Android 4.0 Mini PC

MRP: 4500

Rating: Average

3/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

• Extremely portable
• In-built Wi-Fi adapter
• Affordable
• Easy setup
• Complete Android 4.0 experience on your TV/monitor

CONS

• Poor gaming experience
• Noticeable lag with certain apps
• Mouse responsiveness is not the best

Summary

The Android 4.0 Mini PC is definitely a very interesting device and probably your best bet if you are looking to buy a budget web-connected media player. Its extremely small form factor makes it very attractive. Connect it to your regular flat-screen TV and convert it into a smart TV. It does come with its fair share of flaws such as the response of the mouse, apps automatically changing their orientation despite forcing the auto-rotation off, among others. It is definitely not a tablet replacement. But it shines when it comes to video playback and that should be one of the main reasons why you should consider getting this. If you are a YouTube junkie, then watching HD videos on the big screen is a treat. Regular surfing, checking mails and...

REVIEW

When we got the fluorescent green box of this product, our first impression was that this was just another cellphone. But the words ‘Android Mini PC’ caught our eye and we got really curious as to what was housed inside. On opening the box, we had a palm-sized plastic enclosure, almost like one of your SD card readers, staring back at us with the Android greenbot embossed on one of its front face. On the rear side of the box we found the Android 4.0 Mini PC specifications. That is when it dawned on us, that this was in essence a smartphone or tablet SoC housed in a tiny enclosure which would require you to connect the peripherals to make it an Android-ready PC.

Bottomline is, Android 4.0 Mini PC KY-108 allows you to convert any display into an Android 4.0 ICS based PC. Thanks to its connectivity options, this can be used as a media player, and can convert any display into a Smart TV. It is developed by a Chinese vendor named OEM Systems Co.

Build Quality and Design
Like we said, the enclosure is palm-sized, measuring 89x35x13.5 mm and weighing less than an average cellphone. It is a black coloured matte-black plastic body which seems poorly built.

It has a mini HDMI port on the left hand side, a USB port and the power port on the right hand side. On one of the edges it has a groove which houses a mini-USB port. It bundles a mini USB to USB adapter wire. On the other edge you have a microSD card slot. It also bundles in a mini HDMI to HDMI cable which is a big plus. It comes with an inbuilt Wi-Fi adapter. So all-in-all, it has quite a lot of connectivity options for its size, but you will be better off using a USB hub along with this device. Just like a cellphone it is extremely portable.

Mini USB port to connect the PC to a power adapter	MicroSD card slot	USB port to attach peripherals
Bundled apps that come with the Android Mini PC. You will notice quite a lot of Chinese apps	The mini HDMI port	The first time you access the menu. It is a bit strange that it talks about 'Touch and Hold' when this clearly is not a tablet.

Features
The Mini PC houses an Allwinner A10/1.5 GHz Cortex A8 SoC but on checking the processor clock speed using the AnTuTu app we realized that it is underclocked to 912 MHz. It comes in a variety of memory and internal storage options. The model we got had a 1GB DDR3 memory module and 4 GB of internal storage. Since this is a PC, you have to use a keyboard and a mouse to operate it. There is no dedicated power switch on the device. It can be powered on by connecting the mini USB to USB cable to a powered source (such as your TV) or using the bundled power adapter. To turn off the power, you simply disconnect the power adapter.

It comes bundled with a lot of apps including the Google native apps, Twitter, Angry Birds, Skype and a couple of Chinese apps such as QQ, Yokuku, etc which are of no use here. Most of the popular audio and video formats are supported.

Performance
We tested this device on an LG 42LK430 TV using a USB keyboard and mouse connected to the device via a USB hub. Since Android is primarily a touch-based OS, navigation using a mouse feels as alien as using Windows XP or 7 with a touch interface. It will definitely take some time getting used to. Also the responsiveness of the mouse pointer is not as smooth as we would have liked. This gets even worse when some apps forcefully go in the landscape orientation, when it becomes cumbersome to use the mouse.

There is no right click mechanism here. If you hold on to an app, then the OS gives you an option to rearrange the app or remove it, by dragging it to the top of the screen. When you are in the app menu, you can long hold onto an app to get it on any one of the five home screens.

