Published on October 20th, 2014 | by Guest

Sony Xperia E3 vs Xiaomi Redmi 1S

Last month Sony launched their budget smartphone called the Xperia E3. It is quite an ordinary device with the typical specifications that you would expect on a budget device. There are a couple of software features to keep you happy but that is it. Rest of the device is pretty ordinary. On the other hand, Xiaomi introduced the Redmi 1S in Indian market and has managed to create a lot of buzz. The device offers specifications that you would find on a mid-range device for a price tag that puts it in the budget segment. We put these two devices against each other to determine which one is better.

Design

The Xperia E3 has been styled in typical Sony fashion. It has got a rectangular face with a slim profile. The large prominent power key on the right spine of the device is present here as well just like many other Sony devices. It measures almost the same as the Redmi 1S except for the thickness. It is slimmer by 1.4 mm. the device isn’t exactly light and weighs 144 gms. Due to the size and slim profile, it is quite easy to handle and one handed operations are easy. The device hasn’t got any capacitive keys as it relies on on-screen keys.

The Redmi 1S has got a decent design as well. The device is heavy and it isn’t very good at hiding its weight. The weight isn’t very well distributed and it is a bit biased towards the top of the device. The built quality is good and it doesn’t feel like a budget device at all. The back is curved slightly which helps you handle the device. The dimensions make it usage and you won’t have trouble holding it with one hand. The bezels around the display are prominent but not as much as the Xperia E3. In fact both the devices have got similar length and breadth despite a 0.2 inch difference in display size. There are capacitive keys below the display which might not appeal people who are used to on screen keys. The power and volume keys sit on the right spine of the device and are part of the back panel. The buttons, though responsive, don’t feel very durable.

Display

This is where the Xiaomi Redmi 1S trumps the Xperia E3. The Xperia E3 has got an IPS LCD display measuring 4.5 inches. The size is decent but the resolution isn’t acceptable. It has got a resolution of just 480 x 854 pixels. The pixel density is very poor at just 218 ppi. The colours are acceptable but the contrast ratios aren’t very good. The only good thing that we could say about this display is that it won’t consume a lot of power.

The Xiaomi Redmi 1S has got a 720p display measuring 4.7 inches. It is also an IPS LCD display so you get impressive colours and contrast. The viewing angles are also very wide. Obviously with that resolution the display is very crisp. Put these two devices next to each other and you would be able to notice the difference immediately. The Xperia E3 really needs a higher resolution. At least qHD if not HD. That would have made it a bit crisper and thus better.

Hardware

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 has been seen on a lot of devices recently. It is efficient, inexpensive and performs well. Both these devices here run the same chipset. The Xperia E3 runs a 1.2 GHz quad core processor and 1 GB of RAM. You get just 4 GB of on-board storage which is very low and you would have to move most of the apps to the memory card. Graphics are handled by Adreno 305 GPU. This hardware has been seen in lot of devices and is great for someone looking for basic everyday usage. Even if you decide to check the synthetic benchmarks, this one won’t disappoint. There are different versions of this device. In the Indian market, you will get the dual SIM variant. There is also a 4G variant for markets where 4G networks are abundant. Rest of the connectivity options are just what you would expect on such a device. It also gets NFC support which isn’t generally found on budget devices. It is powered by a 2330 mAh battery which coupled with Sony’s battery saving applications should do a decent job.

The Xiaomi Redmi 1S is offered with 1.6 GHz and the chipset are ditto as we already said before. The RAM and the GPU are also same but it has edge with an 8GB internal storage along with a micro SD card slot. There is no 4G option. It is a dual SIM device of which one supports 3G networks while the other one supports 2G networks only. Connectivity options are similar to the Xperia E3 except for the absence of NFC. It won’t make a huge difference though. The device is powered by a 2000 mAh battery which is decent for this hardware but the battery life would obviously be a lot less than the Xperia E3.

Software

Both the devices offer custom versions of android. The Xperia E3 runs Sony’s version of android which has got minor changes over stock android. Many of the stock apps have been replaced by their home brewed versions of those apps. The launched is highly customisable and is good to use. The software on Redmi 1S is the popular custom ROM MIUI. It might take a while getting used to but is an excellent job of customising android. It runs an older version of android at the moment but will get a software update soon.

Verdict

We might have considered suggesting the Xperia E3 if it was priced anywhere near the Redmi 1S. The E3 comes with a price tag almost twice that of Redmi 1S and it fails to make sense to us when the Redmi 1S offers such an excellent value.

About Author – The author is an expert in mobile technology and loves to write about different handsets launched. He has listed the specifications of Sony Xperia E3 for the readers to make an informed buying decision.

Tags: 1S, comparision, E3, faceoff, Redmi, Sony, Xiaomi, Xperia