Manage updates with the Download AppSony Xperia Ion (AT&T)
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: LT28AT/T
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The $99.99 Sony Xperia Ion looks like a good Android deal but its weaknesses make it not worth even the budget price.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
Sony Xperia Ion (AT&T) price range: $0.00
- Reviewed by: Brian Bennett
- Edited by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 06/24/2012
The good: The affordable Sony Xperia Ion has solid call quality and swift 4G LTE that ties into Sony's vast entertainment empire.
The bad: Lackluster images and video belie the Xperia's claimed 12MP camera. It's also held back by an old processor and an outdated OS.
The bottom line: The $99.99 Sony Xperia Ion looks like a good Android deal but its weaknesses make it not worth even the budget price.
User reviews
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All together this phone is great.
by Corrayyy on December 25, 2012
Pros: Amazing picture quality, The flash works really well. Fast WiFi hookup (doesn't take a million and one steps.) Great display and easy to use if your moving Android to Android. Google Search Bar is useful. Facebook Inside Xperia.
Cons: Really I only have two negative things to say about this phone.
1. It takes way too long for the camera to focus. But the front facing camera takes surprisingly great pictures with no focusing needed. 2. It opens and closes things when it wants to.Summary: It doesn't open and close things a lot but its still annoying.. Other than those two things i haven't had any problems with it though. Its a great ...
Summary: It doesn't open and close things a lot but its still annoying.. Other than those two things i haven't had any problems with it though. Its a great phone and its very dependable and long lasting.
Battery lasts through the day if you charge it at night and longer if you go out. -
A phone that's a phone.
by RamblingsAndRevelations on December 18, 2012
Pros: Good(decent) Battery Life.
Being Updated to latest Android OS. (4.1 soon)
Huge beautiful screen. (OMG, the resolution.)
Expandable storage.
Feels well made.
Responsive and quick.
Nice, simple stock layout.
Minimal (95% removable) bloatwareCons: Slightly aged processor.
Very mediocre camera performance.
Loudspeaker is great at being bad.
Maybe too large for small hands.
Slow charging?
Fingerprint back (and front as with all touch-screen devices no matter what marketing gimmick)Summary: I use my phone for texting/whatsapping, facebooking/internet browsing, the occasional eBay surfing, youtube and instagram.
I do NOT use my phone to replace a high-end DSLR, watch movies ...Summary: I use my phone for texting/whatsapping, facebooking/internet browsing, the occasional eBay surfing, youtube and instagram.
I do NOT use my phone to replace a high-end DSLR, watch movies or listen to music.
Hence, I am thoroughly happy with this phone.
I'm on 3G/HSDPA/LTE all day, leaving the house by 7am, regularly(very) checking my whatsapp, browsing at least an hour or so, or at least Wi-Fi hotspotting for a solid hour of traffic every day and three hours of screen time, getting home at 8pm leaves me with a strong 40%, if I'm out late with friends, home by 2am (and not checking much) means at least 30%. If I'm back at 4am, Charging 'til 7/8am sometimes doesn't give me a full charge, which is rather slow, but not a big issue.
The UI, and all the apps I've run (including testing out the performance with games like Modern Combat 3 and Dead Trigger) is smooooooooth. I haven't hit any stuttering except when toggling data and moving between highly widgeted home screens. Why this happens with the data but not wifi or BT, I have no clue.
I find that Wi-Fi receptivity is slightly directional, probably due to the metal back acting as a RF shield.
The screen is a real beauty, both the extra crispness from the pixel density and screen real estate (this thing is pretty massive) is great for browsing and watching videos, very easy on the eyes, holdable at arms length and right up close. Not useless in daylight.
The loudspeaker at the back of the phone below the camera lens and flash, is not very loud at all. Enabling the built-in xLOUD function narrows the frequency bandwidth to a n-shaped response peaking around 2-3KHz, aimed at an average persons most sensitive hearing range. All-in-all, the speaker sounds horrible. My hundred dollar decade old W200i sounds clearer and more accurate. But on the bright side, this makes ringtones that much more audible. (Because listening to it for more than 10 seconds makes you want to rip your eardrums out.)
The camera, is grainy and painted in anything less than half-cloudy sunlight, and over-blown otherwise. Hence it's only useful for quick facebook posts, urbanspoon reviews and that grain can be passed off as artistic on instagram. Face-unlock works suprisingly well, though.
