Key difference: The Sony Xperia E and E-Dual are two entry-level phones from Sony Mobile. The phone comes with a 3.5 TFT capacitive that has a ~165 ppi pixel density. It comes with a 1 GHz Cortex-A5 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, an Adreno 200 GPU and 512 MB RAM. Sony Xperia P features a 4-inch TFT touch screen that allows up to 4-touch capabilities. The screen is scratch resistant and has a shatter proof coating. The touch screen provides approximately 275 ppi pixel density along with WhiteMagic technology, which adds an extra white pixel with the already present red, blue and green.

Sony is a popular smartphone company and has been launching popular phones under the Xperia Brand. Since, its separation with Ericsson, the company has introduced multiple phones in different ranges to cater to all types of demands. The widespread demand of smartphones has required many companies to start manufacturing low-end phones for the masses. The new 2013 line-up of Sony phones include the Sony Xperia E and E-Dual phones. These phones are identical to each other and only differ in some features.

The Sony Xperia E and E-Dual are two entry-level phones from Sony Mobile. These are the few of the cheapest models available on the market that have pretty decent features for a low-end phone. The phone has similar design themes to the older Sony phones with a slight inward curve and has shaved a lot of back bulk. The phone is slim and straight and is easy to operate using one hand. The company has also ditched the cheap, plastic back and replaced with it a rubber matte finish. This makes the back prone to fingerprint smudges, while the front screen is completely prone to fingerprints and dust smudges.

The front of the phone has a 3.5-inch display screen with three capacitive (Home, Menu and Back) buttons on the bottom. Above the screen is the earpiece, a hidden status LED and the proximity sensor. On the top end of the device, there is just a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the left side has a microUSB port. The bottom of the screen has a small LED light, while the right side of the device holds the volume rocker, power button and the dedicated camera key. The back of the devices holds the camera on the top and the loud speaker grille on the bottom.

The phone comes with a 3.5 TFT capacitive that has a ~165 ppi pixel density. In terms of technology these days, the resolution and the density is pretty weak, but as this is a entry-level the resolution is decent for the price. However, do not expect high definition resolution. The phone has pretty low contrast and poor viewing angles. The screen is made using scratch-resistant glass proving some sort of protection from scratches. The phone comes with the traditional Sony Timescape UI, which means it comes with certain built-in Timescape applications that are not removable.

In terms of speed and power, the phone is good for an entry-level model. It comes with a 1 GHz Cortex-A5 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, an Adreno 200 GPU and 512 MB RAM. The phone supports 2G and 3G but not 4G. The Xperia E comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, which is a good set-up. The Xperia E-Dual comes with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwihch but can be upgraded to Jelly Bean. The Jelly Bean comes with all of the special features of Google, including Google Now. There are few modifications to the Android software. Upon unlocking the screen, the home screen has five screens, which are customizable. The differences between the ICS and Jelly Bean can be read in the article, The Difference between Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean on the website.

The major difference between the E and the E-Dual is that E-Dual supports dual SIM technology, while the E only supports single SIM. Both the phones come with a 3.15 MP back camera with a few features such as 4x digital zoom, Geotagging, Self-timer, Send to web and Touch capture. The camera does not have a great picture taking capability and has low resolution, but is okay for an entry-level phone. The phones also do not have a secondary camera, which means no video conferencing. However, it does have VGA video recording capability. The phone comes with 4 GB internal memory, of which 2 GB is available to the user and the memory is expandable up to 32 GB via microUSB card.

The phones come with a removable Li-Ion 1530 mAh battery that provides an okay battery capacity for an entry-level phone. The phone is considered as a no-nonsense android phone. The phone is a good entry-level phone and offers good features for its price. However, the person would have to sacrifice on secondary camera, photo resolution and a few features. The phone also offers certain neat features such as Overview mode (allows zooming out to see all open applications), Face Unlock, Wi-Fi tethering, Google Apps and Hand writing recognition.

Sony Xperia P features a 4-inch TFT touch screen that allows up to 4-touch capabilities. The screen is scratch resistant and has a shatter proof coating, allowing the screen to endure minor scratches and everyday scuffs without sacrificing on the quality. The touch screen provides approximately 275 ppi pixel density, though not the best ppi compared to the heavy contenders but the quality of the screen is not sacrificed. This is mostly because of the company’s WhiteMagic technology, which adds an extra white pixel with the already present red, blue and green. The extra pixel generates a higher level of brightness that does not cloud the phone when using it under direct sunlight.

The phone is a little bulky in nature, but it is easy to become accustomed to when holding it for longer periods of time. The phone is also a little heavier compared to similar phones, but again not something that lets the user forget of the other great features of the phone. The phone is encased in a plastic chassis, which is quite smooth to hold but is also prone to many visible scratches and chips. The device has a clear plastic border on the front that also doubles as a cover for the antenna. Above the plastic border reside the Home button, back button and Menu button. The power button, the volume rocker and the physical camera button is on the right side of the device, while the left sides hosts a variety of ports including the SIM card slot.

Under the hood, the device is powered by 1 GHz Dual-core processor and hosts the company’s Timescape UI. The user interface is quite smooth and does not glitch when shifting between the screens and the apps. The device runs on 1 GB RAM and comes with an internal storage capacity of 16 GB. Of the 16 GB, only 13 GB is available to the user and it is not expandable. The device houses an 8 MP Autofocus rear camera and a VGA (0.3 MP) front camera, which is a little bit of a letdown. The Exmor R technology ensures that the rear camera provides sharp, clear images, while the front camera does not live up to the same quality.  Though initially powered by Android v2.3, the device is now available with Android v4.0, which no status as of yet for v4.1 upgrades. The phone also comes with additional features such as Motion gaming, MobiSystems’ OfficeSuite 5, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA, USB On-the-go, Native USB tethering and NFC capabilities. The Xperia P houses a non-removable 1305 mAh battery, which provides a decent battery life and lasts almost a day. With the amount of features that are offered with the phone, the price tag is expected to be quite high; however, the price is quite affordable and will not make that much of a dent in the user’s pocket.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from Sony Mobile website, expertreviews.co.uk and GSMArena.com. Unless specified, the information is the same for both E and E-Dual.

Images Courtesy: sonymobile.com