From water resistant to dust proof, what can the Xperia V not do? Well it can’t transform into a motorcar, but it can be placed in water and still live to tell the tale. So I think I’ll give it that.
The Xperia V is a really great phone and I am not just saying this because it is the official phone of CapeTownGuy (me). I say this, because, it’s true.
From its sleek looks to its amazing camera, there isn’t anything that I don’t like about the phone.
The Xperia V features a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon which is a Dual-core 1.5 GHz. I have the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as a second phone and the Note 2 runs a Quad Core. Yet I found the Xperia V’s Dual- Core 1.5 GHZ processor to be really good and I couldn’t notice a difference between the two. I did some side by side comparison and there wasn’t a difference in speed!
The Xperia V has 1 GB RAM which will ensure that you can multi task without having the phone freeze on you. On smart phones, we all run many apps at a time and it is important that you can switch between apps quickly without any lagging. On the Xperia V multitasking is easy and fast which is a plus for me!
To store all your pictures, music and games there is 8 GB internal memory and a Micro SD slot that takes up to a 32GB Micro SD card. I have a 32GB card in my Xperia V and it is really useful to store all my pictures, music and videos.
The Xperia V features a 4.3 inch 720 x 1280 pixel TGT capacitive touch screen. The glass is scratch-resistant so it is protected from accidental scratches. It looks like there already is a screen protector on the screen so I didn’t have to add one. The screen protector also makes the screen shatter-proof So if you drop the V and the screen cracks, the broken pieces of glass will stay on the screen so you can still use the phone until it gets fixed. Good for all you phone droppers out there! Just like, the Xperia Z, the Xperia V features the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 which has an advanced contrast enhancer which brings out the details in your videos and pictures. I am really happy with the screen and it is a pleasure to use.
I use my phone as a camera and I need the picture quality to be really good. The Xperia V has a 13MP camera with 4128×3096 pixels, autofocus and an LED flash. I am really happy with the quality of the camera and that is why the Xperia V is the phone that is used for my Instagram account, which is something I am really passionate about. My previous phone the Xperia Pro had an 8mp camera which was really good and my photos received lots of complements. So I was really excited to get the Xperia V as I knew that it would be amazing.
If you want to shoot some videos, the Xperia V has a 1080p HD camera @30fps with video stabilization to ensure that you can make some great quality videos, to upload to youtube J
LTE- Long Term Evolution or more commonly known as 4G is here and the Xperia V ensure that you get the best of it. I mostly use Wifi when I can but the 4G is super fast.
Battery life is always a major problem with phones these days. The Xperia V features a Li-Ion 1750 mAh battery. I found that the Xperia V battery can last a day of full on use. This for me involves, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Emails, Taking pictures and some browsing with Wifi. I use my phone a lot and I am always busy doing something on it. So I can understand that the battery needs to be charged daily. But I did find that once it was fully charged (at 100%) it does drop quite quickly. This does bother me as I thought that the battery normally lasts longer on the higher percentages and then drops faster after that.
With accidental water damage these days, it is important for a phone to be water resistant. The Xperia V is IP57 certified and is dust and water resistant. IP stands for Ingress Protection and is an index for measuring the resistance of a device to certain foreign particles. The IP57 rating means the device can withstand being immersed in 1m of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
The Xperia V is water proof up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. So this doesn’t mean you must purposely dunk the phone in water, but for testing purposes, it has to be done. The Xperia V will only be water proof provided that all ports are properly closed with the flaps. Each flap has a small rubber gasket that will stop water and other foreign particles from getting in. So the next time your phone falls in a basin or bath, you can pick it up, wipe it with a cloth and use it again without needing a new phone. Though, if you really want the Xperia V, wet your current phone so you can get the awesome Xperia V.
I got the charging dock with my Xperia V. Because the ports all have flaps, you will need to open the flap each time you want to charge the Xperia V. So the dock is useful as you just place the phone in the dock without needing to open a flap first. A bit of a time saver. Plus the Xperia V looks great in the dock.
So to sum it up, I really love the camera on the Xperia V. It provides excellent quality shots which I can use for my website and Instagram. The screen is clear and responsive and the phone has a great feel to it. The phone is quick and I am able to do so much on it. I would personally like to see the battery last a little longer though. But other than that, I love the Xperia V.
Update: The day after I wrote and posted this, the battery performed really well. I did some updates and used the phone normally and the battery is on 66% after 8 hours. So I don’t know why previously the battery hasn’t been so good but today, I give the battery a 5/5 🙂
Thank you very much to Sony Mobile for sending me this amazing phone and specially to Ronelle for organising it!
Pictures courtesy of GSMArena:
The following is a water and dust resistance test that I did on the Xperia Z, note not the Xperia V. It was filmed using the Xperia V. I am just showing the quality of the camera. I will post a review on the Xperia Z soon !