Flipboard app always went in the portrait orientation (with respect to the TV) despite keeping the auto-rotate function off	Websites look quite good on the big screen	1080p content played flawlessly
The black outline on the mouse pointer becomes quite prominent when you turn on any video file	Google Play Store and Quick settings menu	As seen from the benchmarks, the device is not competing with the existing smartphones or tablets out there

Apps such as Flipboard, Quadrant, etc went from portrait to landscape orientation despite keeping the auto-rotation tab off. There may be many more such apps which make the overall experience a bit annoying. Considering this is a mini PC, there should have been a mechanism which disallows you from installing camera related apps or navigation apps, as it does not make sense on this product. Browsing experience was quite good. We noticed minor issues with scrolling on certain ad-heavy sites.

The pre-installed file manager quickly recognizes any external storage that you may add. You can also search for content based on its type: image, video, documents. It played most of the video formats we threw at it including .MKV and .MOV formats. It failed at playing .FLV files. The dual-core processor comfortably plays back even 1080p content, despite it being underclocked to 912 MHz and not the 1 GHz CPU speed as promised in the specs. We did not notice any frame skipping while playing our test samples. The YouTube app works quite well, but we did face some issues when we tried to play live Olympics content. The mouse pointer develops some sort of weird black halo around it once you start any video.

Since Android games are built around the touch interface and keeping in mind the slow response of the mouse, it is a nightmare to play games on the Mini PC.

We did notice the system responding very slowly at times. Specially whilst in the Google Play Store, where the mouse clicks were registered after a definite delay. Scrolling is a bit problematic.

Looking at the synthetic benchmarks, it performed better than some entry level tablets such asMercury Mtab, Reliance 3G Tab and Beetel Magiq. But then, it is not really fair to compare the Mini PC with tablets, as they are completely different product categories, but the scores are just for reference purpose.

• Quadrant – 1116
• LinPack Benchmark (multi-thread) – 10.5
• GLBenchmark Egypt Standard (Frames) – 1707
• NenaMark2 – 15 fps

Verdict
This is definitely a very interesting device and probably your best bet if you are looking to buy a budget web-connected media player. It’s extremely small form factor makes it very attractive. Connect it to your regular flat-screen TV and convert it into a smart TV. It does come with its fair share of flaws such as the response of the mouse, apps automatically changing their orientation despite forcing the auto-rotation off, among others. It is definitely not a tablet replacement. But it shines when it comes to video playback and that should be one of the main reasons why you should buy this. If you are a YouTube junkie, then watching HD videos on the big screen is a treat. Regular surfing, checking mails and minor office work is also quite easily doable on this Mini PC.

Samsung reveals details of the new Exynos 5 Dual chipset

Details about Samsung’s new Exynos 5 Dual chipset have been revealed, a 32nm offering that outperforms the previous Exynos 4 Quad chipset in terms of battery life, graphics performance, and connectivity.

The Samsung Exynos 5 Dual chipset bears a dual-core 1.7GHz ARM Cortex-A15 processor, along with a quad-core Mali-T604 GPU that supposedly provides 5 times the performance of previous generation Mali graphics, with support for resolutions up to 2560x1600 pixels, and stereoscopic 3D.

The new quad-core Mali GPU also features support for OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL 1.1, and DirectX 11 APIs, with the last a direct nod at the Windows Phone 8, and Windows RT platforms (Samsung's got a RT tablet due in October).

The Exynos 5 Dual chipset bears SATA III and USB 3.0 controllers, and support for 800MHz LPDDR3 RAM, with a memory bandwidth of roughly 12.8GBps, far ahead of the Exynos 4 Quadand Snapdragon S4.

While Samsung’s new chipset won’t be the one replacing the Exynos 4 Quad in terms of raw processing power, it will give the company a stronger contender against the likes of other current-generation dual-core mobile chipsets, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, in terms of performance versus efficiency.

Samsung hasn’t yet announced any devices that will ship with the new Exynos 5 Dual chipset, and for now, no benchmarks have yet been shared. We’ll have to wait a while to see just how well the new chipset performs in front of the competition - though on paper, it looks like Samsung has a winner.
 

Nokia launches Asha 305 and Asha 311 feature phones, with 40 free EA games

Nokia has added to its existing lineup of Asha phones with two new models, the Asha 305 and the Asha 311 in India. The Asha 305 is priced at Rs. 5,029 whereas the Asha 311 is priced at Rs. 7,139.

The Nokia Asha 305 and 311 were first announced in June along with the Asha 306 that was expected to be announced today but didn't make the cut.

Nokia Asha 311

The Nokia Asha 311 boasts of a 3-inch scratch resistant capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 400x240 pixels. The device has 256MB internal storage of which 100MB is available to the user. The storage is expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. The device is quite lightweight, weighing a mere 95 grams. Under the hood, the Asha 311 is powered by a 1GHz processor and runs on an 1110mAh battery. The rear of the device houses a 3.2MP camera and the device doesn't have a front facing camera.

