Sony - Xperia 10 with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Feature Packed Without Breaking the Bank

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  • Top 100 Contributor

  **Summary** With its uniquely long and narrow 21:9 aspect ratio, the new mid-range Sony Xperia 10 caters to users who consume cinematic content and multi-task using split screen. Combining premium build quality, smooth performance, feature rich front and rear cameras, and a nearly stock android operating system, Sony shows us that it can offer great value without too many compromises. **Performance** The Sony Xperia performs very well for a mid-range phone. It is easy to hold with one hand, no matter if you have large or small hands. The phone feels centrally balanced with a smooth back and a nicely finished full HD 1080 x 2560, 6” screen constructed with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 material. It comes pre-installed with Android 9 Pie, and Sony doesn’t deviate much from stock Android. There isn’t much bloatware that comes with it other than Sony’s own Xperia Lounge app and an FM Radio app. Netflix and Facebook come pre-installed and baked into the OS as well, but I would have much rather it not come prepackaged since it doesn’t give us any flexibility to uninstall these apps. After all, how hard is it to download these apps from the Google Play Store? **Swiping: Swiping and scrolling across the screen are smooth, fast, and instantaneous. **Unique Sony Features: Sony adds two new very useful features to the Android user interface to facilitate navigation with one hand: 1. One Handed Mode and 2. Side Sense. I think that Sony acknowledges that this is a tall phone where some folks with smaller hands may find it difficult to reach all the way to the top of the screen while holding it with one hand. To solve this, Sony introduces One Handed Mode in which you can double tap the home button to reduce the display size of the screen that you are viewing. The smaller screen can be resized to your choosing. The reduced screen can now be easier to navigate with one hand. Think of this as Sony’s version of resizing a screen for Android similar to how you would reduce the screen size on a Windows PC environment. The second feature is Side Sense. By double tapping a sensor area bar to the right edge of the screen, it will bring up your frequently used apps. I think both of these features should be implemented on all smartphones. I applaud Sony with my free hand (while holding my Sony phone with the other hand) for coming up with them. **Camera: The dual rear camera comes with a 13MP f/2.0 and 5MP f/2.4 cameras. The front camera is an 8MP, f/2.0 shooter. The camera performs very well under sufficient lighting. The HDR feature on the camera does a fantastic job balancing out a high contrast scene. Pictures come out sharp, detailed, and colors are accurately reproduced. In my experience, even low light photos are acceptable with the Sony Xperia. You’ll need to expect some graininess, artifacts from high iso, and softness in your pictures under low light using the Sony Xperia’s camera. After all, the camera’s tiny image sensor and software post processing can only do so much. The built in flash will help with some of these situations. Apart from this, the camera comes with various modes to improve your experience: Portrait Selfie, Bokeh, Slow Motion, Manual, Creative Effect, and Panorama Modes are all available to explore. **Video: The Sony Xperia does a fine job recording video. You have a choice in recording in 4K (16:9)(I assume it’s 30fps), 4K (21:9)(again, 30fps?), Full HD (30fps), Full HD (60fps), HD, VGA, and MMS. Sony offers Steady Shot to stabilize the video images. **21:9 Aspect Ratio: I don’t think any other smartphone manufacturer on the market right now offers a 21:9 aspect ratio other than Sony. Sony purposely chose the 21:9 aspect ratio to enable users to watch cinematic content on its smartphones without the top and bottom black bars that you frequently find when watching movies on screens that do not have the native 21:9 aspect ratio that cinema is shot in. It definitely works well when watching movies. The entire smartphone screen, every pixel in fact, was used when I watched movies using the phone. However, keep in mind that this only works for content that was produced in the 21:9 aspect ratio. Sony’s marketing department conveniently forgets to mention that for all other video content, you’ll see not only the top and bottom bars, but perhaps some left and right black bars as well as they were not originally recorded in the 21:9 aspect ratio. I found this out while watching some youtube content when I maximized the video screen only to find out that I had a video bordered on all sides by thick black frames. I heard these black bars will show up for some shows