- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Sony Xperia Ion
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 4G
- 4.6"
- Dual core 1.5 GHz
#2 in Sony phones
Released June, 2012
Rated 63% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)One of the Sony Xperia Ion's standout features is its high-resolution 12-megapixel camera.
Conclusion Check out the Sony Xperia Ion
First reviewed June, 2012
Features Key features of the Sony Xperia Ion
1.5 GHz
Android 2.3 Gingerbread 4G
Rated 63% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)Even the Xperia's 12-megapixel camera can't hold a candle to the imaging systems on those high-powered gadgets.
screen size
4.6"
5"
4.3"
Xperia Ion by c|net (Jun, 2012)In addition, I'm not a big fan of the Xperia Ion's display, which is dark and has a bluish cast, resulting in inconsistent colors.
Xperia Ion by Rebekah-K.--avid-reader-and-technophile (Dec, 2012)The screen is a little thinner than I like, but still a good size.
screen resolution
Xperia Ion by The Verge (Jun, 2012)Primarily, it appears to crank up the contrast and sharpness — it might seem like a gimmick, but at least its a gimmick that makes media look slightly better to the average user.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB  | 2 GB |
processor
Xperia Ion by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The Sony Xperia ion for AT&T is powered by a dual-core Scorpion CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz and 1GB of RAM.
Xperia Ion by The Verge (Jun, 2012)The Xperia ion is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, but unlike most other LTE phones in the market it's using an MSM8260 Qualcomm S3 processor instead of the S4.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 8 MP  | 20 MP |
Xperia Ion by The Verge (Jun, 2012)If you are still holding on to the quaint idea that "megapixels" are an accurate metric of a camera's quality, let the sample images from the Xperia ion disabuse you of that notion once and for all.
Xperia Ion by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The Xperia ion has a 12 megapixel camera, complete with a single LED light.
Performance Real world tests of Sony Xperia Ion
cpu speed
Xperia Ion by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The browsing performance is excellent - panning, zooming and the text reflow are very fluid thanks to the dual-core processor.
Xperia Ion by c|net (Jun, 2012)Besides bringing faster performance, the more efficient Snapdragon S4 CPU is an energy miser.
talk time
451 min
900 min
610 min
Xperia Ion by The Verge (Jun, 2012)The non-removable 1,900mAh battery comported itself well-enough to last me through a day of moderate usage, though with heavy LTE usage I was reaching for the charger as the sun went down.
Xperia Ion by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The 1900mAh non-removable battery of the Sony Xperia ion for AT&T achieved an endurance rating of 31 hours in our traditional battery test.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
3.5 mm -
Android Market -
Capacitive -
12.1 MP -
12.1 MP -
Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash -
Supports the fastest, most reliable networks -
Enables payment by phone and other wireless communications -
322 ppi -
1280 x 720 -
1.5 GHz -
4.6" -
1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps -
Listen to music and news from local radio stations -
1,900 mA·h -
Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation -
Share your cellphone's data plan with other devices -
16 GB
cons
-
Android 2.3 Gingerbread -
68 x 133 x 11 mm -
69.3% -
Reviews Word on the street
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|---|---|
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 | Rated by 51 users at amazon.com Rated 60% by by Elizabeth-A.-Gibbs--BizzyReader (Sep, 2012) Rated 100% by by C.-Nguyen Rated 80% by by Dragan-Jovanovic--SuperSlav (Oct, 2012) |
Screen
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)It has excellent viewing angles, sharp text, and great color fidelity.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 63% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)By contrast the HTC One X notched a much higher 170.2 MFLOPs in half the time, or 0.99 second.
Camera
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 63% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)There are extra modes too, such as Panorama and 3D Panorama, if you're so inclined.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 80% by by Dragan-Jovanovic--SuperSlav (Oct, 2012)The display really suprised me, it has very strong and relestic colors and overall looks better to me that the s3 and on par with the one x. The camera is also really good.
Sony Xperia Ion | by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The image quality is actually nice, but only when you view the photos without any zooming.
Carrier
Sony Xperia Ion | by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)The Sony Xperia ion for AT&T still offers great value for its price tag, despite not being a top dog anymore.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)It's a little strange to see AT&T essentially re-inventing the phone wheel here, but fortunately it (like most of the rest of AT&T's software) can be easily ignored or uninstalled.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 63% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)The Sony Xperia Ion delivered blistering 4G speeds on AT&T's LTE network.
Operating system
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)At launch, it is running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread instead of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)Setting that deal-breaker aside, the Xperia ion's software is mostly innocuous, though it does still have a few poorly-thought-out changes.
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)Like other smartphone OEMs, Sony has learned its lesson when it comes to overbearing skins and pared back the customizations to a few aesthetic tweaks and custom software enhancements.
Operating System
Sony Xperia Ion | Rated 68% by by The Verge (Jun, 2012)The Xperia ion continues that late-launch trend, but the hardware has specs that indicate that Sony is aiming a little higher than your standard mid-range Android phone, including a 720p display, 12-megapixel camera, and the aforementioned LTE.
Sony Xperia Ion | by TrustedReviews (Jan, 2012)There are a number of tweaks to the interface but for the most part it's a fairly standard Android experience that's slick and easy to use.
Sony Xperia Ion | by GSM Arena (Jul, 2012)Android Ice Cream Sandwich would have surely bumped up some of the benchmark results, so hopefully the wait for it would not be too long.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Longest battery life during active use LG Nexus 4 vs Sony Xperia Ion |
 | 2 | Sony Xperia V High resolution front camera Xperia V vs Xperia Ion |
 | 3 | Sony Xperia acro S 2-way tie: Is waterproof Xperia acro S vs Xperia Ion |
 | 4 | Sony Xperia SL Rated the best by consumers Xperia SL vs Xperia Ion |
 | 5 | Sony Xperia S OK standby time Xperia S vs Xperia Ion |
 | 6 | HTC One S Screen uses OLED technology HTC One S vs Sony Xperia Ion |
 | 7 | Samsung GALAXY Grand Biggest screen Samsung GALAXY Grand vs Sony Xperia Ion |
 | 8 | LG Optimus L9 Average battery capacity LG Optimus L9 vs Sony Xperia Ion |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
November 9, 2012
Sony Xperia Ion or HTC One X?
Im planning to buy a new phone but browsing different reviews about this 2 smartphones makes me go crazy. some says xperia ion is better some says htc one x. please help me.
Visitor
2
Answers November 11, 2012
Which is better for gaming and apps
So that mobile doesn't struck when in multitask like accessing music and apps at a time...
Visitor
2
Answers May 6, 2013
Which one's value for money?
Hi, I am extremely confused between Xperia Ion and Samsung Galaxy Grand. Ion has a battery issue and Grand's low resolution. Now which is the actually worth the value for money?
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1
Answers Unanswered Questions
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March 21, 2013
I'm getting a new phone and i'm lost between the acro s & ion
Both are gr8 but the reviews here ... OMG! one says the cam's bad one says its amazing the moisture behind the cam of acro S after high temperature change like thats gonna happen a lot in summer...
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0
Answers January 5, 2013
Which is best for features ion or sl?
I want lots of good features which is the best?
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