Nokia Asha 305

The Nokia Asha 305 on the other hand is a dual-SIM phone. The SIM cards are hot swappable meaning that you don't need to switch off the device or remove the back cover to insert the SIM cards. The phone also boasts of a 3-inch touch screen but it is resistive in nature. The Asha 305 has internal storage of just 10MB but it is expandable via a microSD card up to 32 GB. The device has a 2MP rear snapper and weighs a mere 98.3 grams. 

Both the devices boast of a new Nokia swipe user interface, a browser that boasts of cloud acceleration and 40 free EA games including the likes of Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed: The Run, Fifa 12 and more.

Announcing the latest Asha Touch range, Mr. Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India, said, “The Nokia Asha family has received tremendous consumer response. With a variety of form factors across price points and innovations such as Nokia Browser, Nokia Maps and DRM free Nokia Music, Nokia Asha family has triggered data consumption habits in first time data users. With the launch of Nokia Asha Touch range, we are strengthening our range of ‘mobile internet’ devices that offer these exciting experiences to the consumers.”

The latest Nokia Asha devices were launched by India’s ace racer, Karun Chandhok. “I spend most of my time on the road and this is a great device for me to stay connected with my friends and loved ones. Being a gaming enthusiast, I am impressed by the EA Games package on these devices. With these devices, Nokia again has launched a winner true to its legacy,” said Karun Chandhok.

Mr. Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India and F1 racer Mr. Karun Chandhok at the press conference, launching Nokia Asha 311 and 305 mobile phones.

Samsung Series 5 (Ivy Bridge) Ultrabook

MRP: 56990

Digit Rating: Good

4/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

NA

Design:

PROS

• Very good performance
• Superb battery life
• Can game a bit as well
• Built well
• Doesn't miss out on an optical drive
• Non-reflective display

CONS

• Slightly thicker than most ultrabooks

Summary

The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook has been updated with Ivy Bridge, and is better than ever! When we had reviewed the previous generation version, the overall package vs. the price made us slap the "Best Value" tag in the ultrabook comparison test. In a nutshell, it was excellent. With Ivy Bridge, it just moves that extra step towards outstanding, made even more relevant by the affordable price tag.

To the casual viewer and observer, it may seem that we have been tricked into re-reviewing the same product, which we had tested a few months back! However, trust us when we say this – these aren’t the same products at all.

This is the Samsung Series 5 ultrabook alright, which looks same as the earlier Sandy Bridge-based one (read our review) on the outside, but the power package is completely updated.

Build & Design
We have said it time and again, the Samsung Series 5 is an ultrabook, but offers a lot more. Expected then, that it looks slightly thicker than the ultrabooks usually do. But we don’t mind! It looks extremely classy, and the largely understated visual elements probably help it blend in well. The grey matte aluminum finish doesn’t catch fingerprints, dust and scratches like glossy surfaces do. We have made it very clear over and over again that glossy finish to any gadget is a pain in the long run – scratches, dust, fingerprints, maintenance hungry etc. Samsung’s idea of using the brushed metal finish is appreciated.

A different looking power key does blend in well with the overall grey look.

The same colour theme is carried throughout the ultrabook. Open it up and the power key blends in with the same colour, and the touchpad and the right and left click keys have the same treatment. It would have been even more interesting had all the little stickers been monochrome-ised as well, just like Acer did with the Aspire S3

The Series 5 Ultrabook is essentially bigger than most conventional 13-inch ultrabooks, thanks to its 14-inch display. The optical drive is placed on the right spine, and even that has a dual layered design along the way. There is a USB port and the card reader accompanying the drive. We had criticized the card reader cover, and the material and opening mechanism of it all. Unfortunately, that has been carried forward as before. There are two USB 3.0 ports, the HDMI out as well as a USB 2.0 port on the opposite spine. The dual layered design gives this ultrabook a bit more visual presence. There is no port at the back, and that really makes plugging in and removing devices more convenient than some rival ultrabooks.

Absolutely no sign of any hateful glossy finish!

We like the overall build quality of the Samsung Series 5 ultrabook, and despite the affordable price tag, there is no apparent cost cutting in terms of the materials used and way it is put together. One of the solidest ultrabooks around, and we can safely say that it actually feels a lot more expensive than it actually is. And we cannot say this very often for most gadgets!

