Nowadays, for a long time, you will not surprise anyone with a mobile phone running the Android operating system with two SIM cards. Some Chinese manufacturers have gone further and began to equip their mobile devices with three or even four SIM card slots. Manufacturers with a serious name and reputation, of course, for a number of reasons have not yet reached this point, but phones for two SIM cards are already being released. The world famous Japanese company Sony just recently released its first smartphone with two SIM cards.
It was the Sony Xperia tipo dual ST21i2 smartphone. It belongs to the segment of low-cost Android smartphones of the Xperia line. This model is based on the Sony Xperia ST21i single-symbol phone and is practically a copy of it. Therefore, all the information below will relate to two models.
The smartphone works in standard 2G (1800, 1900, 900) and 3G GSM networks. It is equipped with two SIM card slots (model ST21i2), Qualcomm MSM7225AA 800 MHz processor, Adreno 200 GPU, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, memory card slot, 3.2 inch TFT touch screen, USB interfaces, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS global positioning system, photo / video camera with a resolution of 3.2 megapixels. The device does not have a front camera. Apparently, Sony engineers decided to push off from the small and try to launch a dual-sim camera in the budget segment.
In Ukrainian stores Sony ST21i2 Tipo Dual can be purchased in black and silver body colors. For a budget model, such a minimum is a bit strange decision. More color schemes could attract more buyers. The smartphone went on sale in October 2012. The Sony Xperia ST21i smartphone is sold in four colors: black, white, red and blue.
Among the inexpensive dvuhsimochnik based on the operating system Android 4.0, there are several: Prestigio MultiPhone 4040 Duo, Gigabyte GSmart Rio R1, Fly IQ442, LG E615 Optimus L5 Dual. All of them are in approximately the same price segment as the Sony ST21i2 Tipo Dual. At the same time, it is possible to purchase an even cheaper smartphone based on the Android 2.3 operating system.
Acquaintance
The Sony ST21i2 Tipo Dual and Sony Xperia ST21i smartphones come in small white and gray cardboard boxes. This box opens at the top. Inside you will find the phone itself, a lithium-ion battery, a standard microUSB cable, a charger box, several promotional brochures, a stereo headset, a user manual, and a warranty card. The phone was made in China, which will hardly surprise anyone in our time. Information about the place of production, certification is indicated on the box and sticker inside the smartphone itself. In general, standard equipment. Everything you need is there, nothing more.
Design and appearance features
The smartphone is made in monoblock form factor with a touch screen. The design is nothing special. The body is quite streamlined, all corners are beveled. Below we see a small bevel with the inscription "Xperia". On the one hand, the look is pretty, but on the other, a little boring. But this is a purely subjective opinion. Moreover, the device is budgetary, so you should not expect any frills. The smartphone is relatively small, easily fits in any shirt or trouser pocket. Its weight is only about 100 grams. The thickness is a little confusing - 13 millimeters. The body of the phone is made of rather durable plastic. The material leaves a very good impression. The surface is sufficiently resistant to mechanical stress and scratches. The back panel is covered with a soft-touch. It is very pleasant to the touch, thanks to it the device does not slip in the hand. In general, the device is very comfortable in the hand. The assembly is very high quality, nothing creaks, no backlash. No complaints. The back cover sits tightly and is somewhat problematic to remove.You need to insert your fingertip into the gap between the phone case and the back panel (at the bottom of the mobile phone) and lift it slightly. Inside there will be a compartment for the battery, as well as 2 slots for SIM cards (one above the other) and 1 slot for installing a memory card. The smartphone is guaranteed to work with microSD cards (TransFlash) up to 32 GB.
On the front panel of the phone there is a display, a distance sensor (there is no light sensor), three traditional touch control buttons, a speaker and the inscription "Xperia". On the back there is a camera (no flash is provided), a loudspeaker, the Sony logo and the inscription "Xperia". The functions of the buttons are standard for android smartphones: the "Back" button is used to return to the previous menu, closes the function menu and the notification panel, the "Home" button takes you to the main screen, the "Menu" button opens the list of functions. The left side of the smartphone is equipped with a microUSB port without any cover or plug. Therefore, dust and moisture can freely enter it. The right side is equipped with a volume control, a button for switching SIM cards, an eyelet for attaching a strap. A regulator with a button is sitting quite close, so you can miss the desired element. Above is a standard headphone or headset jack (3.5 mm) and a power / lock key, and below is a microphone.
Battery
The smartphone is equipped with a 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery, although there are models with a capacity of 1480 mAh. This difference is not fundamental, but the fact remains. According to official information, a full charge should be enough for uninterrupted operation up to 5 hours of talk time, up to 350 hours of standby time, up to 36 hours of listening to music. In practice, the phone works for 2-3 days. Naturally, it all depends on the download. The more talking, surfing the web, using applications and games, wireless networks, the less battery life. In general, normal performance for the battery. Through a special menu, you can see which applications are using the most battery power.
The battery is charged both from a standard electrical network (220 V) via an adapter, and from a computer via a USB port. In the second case, the charging time is longer.
