- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- LG Optimus L9
- Sony Xperia P
- Sony Xperia J
- Sony Xperia Sola
- Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)The Sony Xperia U is equipped with an FM radio, which has a really neat and simple interface.
Rated 100% by by A (Oct, 2011)-I haven't watched the tutorials on NFC technology, so I can't speak to how well it works or not.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Sony Xperia U compared to the Samsung Nexus S
GHz1
Android 2.3 Gingerbread 3.5G
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.
1 GHz
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 3.5G
Rated 77% by by c|net (Aug, 2011)The 4-inch Super AMOLED display is responsive and no less brilliant with its 16.7 million colors and 800x480-pixel resolution.
screen size
3.5"
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.
Nexus S by Dennis-H.-Laska--fotogrofurIt's solid and a beauty even though the screen seems small this late in the game.
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.
Nexus S by Mohammed (Nov, 2011)If you need something faster in data go with the Galaxy SII or better....Screen is excellen with vivd colors and sharp details...simply Samsung quality.
memory
| 0 GB | 0.51 GB | 0.6 GB |
processor
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.
Nexus S by GSM ArenaDual-core powerhouses are nearing their launch dates and that’s where you need to go for high-end performance.
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.
Nexus S by Barrio (Aug, 2011)The resolution of the screen is great, the camera is great and the interface is very friendly.
Performance Real world tests of Sony Xperia U vs Samsung Nexus S
cpu speed
Nexus S by M.-Cox (Sep, 2011)If rooting your phone is your thing, and you happen to want to adjust processor speed, one thing I found out while using the SetCPU app (my use is for down-clocking the processor when the screen is off to help save battery) - well, if you set a profile to down-clock the processor for screen off, DO NOT set the processor to its lowest setting in the profile settings.
talk time
336 min
840 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.
Nexus S by GSM ArenaThe battery is quoted at 6.7 hours of talk time, with a standby time of 17 days in 3G mode (scaled up to 14 hours of talk time and 29.7 days of standby in 2G networks).
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Samsung Nexus S
| Supports Adobe Flash | Yes (Android 2.3 Gingerbread) | vs | No (Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash | |||
| Supports FM radio | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Listen to music and news from local radio stations | |||
| Outputs video to TV | Micro USB with MHL | vs | None |
| About half of smartphones can output to TVs; the modern day slide projector, great for sharing your photos & videos | |||
| More cores | Dual core | vs | Single core |
| Twice as many cores; each additional core lets your phone do more without visible UI slowdowns and jerkiness | |||
| Lighter | 110 g | vs | 129 g |
| Around 15% lighter | |||
| Smaller | 54 x 112 x 12 mm | vs | 63 x 124 x 11 mm |
| Around 15% smaller | |||
| Sharper screen | 279 ppi | vs | 232 ppi |
| More than 20% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Marginally newer | May, 2012 | vs | Dec, 2010 |
| Release date over 1 years later | |||
| Records higher def video | 1280 x 720 @ 30 fps | vs | 720 x 480 @ 30 fps |
| Around 2.8x higher def video | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 79.83% | vs | 76.49% |
| Around 5% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
Advantages compared to the Sony Xperia U
| Screen uses OLED technology | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| About half of phones are OLED; OLED screens are typically higher contrast and use less power | |||
| Supports NFC | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Enables payment by phone and other wireless communications | |||
| Much newer operating system | Android 4.1 Jelly Bean | vs | Android 2.3 Gingerbread |
| Newer Android OS; Get all the latest features and security updates with a more recent version | |||
| Significantly longer talk time | 840 min | vs | 336 min |
| 2.5x longer talk time; go days without charging | |||
| Store more stuff | 16 GB | vs | 4 GB |
| 4x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Has a gyroscope | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation | |||
| Longer standby time | 42,780 min | vs | 28,320 min |
| More than 50% longer standby time | |||
| Bigger screen | 4" | vs | 3.5" |
| Around 15% bigger screen | |||
| More battery capacity | 1,500 mA·h | vs | 1,320 mA·h |
| Around 15% more battery capacity | |||
| Thinner | 11 mm | vs | 12 mm |
| Around 10% thinner | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Sony Xperia U | Samsung Nexus S | ||
 |   Rated by 114 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Cec (Aug, 2012) Rated 80% by by The-Architect Rated 100% by by Cec (Aug, 2012) |  Rated by 192 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Jekel (Sep, 2011) Rated 80% by by Ron (Aug, 2012) Rated 60% by by Zachary-Cheeley (Feb, 2012) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Optimus L9 Lots of battery capacity |
 | 2 | Sony Xperia P High resolution front camera |
 | 3 | Sony Xperia J 7-way tie: Supports Flash |
 | 4 | Sony Xperia Sola Lightest |
 | 5 | Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 4-way tie: Newer operating system |
 | 6 | Samsung Galaxy S Advance 3-way tie: Screen uses OLED technology |
 | 7 | Sony Xperia go Is waterproof |
 | 8 | Samsung Galaxy S III mini Rated the best by consumers |