Features & Specifications
This is where all the action is happening. Out of the window goes the Intel Core i5 – 2467M (Sandy Bridge) and in comes the Intel Core i5 – 3317U (Ivy Bridge). Same as earlier, the 6GB of RAM is carried forward. With Ivy Bridge on board, the integrated graphics also get a boost with Intel HD 4000. Samsung insist on giving us the goodness of a dedicated graphics chip as well, with the Nvidia GeForce GT 620M graphics. Just to refresh your memory, the previous version had the AMD Radeon HD 7550M graphics.

The Series 5 has made it a point to walk a line that distinguishes it from the rest of the pack, and the 14-inch display does offer a bigger window than the conventional 13-inch ones! The native resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, which makes us wonder when we will see the Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 become more popular in ultrabooks. That is the next logical step, and we were hoping that the second generation of ultrabooks would usher that in.

Clearly, the Samsung Series 5 isn't aiming to win any "which is the slimmest ultrabook" competitions.

Looking at what is on offer, we were impressed with the non-reflective nature of the Samsung Series 5’s display, making it infinitely more comfortable to use in the long run. This is a very bright display, natively, and even at 20% brightness, this was more than usable in a typical office environment. Its adequate crispness makes this equally capable of handling multimedia and for your web browsing and document read and write requirements, with no visible noise around text. Colour vividness of display is slightly on the lower side, partly because the black levels aren’t very dark. But then again, this display does make up for that little drawback with an overall strong show elsewhere.

The primary storage drive isn’t an SSD in the review unit that we received, but there is a 1TB HDD that you can utilize for your storage requirements. Interestingly, just like the Acer Aspire S3, the Samsung Series 5 also has a flash storage that is used for the caching tasks – quick resume etc. And that really makes a difference. You can turn this feature off completely via Samsung’s preloaded utility – Easy Settings. But then again, why would you want to! Additionally, Samsung has preloaded this machine with a utility called Samsung Fast Boot. This does make a considerably difference once turned on, cutting down the boot time by up to 30 percent, depending on how many apps you have lined up for start at boot. All this really makes a difference, making the ultrabook feel very responsive and quick, no matter if you may have a bunch of apps open in the background.

It has something that most ultrabooks don't - an optical drive!

Unlike most other ultrabooks, this one has an optical drive, giving you the full laptop feel. Two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, spread on either spine. And yes, the HDMI output is not missed out on!

The keyboard is very nicely spaced out, and the keys are slightly bigger than what we see on a MacBook, for example. Adequate spacing between the keys is conducive for a quick typing session. The only little thing missing is the chunky feel that a keypress should ideally offer – this one sounds a bit hollow. There is a good-sized touchpad, something critical for multi-touch gestures to work well. Considering the scenario that you may get an upgrade to Windows 8, this one should be an element you should look out for in any laptop that you buy. Separate keys for left and right click are appreciated, and are a lot more comfortable than the integrated keys.

Samsung preloads the Series 5 Ultrabook with Windows 7 (64-bit), and we assume that this machine will come under the umbrella of eligibility for an upgrade to Windows 8. Yes, there are trialwares preloaded on the laptop, but thankfully are lesser than what the likes of Sony do, for example. And some of Samsung’s own utilities – like the Easy Settings one we mentioned earlier, are actually very important.

Processor: Intel Core i5 � 3317U @ 1.7GHz; Display: 14-inch, 1366 x 768 pixels; Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT620M and Intel HD 4000; RAM: 6GB; Storage: 1TB HDD with 24GB flash for caching; Ports: 2 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0, HDMI out; Optical drive: Yes 

Performance

Compared straight with the previous generation Sandy Bridge version, the updated Series 5 is a couple of notches ahead on the scoring sheet. And we expected that from the second-generation ultrabook, and any less would have been a disappointment.

As far as the benchmark scores were concerned, this one is mostly scoring better than the Acer Aspire S3, except with CineBench CPU test and PC Mark 07 – not a surprise considering the more powerful processor. But, benchmarks only show half the story. In terms of real life usage, the Series 5 feels much faster than the Aspire S3 – opening apps, general quickness of accessing files and folders and even during multitasking.

Despite both ultrabooks having the flash storage for caching, the Samsung machine seems to take better advantage of that to make the overall experience snappier.

No shortage of ports on either side.

Graphics is a no contest literally, since this offers switchable graphics, while the Aspire S3 can only bring the Intel HD 4000 to the fight. So much so, that we can only compare these two Ivy Bridge machines on benchmarks except 3D Mark 11, which refused to run on the Aspire S3. In all, the Series 5 has a considerable lead over the Aspire, and the scores ranges to indicate a mid-range performance. And that is probably a bonus for you on an ultrabook.