Screen
The smartphone's LCD has a diagonal of 3.2 inches and a resolution of 480x320 pixels. It is made using capacitive TFT technology, displays 262 thousand colors and is protected by a special transparent fiberglass panel. There is information about the presence of some kind of scratch-resistant coating, but in reality the panel is easily damaged by sharp objects. She also quickly collects dirt on herself. The display supports multi-touch function (only 2 types of pressing) and up to 5 simultaneous touches. The responsiveness of the sensor is normal, although it happens that the clicks are not recorded. The pixel density is 180 ppi. A rather weak indicator, because pixelation is visible on the screen. The picture will fade slightly under the influence of bright sunlight. Everything is fine in the room. The colors are moderately saturated. The brightness can only be adjusted manually. Alas, no autotuning. Viewing angles are acceptable, only the upper angle is not very wide. In general, the display is clearly budgetary, but it will be enough for normal use of the phone.
Features of the work of 2 SIM cards
For the full operation of two SIM cards, the manufacturer is faced with the need to install two radio modules inside the device. This not only increases the cost of the phone, but also its size and battery consumption (power consumption). We have to adapt the menu for making calls, surfing the web and other tasks. In general, Sony saved a little, installed only one radio module, so when a call is received on one of the SIM cards, the second becomes unavailable (and vice versa). Although both SIM cards are registered on the network at the same time. Naturally, there are no such problems with messages, tk. it takes a split second to receive and send them.
The side button allows you to switch between SIM cards and choose the one you need to make a call. Everything is displayed in a pop-up window. Maps can also be switched on a set schedule. A special widget shows which of the cards is currently being used.In the settings menu, you can set the names of the cards, the color, select the preferred card for surfing the web, making calls and sending messages. For each SIM, you can set your own ringtone.
Camera
The smartphone has got a simple 3.2 megapixel camera. There is no flash for the camera, as well as a separate button for quick launch. Very uncomfortable. Autofocus is not supported during shooting. This is another drawback. The camera settings menu has been simplified and adapted for the Sony smartphone. There you can change the resolution, exposure, metering, white balance, set the shooting scene, turn on the timer, add geotag, adjust the shutter sound. There is a 4x digital Zoom. The quality of the pictures is not very good, the lack of a flash makes itself felt. The camera shoots videos in VGA format.
Filling, OS, multimedia and more
The smartphone uses the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. All software components are standard for Sony 2012 smartphones. The mobile phone has a single-core processor. Of the 4 GB of internal memory, only half (2 GB) remains for the user. Performance and speed of work, for a smartphone of this level, are normal. According to the Nena Mark 2.4 test, the Sony Xperia tipo dual ST21i2 scores more points than the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and HTC Desire 6.5, but almost 3 times less than the Galaxy S II.
The top line is standard for Android smartphones. It displays the time, battery charge, signal strength of each of the SIM cards, active connections and other information. Widgets, folders, shortcuts are located on five desktops. Sony's proprietary widgets are very convenient and have a nice design. They are selected from a vertical scrolling list. I really liked the weather widget and the SIM card management widget. The software is similar to that of the Xperia Miro smartphone. To design the display, you can use standard wallpapers from Sony and your own pictures. There are also seven different menu themes available.
If you lock the screen, it displays the time, date and battery level.
You can set up some of the default accounts and services: Google (to use Google Talk (chat), Google Play (install new apps), calendar and contacts sync), Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, Facebook, Sync ML.
The smartphone has a built-in FM radio, a player for music (MP3, WAV) and videos (3GPP, MP4), an application for viewing pictures. We will not dwell on this in detail, since you can install any application ("apk" format) on your smartphone. FM radio can search and tune stations automatically. Several tens of radio frequencies are stored in the memory.
The built-in client for working with e-mail (e-mail POP / SMTP, e-mail IMAP4) supports automatic settings for almost any mail service. You just need to enter your data (address and password). You can attach files to the letter. There is also a separate app for Gmail.
Among the preinstalled useful applications, it is worth highlighting: You Tube (for watching videos from the site of the same name), Office Suite (viewing Word, Excel, PDF, Power Point files without editing function), Google search, Google+ social network client, built-in browser (browsing the web pages, plays music and videos on them). For GPS navigation, the standard Google Maps application for androids is used. The application is able to find the current position on the map, plot a route. It is convenient not only for car owners, but also for pedestrians. The smartphone supports WAP, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA standards.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 modules (with EDR and A2DP support) are used for wireless transmission. Wi-Fi allows the smartphone to work as an access point and can save passwords for networks.
Final verdict
Why be sure to buy:
Why not buy:
In general, the Sony ST21i and Sony ST21i2 smartphones turned out to be very decent. These are reliable models running the modern Android 4.0.4 operating system. They also have a light weight and a capacious battery. The many options for customizing SIM cards make the Sony ST21i2 stand out from its competitors. Smartphones perform their direct responsibilities in terms of making calls and sending SMS flawlessly. But in terms of the quality of the LCD screen and the level of the camera, they, unfortunately, are slightly inferior to many of their competitors.
