Sony Launches Dual-SIM Xperia E4g In India; Higher Price, Still On Android KitKat
Back in February, Sony promised a new Xperia E4 model, this time with 4G. At the time, the company said the single-SIM Xperia E4g will cost only 129 euro (Rs. 8,700), which was the original price of the Xperia E4. That sounded like a great move from Sony and was actually a first in the company's E-series history.
Sony has usually sold its low-end E-series smartphones for a price that was significantly higher than that of competing phones with similar specs. The E4g looked like it was going to change that and offer much better value for the money, similarly to Motorola's Moto E 4G.
However, the dual-SIM version of the Xperia E4g will cost Rs. 13,290 in India, which is roughly 200 euro. Even the single-SIM version looks like it will be around 165 euro in the UK, on Amazon. While the original price made the Xperia E4g much more competitive, the new pricing may put it at a disadvantage compared to new low-end phones being launched with similar specs but at lower price points.
The Sony Xperia E4g comes with a MediaTek MT6732 chip, which includes a 64-bit 1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU and a Mali-T760MP2 GPU, which should be quite fast for most casual smartphone users. The device has a 4.7" screen with a qHD 960 x 540 resolution; that's a little on the low side, but with the lower resolution comes the benefit of increased battery life.
The E4g also features 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, microSD support, a 5MP camera with LED flash that supports 1080p video recording and HDR for photography, 2MP front-camera, and a 2,300 mAh battery. As the name implies, it also supports 4G connectivity.
One of Sony Xperia E4g's unique features is its Ultra Stamina mode. According to Sony, the device can already last for two days of moderate usage, but with the Ultra Stamina mode, the phone can last for a whole week. Sony achieved this performance by shutting off all of the smartphone's processes except for the basic call functions.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment about the Xperia E4g is that it comes with the year-and-a-half-old Android KitKat operating system, while other competitors in India are already on Android 5.0 or even Android 5.1. (Mainly, those are the "Android One" smartphones from Google's partners, as well as Nexus devices).
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The higher price and the older version of Android may chase away some Indian customers, while others could be drawn to Sony's more refined design sensibilities and higher-quality materials. Indian consumers can purchase the dual-SIM Sony Xperia E4g now from Sony's website. The black version costs Rs. 13,290 while the white one is a little more, going for Rs. 13,490.
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Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers software news and the issues surrounding privacy and security.
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velocityg4 I wish Google would change the Android licensing. Instead require handset makers to submit drivers to Google for their phones if they want to use Android. Then Google could include them in Android releases, rather than this half-baked approach of relying on each handset maker. Instead have all updates be immediate by being direct from Google. The installer could just install the drivers for the phone it is being installed on and dump the rest.Reply
Also let component manufacturers submit drivers to Google. That way you could install Android on any device you want if drivers are available. Even a desktop PC. Without waiting for someone to make an Android build which is compatible.