The real kicker is the battery life. Largely, the trend has been – more powerful the processor, the battery life does take a hit. In this case, the opposite has happened. The previous generation version of the Series 5 had scored 160 minutes on a single charge under heavy load testing. The new version scores a whopping 229 minutes under the heavy stress test benchmark. This is almost touching 4 hours in the test, and you can essentially expect 5 hours plus easily under a usual everyday usage load.

Bottom line
Well, if you are in the market for an ultrabook, but don’t want to spend insane amounts of money on the likes of a Dell XPS 13 or an HP Folio ,then you should consider this as the beginning and the end of your search! With a box price of around Rs. 57,000, this one is considerably less expensive than the other Ivy Bridge alternative – the Acer Aspire S3. And at this price, this ultrabook is essentially offering you a laptop-esque feature set, complete with the optical drive at your service. We would recommend this to anyone who wants a sufficiently powerful machine, and this one is within the budget.

Not as slim as like likes of the Dell XPS 13 and the Acer Aspire S3, but very well put together.

Notice the muscular curves on the sides and towards the rear.

One more USB port to add to the ones on the other side.

The 14-inch display does offer a bit more real estate on the screen.

We love the completely understated looks and design.

Sony Xperia neo L

Introduction:
The Sony Xperia neo L is the latest Android handset by the Japanese phone maker and it tries to strike the right balance between price and functionality. The Xperia neo L builds up on the success of the neo series, but this time adds a bigger screen, a slightly different build and design. Is it worth your time and money? We’ll take a look at all the details before answering that.

Design:

The Xperia neo L is a typical phone from the neo series. If you’ve seen one, you’d instantly know that this phone belongs to the family - it comes with the typical slightly elongated body with four physical keys at the bottom. It’s a matter of taste, but we appreciate having those buttons, giving us a physical sense of stability and certainty that you’ve pressed a button that capacitive keys can’t give.

The Sony Xperia neo L itself is the very embodiment of the cheap plasticky feel in a handset

The Xperia neo L itself is the very embodiment of the cheap plasticky feel in a handset. Coming in a choice of either white or black glossy plastic, in either case you’d find smudges all over the handset after just a couple of minutes using it. The whole body is tightly put together, though, with no moving parts, which is good.

	Android buttons	Front-facing camera

The device is also not among the thinnest at 0.48 inches (12.2mm) and it feels a bit bulky, tipping the scales at 4.64 ounces (131.5g). 

microUSB port (left)	Power and volume keys (right)	3.5mm jack (top)
Bottom	Back	Rear camera
The sides of the Sony Xperia neo L

Screen:

The handset features a spacious 4-inch LED-backlit LCD screenwith a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. Bravia technology makes colors punchier, and more pleasing to the eye. We’re happy with the size of the display and the pixel density is above what other peer phones have, but we wish there was some sort of oleophobic coating. Without it, the screen becomes a big mess of smudges after swiping and touching it a few times. Get a cloth ready at all times. There is also the grippy feeling that you get on cheaper displays, so you feel like your finger doesn’t slide smoothly but kind of jumps over the screen every once in a while.

In terms of viewing angles and sunlight legibility, the LCD screen is pretty mediocre - tilting the display washes out the colors slightly, nothing too dramatic, but again far from the best displays out there.

Interface and Functionality:

The Sony Xperia neo L can brag about arriving with Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich on board, unlike many of its rivals. 

Sony has sprinkled some of its Timescape UI magic on top of ICS and while other phone makers have moved toward simplicity, this skin looks like one of the few heavier skins we have left for good or bad. 

We have come to love the stock Android UI, especially in ICS and now in Jelly Bean, more than any other skin, so for us it was an annoyance as we had to remember that widgets were not in the app drawer, but instead you have to long press a blank space on the home screen. 

The Sony Xperia neo L can brag about arriving with Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich on board

The keyboard is also not standard Android affair, and it takes some getting used to. We found it relatively accurate, but we didn’t like the grey looks and - call us nitpickers - the fact that you had to go into the symbols menu to access the period sign. 

Email	On-screen keyboard

Processor and Memory:

Quadrant

It’s amazing what a world of a difference software optimization makes. The Sony Xperia neo L runs on a second-gen Snapdragon chip, the Qualcomm MSM8255 with 1GHz single-core Scorpion processor, 512MB of RAM and Adreno 205 graphics. This is one of the most popular chips out there - it might be reaching the end of its lifespan, but it’s still on a huge number of devices.