on Netflix as well. So much for the 21:9 marketing. Sigh. To Sony’s credit, however, the 21:9 aspect ratio does work well for split screen usage. It provides plenty of usable real estate when using two apps such as browsing with the Chrome web browser simultaneously while reading Gmail. I found split screen particularly useful when listening to music off of YouTube. We’ve all been there where we’re listening to music on Youtube, and tried placing the app in the background only to find out that the music turns off. Well, with split screen, this provides a workaround where you simultaneously have the Youtube app open on half the display while using your other app, e.g. Gmail or Chrome browser, on the other half of the display. **What else should you know about the Sony Xperia 10?** +Let’s not forget about call quality, after all this is a cell phone first and an entertainment center second. Call voices come through clearly and the speaker can get plenty loud. I’m on T-mobile, and the phone works well with this carrier. +The phone has a 3.5mm aux jack to connect headphones. Kudos to Sony for not following other manufacturers in abandoning the 3.5mm jack. +The internal speaker sounds surprisingly good. Great clarity for dialogue and music from a small speaker, but I still recommend connecting a bluetooth speaker or using headphones. +Battery: It’s a 2,870 mAh capacity battery. I got around 7 hours running on 50% brightness and playing movies continuously. On standby, with only wifi on, the battery percentage dropped approximately 5% in 10 hours. I believe that with moderate use, you’ll have no problem getting through a whole day without charging. Sony also includes a Stamina mode that kicks in to conserve battery when the battery percentage drops to a certain number of your choosing. +The first thing you should do after powering on the phone and connecting to your network is to update the phone to Sony’s latest version of the OS. It has been reported that the phone may experience some performance hiccups with the factory shipped OS out of the box. +If you remove the compartment that houses the nano Sim card while the phone is on, it will automatically power down and reboot. Don’t be alarmed. This is normal for the Sony Xperia 10. +The tray for the micro SD card will require you to have some length to your fingernails in order to pry it out to insert your micro SD card. +You can use a micro SD Card with up 512Mb of storage. +The phone is spec’d with 64 gb of internal storage, however, there’s actually only around 49 gb that’s available for use. The operating system took out a large chunk of storage. +I don’t know how many nits of screen brightness the display can be at its brightest, but I was quite happy that I was able to still view the content on the screen outside in bright sunlight without having to shade the phone. Even my Google Pixel XL (1st Gen) couldn’t get to such brightness levels and had difficulty viewing under sunlight. And that’s considered a premium phone. +The phone comes with bluetooth v5.0, but if all of your connecting devices are v 4.x and below, you won’t be able to take advantage of what v5.0 has to offer. +The Sony Xperia 10 has the Google Assistant built in. Once you teach it to recognize your voice, the phone’s microphone easily pick up your “Hey Google” or “Okay Google” command and responds. **Should you buy it?** The Xperia 10 has plenty of noteworthy features packed into a mid-range phone. It’ll definitely suit most users’ needs whose concerns are mainly focused around speedy performance, a very capable camera, and a beautiful bright screen. And as an added benefit, it won’t break the bank. If you consider the Xperia 10 by itself, it’s definitely worthy to be considered at its price point. However, the decision becomes hazy when you begin to consider competing mid-range phones. Under the hood, the Sony Xperia 10’s processor is a capable, but aging Snapdragon 630 chip with 3 gb of RAM and with an average 2,870 mAh battery. Keen consumers will notice that competing manufacturers are releasing phones with a newer, faster Snapdragon 632 chip, 4 gb of RAM, and batteries having capacities over 3,000mAh at a similar or lower price point. The Xperia 10 keeps up with the mid-range competition, but is quickly at risk of falling behind in terms of technical specs. I think Sony made a misstep here and this is where I decided to deduct a star from my rating. It should have at least offered the faster 632 chip, 4 gb RAM, and a larger capacity battery to lead the competition especially with its 21:9 aspect ratio, which is its biggest selling point. Technical specs aside though, I still really enjoyed the solid premium build quality, the snappy performance, and the super wide 21:9 very bright screen. This is a worthy phone that should be on your mid-range short list.

