Sony Xperia tipo review: Mini just got bigger

Introduction

The NXT line gave Sony the strong start they needed after returning to the smartphone game on their own. The Japanese then focused on filling the lower ranks and, yet again, we see them look for inspiration in the old Sony Ericsson scrapbook.

Sony Xperia tipo official pictures

The Sony Xperia tipo is right on time for the anniversary of the Xperia mini's launch. The little droid by Sony Ericsson is still a reasonably popular choice for bargain-hunters. But it's time it stepped down and made room for the new generation.

The Xperia tipo is also doing fairly well in terms of software. While some of the first Sony smartphones had to wait a fair while to upgrade from Gingerbread, the tipo launches on ICS. Attractive design and a modern OS are the key features of this entry-level Android smartphone with modest specs and an affordable price tag.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual-band UMTS support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 3.2" 256K-color capacitive TFT touchscreen of HVGA resolution (320 x 480)
• Android OS v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 800 MHz Cortex-A5 CPU, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7225AA chipset
• 512 MB of RAM
• 2.5GB of inbuilt storage
• microSD slot (32GB supported)
• 3.15 MP fixed-focus camera, geotagging
• VGA video @ 25fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• User-accessible battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh

Main disadvantages

• Fixed-focus camera, No LED flash
• Mediocre screen quality
• No front camera
• Non-hot-swappable microSD slot
• Loudspeaker performance is so-so
• No DivX/XviD support

The Sony Xperia tipo is a bit underpowered compared to its Sony Ericsson predecessor - the CPU and the graphics chip are expected to be slightly less capable than the Scorpion/Adreno 205 combo inside the Xperia mini. As a result, the 720p video playback and recording are out of the equation.

Sony Xperia tipo live pictures

But hey, the tipo is not in the HD race, as its price tag will quickly testify. The handset targets the entry-level market and Android ICS is its key value-adding feature. But is there more to it? Stay with us for the whole story.