- 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 U
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 3.5G
- 3.5"
- Dual core 1 GHz
#2 in cheapest Orange phones
Released May, 2012
by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)They didn't compromise the quality of the finish: the matte plastic feels pretty nice to the touch and is decently grippy, precluding accidental drops.
Conclusion Check out the Sony Xperia U
First reviewed May, 2012
Features Key features of the Sony Xperia U
1 GHz
Android 2.3 Gingerbread 3.5G
screen size
3.5"
4"
4"
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Naturally, with a 3.5" diagonal the screen isn't best suited for enjoying multimedia, but a small high-quality screen has its advantages over massive displays in everyday use.
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Once connected, a standard mouse pointer appears enabling mouse operation, but it isn't very useful on the small screen of the Xperia U. It's still good to have though.
screen resolution
Xperia U by The Verge (Jul, 2012)The icons don’t actually do anything: they’re signage for a trio of tiny capacitive silver dots half an inch above.
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)It can go as close as 3-4 cm and allows you to really capture a lot of detail.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB  | 1 GB |
processor
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)We also included the HTC One V to see how much difference the dual-core chipset makes and the One S to see how the old Cortex-A9 architecture compares to the newer Krait cores.
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Few would've believed last year that a solid dual-core experience and a display of very good quality would be available at this price point.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 5 MP  | 5 MP |
Xperia U by The Verge (Jul, 2012)Not the best, but far from the worstThe Xperia U’s 5-megapixel camera does what you’d expect it to and very little more.
Xperia U by c|net (Feb, 2012)Sony Xperia U. The Xperia U on the other hand has a smaller 3.5-inch screen (854x480 pixels) and a lower-resolution 5-megapixel camera.
Performance Real world tests of Sony Xperia U
cpu speed
talk time
336 min
506 min
450 min
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Sony says that you can count on up to 5 hours and 36 mins of telephony and 472 hours of standby on a single charge in 3G networks.
Xperia U by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Our experience shows that you'd normally need to charge the Xperua U every other day if you use it for a couple of hours daily.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
3.5 mm -
Android Market (Android) -
Capacitive -
5 MP -
Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash -
Micro USB with MHL -
110 g -
54 x 112 x 12 mm -
Listen to music and news from local radio stations -
279 ppi -
79.83% -
Share your cellphone's data plan with other devices
cons
-
limited to the phone's built-in storage for apps and data -
Android 2.3 Gingerbread -
1,320 mA·h -
Some newer payment by phone methods require NFC -
Doesn't support the fastest, most reliable networks -
336 min -
3.5" -
-
Cannot detect when the tablet is rotated
Reviews Word on the street
 |   
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 | Rated by 114 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Cec (Aug, 2012)  Rated 100% by by Elio-Venezuela (Aug, 2012) |
Screen
Sony Xperia U | Rated 74% by by The Verge (Jul, 2012)Its colors are vivid without ever appearing over-saturated, and viewing angles, daylight visibility, and overall brightness are also top-notch.
Sony Xperia U | by c|net (Feb, 2012)The Xperia P's big 4-inch screen will also highlight content in crisp detail (960x540 pixels, qHD).
Sony Xperia U | by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)It also has a slightly larger 3.7" LCD, which is better suited to multimedia consumption than the tiny, by today's standards, 3.5" screen on the U. The Xperia sola will cost you a little extra though.
Operating System
Sony Xperia U | Rated 100% by by Mohammed-K.-Hassan (Nov, 2012)I've used Palm, Blackberry, WinMobile, Webos, Ios, Meego, WP7 and Android.
Sony Xperia U | Rated 74% by by The Verge (Jul, 2012)This is a great budget phone, but the One V offers a good all-around package and already has Android 4.0, so where does the Xperia U stand?
Sony Xperia U | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Sep, 2012)There are plenty of other equivalents on other Android devices but this if one of the nicer and more obvious versions we’ve seen.
Camera
Sony Xperia U | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Sep, 2012)But, like most phones cameras, it’s still fairly limited in terms of picture quality.
Sony Xperia U | by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Not only is it tack sharp at 280ppi, but it also offers great image quality, with very good contrast and nicely saturated colors.
Sony Xperia U | by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)Our trip round the Sony Xperia U concludes at the back, where we come upon the 5 megapixel camera lens, which has the loudspeaker grille and the single LED flash on its sides.
Operating system
Sony Xperia U | Rated 74% by by The Verge (Jul, 2012)As you'd expect, you get the ICS multitasking menu, resizable widgets, smoother performance, and improved core apps.