And while it runs smooth as molasses on the Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia 710 and HTC Titan II, on the Timescaped Ice Cream Sandwich performance is not as buttery as our eyes would have liked to see. Dropped frames are easily noticeable when you scroll in the menus and that’s a big downer. The small but consistent lag is throughout the device - it happens in menus, when opening some of the built-in apps like the dialer and even in the animations when opening folders. 

On Quadrant, the chip scored a pretty low 1,200, so don’t expect to be able to run the latest games.

When it comes to internal storage, the handset sports 1 gigabyte of memory, of which only around 330MB are available to the end user to install apps and media. You definitely would need to pick up a microSD card to expand that.

Chrome browser

Internet and Connectivity:

When it comes to getting on the Internet, the Xperia neo L has one huge advantage over its rivals running on Gingerbread. What’s that, you wonder? You can get Chrome on it - Google’s mobile browser works only on Android 4.0 and later, and it’s a treat. 

Chrome is now the default browser as of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and we definitely feel that if you can sacrifice Adobe Flash (Chrome doesn’t support it), there is no reason for you not to install Chrome and use it as default on the ICS-running Xperia neo L. Still, the device looks a bit underpowered and you can notice it stutters here and there when you try to scroll around and zoom in and out around pages.

The handset features 3G HSDPA, delivering 7.2 Mbps on the downlink.

Camera:

The 5-megapixel auto-focus camera on the neo L comes with LED flash on the back and 30fps video capture, so far so good.

What’s worrisome, though, is the mediocre quality of the pictures the handset captures. It almost looks like you were shooting with a 3-megapixel or lower-resolution camera as detail is scarce, and the images lack in sharpness. Areas of similar color often appear as one big blurry spot. 

Outdoor samples taken with the Sony Xperia neo L

Strong	Medium	Low light	Darkness with flash
Indoor samples

When it comes to video capture, we’re looking at 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. The same issues holds true, though - we have little resolved detail, and sound captured on video appears dull and a bit muffled, all making for a rather average quality.

On the plus side, the device has a front-facing VGA camera, which will come in handy for video calls.


Multimedia:

The 4-inch screen is a great asset for multimedia consumption just for its sheer size. What’s great is that Sony is continuing on its tradition to deliver top notch audio in even its more affordable devices and the Xperia neo L sounds loud and - if you don’t crank up the volume to the maximum - clear. 

Downloading one of the third-party video players on Google Play will let you play all formats, but be warned that the processor won’t be able to handle 1080p video playback. It does just fine with 720p, though.

Music player

Performance:

When it comes to the call quality, there is nothing particularly exciting or disappointing about the Xperia neo L. Sound is a bit dull, with some background noise audible, but not to the point that you can’t hear your callers. 

The handset features a 1,500mAh battery rated for nearly 8 hours of talk time on 2G and just above 7 hours on 3G networks. In our experience, with average use, the phone easily got us through a full day. 


Conclusion:

The Sony Xperia neo L is an interesting handset that tries to bring a 4-inch screen for a relatively affordable price tag. The spacious display with Bravia technology for punchier colors despite our criticism towards it is one of its assets, especially when you contrast it with the competition. Right now, it’s facing the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 in direct battle - the two are almost identically priced, but the Xperia neo L easily wins as long as we compare only the screens. The Galaxy Ace 2 is snappier, though, with its dual-core processor and less cluttered TouchWiz skin, so there’s no apparent winner. While the Ace 2 is the immediate contender, the market is packed with other options: the LG Optimus Black/White is another worthy and cheaper alternative with a 4-inch WVGA screen. Then, you have the HTC One V with quality design and sturdy build, but smaller 3.7-inch display and also the larger and slightly more expensive LG Optimus L7 with an IPS display and 4.3-inch screen.

Actually, speed and mediocre camera performance are the two possible dealbreakers here. There’s not all that much lag, but the occasional stutter could be annoying. With a price of around $350 at launch, Sony’s mid-ranger is a mixed bag. If you like the spacious colorful screen, you might end up happy with it, but if absolute performance is a must, you should look elsewhere.

PROS

• Comes with ICS on board
• Spacious screen, with high pixel density for its class

CONS

• Stutters occasionally
• Plasticky, very cheap feel
• Screen lacks oleophobic coating, looks like a mess after a while

Rating---> 6 mobiles out of ten