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  Posted 6 years ago by lambda100

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Great Starter Budget Phone. Camera is MEH

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  Sony - Xperia 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *****Review***** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you tried watching a movie or some sort of video on a phone that has 21:9 aspect ratio? I’m going to say… Probably not. Well, thanks to Sony releasing the Xperia 10; you can now watch your favorite movies or videos at a “cinematic” level. This is of course possible if that movie/video can be displayed at a 21:9 aspect ratio. So if you’re an individual that enjoys watching movies/videos on their phone, you’re going to enjoy the Xperia 10 for that purpose. In addition, if you’re the type that likes to utilize split screen mode, thanks to the 21:9 aspect ratio; you’ll be able to view more thanks to the tall screen on the Xperia 10. When it comes down to the practicality of the phone since it’s so tall, the Xperia 10 fits comfortably in your hand and you can do pretty much what you need with one hand. The Xperia 10 is equipped with a Gorilla Glass 5 that is 6 inches and with a resolution of full HD+ for your viewing pleasure. Although the LCD screen looks sharp and does the job, in my opinion the colors are a bit dull and it doesn’t really “pop”. Going from a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact to the Xperia 10, the first thing I notice is the more modern look along with the slimmer bezels. The top of the phone still has a larger bezel and that is due to it housing the earpiece and the 8 megapixel camera for all you selfie lovers out there. Another thing I noticed is that the fingerprint sensor has moved from the back of my XZ2 Compact. With the Xperia 10, the fingerprint sensor is now located on the side of the phone. With the fingerprint sensor, you’ll also find the volume rocker as well as the power button. Sony has done a pretty decent job with the build quality of the Xperia 10. Although the back of the Xperia 10 is polycarbonate, you’ll notice that there’s metallic finishes to assist with making the Xperia 10 look more “premium”. One thing that is key here is that the Xperia 10 is a budget friendly phone. Within the price range of what it is, you can’t really compare it to high end phones out there on the market currently. The Xperia 10 internals kinda speak on behalf of this. With the Xperia 10, your under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, 3GB of RAM, and Adreno 508 which is all a bit “dated” in my opinion. Sony does give you 64GB of storage with an expandable slot of up to 512GB so that is quite nice. Along with that, the Xperia 10 is equipped with a 2,870mAh battery. With my usage, I’m able to go through a day just fine. This will be different depending on your usage. When it comes down to the camera, I’d say it’s not really that good. When trying to capture pictures it doesn't feel fluid (sorta choppy/lags) nor does the camera take pictures in dim light settings. With the Xperia 10, you’ll have a 13 megapixel camera lens paired with 5 megapixel depth sensing lens. With the general usage of the phone, it's definitely usable. Is it the fastest? Definitely not. But again ladies and gentlemen, you're purchasing a budget phone here. Overall, I have to say that at the price point of the Xperia 10; you’re getting a pretty decent phone. Again its not by any means super impressive but you’re technically not buying a high end phone here; keep that in mind. With the 21:9 aspect ratio, it really makes it useful for watching movies/videos and multitasking. You may not be getting the best camera, screen or phone on the market currently; but again the Xperia 10 was not designed to compete with all these high end phones out there. All in all if you're looking for a mid range phone for perhaps your kids or someone that isn't tech hungry (latest and greatest); the Sony Xperia 10 may just be for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *****Quick Features & Specs***** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Xperia 10 features a 21:9 Wide display for improved Multi-tasking and immersive movie watching 21:9 Movie recording with a dual camera system With 21:9 Movie recording, you can record and enjoy in the same cinema ratio used in the movies The Xperia 10’s 13MP camera lets you take stunning photos in any situation and in different aspect ratios like 21:9 While the 5MP camera helps you achieve beautiful background blurring, known as ‘Bokeh’, which is perfect for artistic portraits Slender design that’s easy to use and fits your hand perfectly Side sense quickly shows your favourite apps, so you don’t have to scroll for them With your 21:9 Wide display, you can enjoy compatible 21:9 content from Netflix on your smartphone in the cinema-style aspect ratio they were meant to be watched in 21:9 Wide display 6” Full HD+ 21:9 Movie recording with a dual camera (13MP + 5MP) High-Resolution Audio with DSEE HX™ and LDAC 3GB RAM 64GB eMMC internal memory microSDXC support (up to 512GB) Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform 2870 mAh Xperia Adaptive Charging Battery Care Corning Gorilla Glass 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *****What's in the box***** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sony Xperia 10 with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) Charger USB to USB Type-C cable Owner's manual

