Sony Xperia Sola - Magical Touch

Overview 

Besides the Xperia NXT family of phones (the Xperia S, P and U), Sony Mobile Communications also unveiled another Xperia member, the Sola in March 2012. While the Xperia S, P and U have their different target market segments, the Xperia Sola is likely to appeal to those who fancy new technologies and are willing to be early adopters. 

Possibly the first smartphone in the world to debut the floating touch technology, the Xperia Sola allows a user to interact with the display of the phone without actually touching it. How does Sony achieve that? Well, let's find out in this review but before we do so, here's a quick look at the specs of the Sony Xperia Sola: -

Key highlights of the Sony Xperia Sola Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread (Upgradeable to Android 4.0) STE U8500 dual-core 1GHz processor 512MB RAM Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 NFC(Near Field Communication) support 3.7-inch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine / 854 x 480 pixels 5-megapixel camera / autofocus / Photo flash / 720p video recording 8GB internal storage (up to 5GB user-accessible memory) microSD memory card slot (supports up to 32GB) 1320mAh battery 107g Dimensions: 116 x 59 x 9.9mm Price and Availability: S$588 (inclusive of GST) without line contract

Design 

The Xperia Sola does not deviate drastically from the design DNA of the Xperia family, sporting the signature boxy shape but doing away with the illuminated plastic strip. In its place are three touch sensitive buttons below the 3.7-inch display that sit one level above the Xperia brand logo. Regardless of the rationale behind such a design, the impact of usability is definitely noticeable especially for users with larger thumbs. You couldn't help but feel the awkardness of your thumb tabbing on an elevated platform.

While the 3.7-inch display attracts smudges and fingerpints easily, the same could not be said for the rest of the chassis which has a matte finish. This keeps fingerprints and smudges at bay although we were constantly on guard against dirt picking up on the milk white back of the Xperia Sola. Weighing a mere 107g and measuring just 9.9mm thin, the Xperia Sola feels very compact in the hands. In terms of handling, we have no problems with the industrial design of the device.

The left side of the Xperia Sola houses the Power button while a 3.5mm audio output jack is found on the top right corner of the device. On the right, you will find the micro-USB port, volume controls and camera shutter button.

Features

Similiar to the Xperia P and U, the Xperia Sola runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with some slight modifications to the UI. To be honest, we've handled a few Android 4.0 devices (ASUS PadFone, HTC One V, HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S III) so far and Gingerbread-powered phones seem and feel really dated these days. Fortunately, Sony Singapore states the Android 4.0 update for the Xperia Sola should arrive sometime in Q3, which means anytime from July to September.

One of the main touted features of the Xperia Sola is the floating touch technology which is co-developed with Cypress Technologies. What it basically does is to enable the Xperia Sola to register your finger input up to 20mm above the screen. This will result in a cursor-like movement on the Xperia Sola where you use to highlight links and "click" on the exact link you want. For the detailed explanation of the technicalities of the floating touch technology, you can check out this article at Sony Developer World. 

Play

The Xperia Sola is also among the growing list of smartphones that come with NFC capability. You will receive two Xperia SmartTags as part of the sales package of the Xperia Sola.

As mentioned in an earlier article, "NFC and SmartTag Demo with Sony Xperia S", a SmartTag is basically a round token that works with any NFC-enabled smartphone. Tapping the lower portion of the Xperia Sola on the SmartTag will launch a set of pre-configured profiles such as launching Facebook app, turning on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 

Performance 

The Sony Xperia Sola is powered by ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 dual-core 1GHz processor and 512MB RAM, which seems modest in the Android realm where the rave is all about the quad-core HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III. 

Due to its position as a mid-tier smartphone, we will be comparing the Xperia Sola against the dual-core competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC Sensation XE and the LG Optimus 2X in the Quadrant benchmark. 

The score of 2254 placed the Xperia Sola somewhere in the middle of the competition. While it managed to topple the Android 4.0-touting Galaxy Nexus, it failed to match up to the Tegra 2-powered LG Optimus 2X and Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped HTC Sensation XE.

As mentioned in our review of the Sony Xperia P, the higher clock speed and the possibility of better optimization on the Qualcomm chipset contributed to the HTC device gaining the upper hand. However, numbers aren't everything. Daily usage-wise, its performance was snappy and responsive, with apps opening fairly fast and multitasking was a breeze. So in actual usage, all phones actually delivered similarly good usability.

Imaging Performance

The Sony Xperia Sola is equipped with a 5-megapixel rear autofocus camera, a single LED flash and handles HD video recording up to 720p resolutions. However, it lacks a front facing camera for video calls. As usual, we will subject the Xperia Sola to our imaging test to see how well can it handle photo taking tasks: - 

Although we had hardly any issues with the imaging performance of the Xperia Sola, we did not like the feel and operation of the physical camera shutter button located on the bottom right side of the phone. It is simply too stiff for our liking, and with such a characteristic, pressing the shutter button all the way runs the risk of the user accidentally shaking the camera when taking photos. 

On a positive note, we quite liked the Fast Capture feature on the Xperia Sola. You can activate the camera and take the shot straight from the lock screen of the Xperia Sola by simply pressing the shutter button for a few seconds. According to Sony, the process takes just over a second.

We tested the Fast Capture feature on several occasions and found it to be a tad more useful than the camera shortcut found on the lock screens of other phones. Fast Capture can also be found in other recent Sony phones such as the Xperia S, P and U. 

Battery Mileage 

Our testing methodology involves looping a video with a 480 x 800 pixels resolution under the following conditions:

• Screen brightness and volume at 100%
  
   
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections active
  
   
• Constant data stream via email and Twitter

Low battery mileage continues to plague the Xperia line of smartphones as the Xperia Sola came in last with a timing of slightly less than four hours of battery uptime in intensive usage. Some may argue that the Xperia Sola comes with a smaller battery capacity of 1320mAh but one cannot ignore the fact that its competitors come with bigger screens and processors with higher clock speeds. Fortunately, while using the phone during normal day-to-day operations, the device could last close to one day. So its probably not too bad, but it certainly could have done much better in our streneous testing to better reflect intensive usage.

Conclusion

Based on the recent portfolio of Sony Xperia phones introduced, it is apparent that the company isn't looking at competing directly with the heavyweights (Apple, HTC and Samsung) head-to-head. Instead, Sony is differentiating its products with unique features such as Fast Capture, Floating Touch technology and design appeal in the case of the Xperia Sola.

As interesting as its Floating Touch technology could be, it is not the killer feature that will give the Xperia Sola in any strategic edge over the competition. After all, the Apple iPhones are still the hot favorites among consumers today despite having a smaller 3.5-inch screen. For the Android camp, bigger screen phones are increasingly popular with users judging from the roaring sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note. That's not to say that the Sola is in any disadvantage with its screen size, but rather, its lacking the X-factor or a killer function to entice would-be buyers. Currently, the Xperia series is banking heavily on its design and the complete Sony ecosystem for best usability.

At S$588, the Sony Xperia Sola is a decent mid-range smartphone that has a solid build quality and good handling. Performance-wise, it's tough recommending the Xperia Sola over the other phones such as the LG Optimus 2X which offer a better battery life, a bigger display, 1080p video recording and an 8-megapixel rear camera. As it is more than a year old, you are able to get the LG phone at a lower street price. If you are looking for an ICS-powered smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus could be a better choice with a larger screen, but it's priced much higher as well.

That leaves the Xperia Sola an ideal upgrade for existing Sony/Sony Ericsson users who prefer to have a similar design and character on a phone that has a very handy size. The bottom line is that there's nothing wrong about it, but neither is there a very strong plus point going for it.

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