Gimmicks like Full-HD out from the mini HDMI port which looks almost identical and is right next to the micro-USB port are great if you carry around a mini-HDMI cable around with you wherever you go, and have a full hd movie stashed on your micro-SD card. (and probably pirated off a torrent site)
That said, I haven't tested video capability or H.264 decoding power yet. But battery life is said to be able to last two extended versions of The Lord of the Rings.
The navigation buttons on the bottom are a bit weird, being slightly higher than the icons, but a slight upward swipe at the appropriate button will guarantee a response.
It slips inside a male pant pocket quite nicely, unless your wearing your girlfriend's skinny jeans.
But it really is quite, and I would say, too large for someone with smaller hands. Pattern unlocking is quite a stretch with a single hand. My girlfriend hates it because she needs to use two hands to unlock my phone.
There's also that flap that covers the micro-USB charge port. Fiddly and annoying at times.
Got the phone for less than 300AUD outright, with full warranty. No iPhone for me, thank you. -
This phone is not getting its due
by AdinaT on November 11, 2012
Pros: Beautiful Display
One touch camera button
Great Price
ICS Upgrade availableCons: Battery Life
Summary: I Bought the Motorola Atrix HD, I hated the UI. I got this phone and fell in love with it. A great phone with excellent features. BAttery life could be ...
Summary: I Bought the Motorola Atrix HD, I hated the UI. I got this phone and fell in love with it. A great phone with excellent features. BAttery life could be better but that is true of all smartphones (probablt be better if I stopped playing with it). I would recommend for anyone to go try the phone yourself, as stated above this phone is not getting its due. did I metion that I LOVE THIS PHONE!!!
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I got this phone free from AT&T and its great.
by philnlucky on September 27, 2012
Pros: Best free phone I ever had. I switched from Verizon and had a Droid Rzr, this phone is just as fast for me. I also have the ICS update, and everything is much improved including the picture and video. Still loved my rzr but this is a great phone.
Cons: Buttons suck especially in the dark cuz they dont light up. I dont like the Sony PC companion that comes with it either.
Summary: We all find things we want to be better on our phones, but here is a high def phone, 1.5 snap dragon dual processor, loads of space, NFC, 4g, ...
Summary: We all find things we want to be better on our phones, but here is a high def phone, 1.5 snap dragon dual processor, loads of space, NFC, 4g, and now ICS and it was FREE. I think thats a great phone and deal.
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Greatest Phone for FREE!
by Zolarreaux on August 28, 2012
Pros: The camera, Big Screen, Brightness, Call Quality, TimeScape, Music layout and Picture Gallery.
Cons: Gingerbread, keyboard is a bit too close for me but okay. The 4 button for home, search, back and menu at the bottom get some use to, and AT&T bloatware.
Summary: I had this phone for a while and it is very solid. I will admit I am just a text, FB messenger, talk, camera and Music Unlimited user and various ...
Summary: I had this phone for a while and it is very solid. I will admit I am just a text, FB messenger, talk, camera and Music Unlimited user and various apps that relate to school type of functions like EverNote and OneNote and it has performed very well for me. I bought the phone for only 50 bucks at Best Buy and they included a free Maroon 5 album. I love the camera on this. I travel a lot and love taking photos and I am very surprised how well my night scenes have turned out. I believe this is a great value and I am waiting for the ICS to come out soon. Also, this phone is very sturdy. I have dropped this phone 5 times already and pretty hard and it works perfectly. This phone is perfect for the people who text message, talk, take pictures and listen to music on the phone. Great price is out there. At the End of August this phone is now offered for Free with a contract if you go through Best Buy. Great DEAL!!!
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Best Phone I Have Ever Had.........
by kavinlavin on August 17, 2012
Pros: Screen
Camera
Battery
TouchCons: Android Ginger Bread
Summary: Awesome phone very handy good touch camera is best brightness is outstanding and what should i tell...?? You should buy it and no need to compare it to s3 k?
Summary: Awesome phone very handy good touch camera is best brightness is outstanding and what should i tell...?? You should buy it and no need to compare it to s3 k?
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The best phone to upgrade from a basic phone
by ravitejik on August 3, 2012
Pros: HD resolution (720p) screen and 12 MP camera are excellent.
Amazing price of $49.99 on Sony online store.
Sony's music and timescape android interface are unique.Cons: Still running android gingerbread (2.3.7), no ICS yet.
Notorious capacitive buttons at the bottom of the screen, will require some getting used to. -
Amazing phone!
by jorae4195 on July 4, 2012
Pros: Speed,speed compared to my old x10 it is like a speed demon! Great design and feel, easy operation! Love the camera!