Sony Xperia U | Rated 80% by by The-ArchitectBloatware takes up space and OS upgrades are dependent on TIM.
Sony Xperia U | Rated 74% by by The Verge (Jul, 2012)Sony has fitted the transparent bar with LEDs that, when the display is on, glow in one of seven predetermined colors to match the software theme you've chosen.
Battery
Sony Xperia U | Rated 80% by by Steve-the-utility-man (Oct, 2012)Battery Cover: Pretty hard to remove, actually you press your thumbs at lower part of battery cover to push up.
Sony Xperia U | by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)And it can be even more useful than some of you might think as the original battery only has a capacity of 1320 mAh, which hardly lasts ages.
Sony Xperia U | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Sep, 2012)Please note, there is a mistake in this video in reference to the phone not having a removable backplate.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony Xperia J Longest battery life during active use J vs U |
 | 2 | Sony Xperia Sola 3-way tie: Highest resolution screen Sola vs U |
 | 3 | Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 OK standby time Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 vs Sony Xperia U |
 | 5 | Sony Xperia go Is waterproof Xperia go vs Xperia U |
 | 6 | Sony Xperia Miro 3-way tie: OK Xperia Miro vs Xperia U |
 | 7 | Samsung Galaxy S III mini Most built-in storage Samsung Galaxy S III mini vs Sony Xperia U |
 | 8 | HTC 8S Better than usual battery capacity HTC 8S vs Sony Xperia U |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
October 3, 2012
Is a Windows Phone or Android Phone best for Apps, Multitasking & Internet?
Which phone is super fast and handles multitasking easily. Are there other phones in this price range which may be better then the Sony U or the Nokia 710.
Beginner II
7
Answers September 11, 2012
What would be a great first smartphone?
So I need a new phone and I'm looking at the Xperia u and P (first smartphone). I spend a fair bit of time on the bus and on my lunch break doing nothing so I would like some games (don't need a...
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6
Answers 
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7
Answers Latest Questions
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Answers December 22, 2012
Why in this site, Xperia Arc S wins to Xperia U Processor???
Why a single core 1,4GHz from Xperia Arc S; is better than the dual core 1,0GHz from Xperia U
Visitor
1
Answers December 20, 2012
Processing power, sound, video/photo clarity, battery life
I am an engineer. i am looking forward for a new phone. kindly advice which is good. i can afford the price of sensation xl. looking forward for beats audio. kindly advice which the best phone...
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- 9 discussions
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March 19, 2013
Very very confused..
I love the specs of xperia j..but according to the reviews it lags too much.On the other hand xu is perfect if it had a bigger screen.Can the lagging issues be overlooked or is it too much?I i a...
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Answers January 13, 2013
Xperia ray or xperia u or xperia sola???
I need a phone with good battery life, a solid performance without any lags and a good user interface. i dont play games but i use the internet a lot and love to watch lots of videos.
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Answers Community Find out what the Sortable community is saying about the Sony Xperia U
35
people have recommended the
Sony Xperia UTop Sony Xperia U experts at Sortable
theastromechdroid 
Expert I
Mohamed 
Intermediate I
August-Nipich-Nimvachirasoonthorn 
Beginner II
Atyey-Munjely 
Beginner II
Sony Xperia P
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 3.5G
- 4"
- Dual core 1 GHz
7 more Sortable users recommended the Xperia P over the Xperia U.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Intermediate I
-1
votes Go with the Xperia U, for the memory alone. You should be able to listen to your music all day and still have room left in your phone for some cool apps.
- 0 comments
- October 22, 2012
- Reply to: Would the Sony Xperia P or the Sony U be a better purchase?
Nokia Lumia 710
- Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
- 3.5G
- 3.7"
- 1.4 GHz
1 more Sortable user recommendeds the Nokia Lumia 710 over the Sony Xperia U.
View all discussions | View comparison Beginner II
1
vote Get xperia U! Enjoy its colour changing belt and HD gaming on this dual core device
- 0 comments
- October 25, 2012
- Reply to: Is a Windows Phone or Android Phone best for Apps, Multitasking & Internet?
Nokia Lumia 800
- Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
- 3.5G
- 3.7"
- 1.4 GHz
2 more Sortable users recommended the Nokia Lumia 800 over the Sony Xperia U.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Intermediate I
1
vote Music: Xperia U is better especially that Nokia 800 sound is disturbed when attached to headphone. Camera : Nokia Lumia has 8MP vs 5MP Internet : Sony U since it support the Flash player. (...
- 0 comments
- December 13, 2012
- Reply to: Is the Sony Xperia U better than Lumia 800?