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  Posted 6 years ago by MarkusKong

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  A premium budget-priced phone

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  • Top 100 Contributor

  I have been an iOS user for many years. That said, I enjoy exploring different operating systems and love checking out various types of hardware. So, when the opportunity to review the Sony Xperia 10, I jumped at it, which was released to the public in February 2019. The Xperia 10 is considered a ‘budget’ phone by today’s standards, but I have to admit, that I found it was much more than that. The Sony Xperia 10 arrived in a simple white box with the name of the product printed on the box. Inside, you’ll find the phone along with a USB-C charging cable, a 5V power adapter, and lots of little paper pamphlets. There is a startup guide, but there isn’t much to it. Getting started with the phone is very simple though. I started up the phone and then logged into a Google account, which synced to other Google products I have been using. With it being a smartphone, I decided to run it through a few tests based on how I normally use my iPhone on a daily basis. Here are some of the areas I looked at: Entertainment: I watched quite a bit of Netflix and YouTube on the phone and was impressed with the quality of the video on the vibrant LCD. I also used Pandora to stream music while I worked. I happened to have a pair of Sony CH700 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones to use with the Xperia 10. Not only did the headphones connect without any issue, but the phone also recognized the Sony wireless headphones and suggested that I download the companion app for the headphones. The music sounded great and there was no problem with how the two devices worked together. Productivity: I typically use smartphones throughout the day to keep up with my daily calendar. My co-workers and I recently started sharing Google calendars so that we can keep up with each others’ schedules. Because the Xperia 10 syncs directly with Google accounts, the calendars show up without any problem. I love being able to view the calendar on my phone — and any other Google product — and then see the same information on my computer. Phone Functions: The basic functions of the phone work as they should. I thought the call quality was above average and that other features of the phone were easy to navigate. One of my favorite features of the phone was how it feels in the hand. Because it is slightly thinner than the iPhone XS, it just seems to fit my hand better. It’s very easy to reach functions on the touch screen with one hand. The only issue I really had with basic functions of the phone was that I had to press the wake button on the side each time I wanted to see the screen. The iPhone provides a function that wakes up the screen when you tap it. I have become so accustomed to this feature that it was shock to the system when I couldn’t do it on the Xperia 10. Battery: I thought the battery life was incredible. I left it on standby for several days and the phone held its power well. I even found that after using the Xperia 10 to watch videos for long periods of time (several hours) that the battery life didn’t suffer greatly. Out of the box the Xperia felt like an extension of my hand. While I am an iOS user at heart, I can’t deny that the ‘feel’ of the phone is wonderful. The back of the phone has a matte finish, too, which also makes it a better holding experience than an iPhone because you don’t feel like you’re going to drop it nor will it slide out of your hand. The screen is incredibly clear. I really enjoyed watching videos on the Xperia and thought that the audio quality was incredible. It was a little harder to hear audio than it was on an iPhone, but I think that was a volume issue and not a quality issue. Overall, I thought the Xperia 10 is a quality smartphone for the price. It’s affordable, durable, and enjoyable to use.

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  Posted 6 years ago by nickcal