Cons: The cnet review really blasted this phone! It is a great phone not the best high end but i don't think that was sonys idea. Would have liked to have seen illumination on bottom navi icons as are hard to find in the dark!
Summary: It is great phone and will be better after upgrade! I loved my x10 and I love this one too!
alo better deal at Best ...
Updated on Jul 4, 2012Summary: It is great phone and will be better after upgrade! I loved my x10 and I love this one too!
alo better deal at Best Buy than ATT or Sony site!
Updated on Jul 4, 2012 -
So worth it!
by leafnet on July 2, 2012
Pros: Amazing screen
12mp camera
Stylish design
Solid build quality
NFC, DLNACons: Not the latest version of android
Nonremovable batterySummary: I was choosing between the Ion and the Galaxy S3 and decided to go with the Ion. I was not disappointed.
The screen is brilliant, colors are rich and images ...Summary: I was choosing between the Ion and the Galaxy S3 and decided to go with the Ion. I was not disappointed.
The screen is brilliant, colors are rich and images are sharp. The camera takes great photos, theres a dedicated camera button and it can go from sleep mode to taking a picture in about 1.5 seconds which is great.
Build quality is very solid. It has an aluminum backing too which makes it all the more stylish. I love how sophisticated and clean it looks.
In terms of performance it is pretty quick. Maybe not as fast as the Galaxy S3 but we're probably only talking millisecond differences here so no big deal. Its unfortunate that they did not ship it with Ice cream sandwich but they did say they will upgrade it (the international versions have already been upgraded so I assume it will be up to ATT when the upgrade for the Ion will come out). I imagine performance will only improve once the upgrade comes out but in the meantime, gingerbread will do.
Overall, this phone does everything I need it to do and it is so much faster than my old single core 3g phone. I also got it for $49 from bestbuy so I am completely satisfied. I didnt go for the samsung gs3 because I did not want to pay four times the price for slightly better specs. -
Unique phone with qualities becoming rare
by Paradigm525 on June 27, 2012
Pros: Solid build
Great camera
High Pixel density
Expandable storageCons: Gingerbread
Snapdragon S3Summary: *Assuming timely ICS update* this is a far better phone than it's given credit for. Sure, it was announced 6 months ago so it's specs have gone from ...
Summary: *Assuming timely ICS update* this is a far better phone than it's given credit for. Sure, it was announced 6 months ago so it's specs have gone from high-end to middle-weight, but it's unique qualities remain.
It's definitely a styling evolution from the old SE X10 rather than Xperia's of today, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. One could certainly not accuse it of being a "me-too" design next to an iPhone. If you were to drop an uninformed individual in an AT&T store and ask them to pick the opposite of an apple product, I suspect this jagged, ominous brushed aluminum slab would be their selection.
The AT&T logo on the front is just stupid. Who are these marketing people that think that's a good idea? Probably shifting paradigms and while increasing mindshare in key youth demographics..... I just threw up a litte. Likely the same people that put the animated AT&T boot screen on everything. "Wait, what phone service do I have? Oh thank goodness, it tells me. I was scared for a sec." If any of these manufacturers are going to get serious about knocking off Apple they have to band together and put the kaibosh on this stuff. Bloatware is minimal and mostly removable. Also unnecessary and confusing. Far be it from me to encourage job loss but EVERY carrier could make it's customers happier and increase it's bottom line by just firing their Android dev staff and running stock manufacturer ROM's. Seriously. Hire me. I'll fire them and save you money. I don't cost much and I just saved you hundreds of thousands a year in salary.
The display is quite nice. I falls just slightly short of the One X but is much brighter than the GS3 with a higher pixel density *not pentile*. It's display size is standard in 2012. It hardly merits mentioning.
There's a surprising element of momentum in the fast moving mobile phone world. Sony seems to have a problem with this. Every year or so they kick out a phone that, while not bad, is ever so slightly out of date. The Ion is great. I cannot emphasize this enough. But it will get dumped on by the tech press precisely because Sony has no momentum. We all expect this to stagnate on the market for almost a year. It will sell for free within 3 months. It will get ICS 8-9 months after it should have. Put all this together and Sony has shot itself in the foot again. Which is a shame. The Ion is great.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: LT28AT/T
- Bottom Line: The $99.99 Sony Xperia Ion looks like a good Android deal but its weaknesses make it not worth even the budget price.
General
- Product Type Smartphone
- Width 2.7 in
- Depth 0.46 in
- Height 5.24 in
- Weight 4.9 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology LTE
- Service Provider AT&T
- Operating System Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS
Display
- Diagonal Size 4.6 in
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Sony
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
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