tablets. It is quite productive: at the level of Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 and noticeably more powerful than the previous MediaTek MT6755 (Helio P10). In the AnTuTu test, the hero of the review demonstrates a quite decent 60K-plus points, this is a confident average level.

This SoC provides the system with reliable performance and in real scenarios allows the smartphone to cope with any modern tasks. There are no problems with games either; all the games we tested, including Modern Combat 5, Mortal Kombat X and others, run without slowdowns.

Testing in comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and current models- due to the fact that they once went through an “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Sony Xperia XA1 (MediaTek MT 6757)	Huawei Nova 2 (HiSilicon Kirin 659)	HTC One X10 (MediaTek (MT6755)	Asus Zenfone 3 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625)	Nokia 5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 430)
3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot (more is better)	671	413	421	466	299
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps)	15	5,2	5	6	10
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps)	6	4,7	5	6	4,6
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps)	32	20	17	22	20
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps)	21	18	17	23	16

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

the most common formats that make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

Theoretically possible support for adapters for output to external device We couldn’t check the images due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type-C port, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Fine No 720/30p Fine No 720/25p Fine No 720/24p Fine No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and, in most cases, without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 (720p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the actual range - all gradations are displayed in shadows and highlights.

Battery life

The non-removable battery installed in the Sony Xperia XA1 traditionally has a small capacity of 2300 mAh. As expected, a smartphone with such a small battery, and even on the MediaTek platform, which has never been famous for its economical power consumption, does not demonstrate a high level of autonomy. The level, one might say, is barely satisfactory by modern standards.

Testing has traditionally been done at normal power consumption levels without using power-saving features. Naturally, there is a proprietary energy-saving Smart Stamina mode, and the proprietary Qnovo Adaptive Charging technology is responsible for a more gentle approach to battery charging.

Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) with auto-scrolling lasted no more than 13 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates for 8.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone can operate for about 4 hours.

From regular network adapter The smartphone is fully charged within 2 hours 45 minutes with a current of 1.28 A at a voltage of 5 V. The smartphone does not support wireless charging.

Bottom line

The device has already been presented in Russian retail; the official price of the Sony Xperia XA1 is 22 thousand rubles. For this money, the user gets a balanced mid-range smartphone that is not the highest flight, but also without noticeable failures. The screen, the camera, the performance of the hardware system, the set of communication modules, the sound in the headphones - everything is at a completely satisfactory and even good level. The sound of the main speaker and the level of autonomy are worse than we would like at this price, but overpricing has always been the norm for Sony products. This does not stop true fans of the brand; they overpay for a popular brand, as well as for confidence in the high quality of the company’s products.