14 DAY TRIAL // Good news for Sony fans in India, as the Japanese handset maker has just announced the upcoming availability of its most affordable smartphones launched this year, the Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual.
Both of them were introduced earlier this year and they are already available for pre-order in some markets. Even though Sony Mobile officially launched the handsets in India, they will not go on sale until early next week.
According to fonearena, Sony Xperia E1 Dual will be available for purchase beginning March 10 for only Rs 10,490 outright, which is about $170 or €125.
Those who don’t need a dual-SIM smartphone can wait for the single SIM Xperia E1, which has been confirmed to arrive in India on March 25. Due to the fact that it lacks dual-SIM capability, this version of Xperia E1 will go on sale for only Rs 9,490 ($155 / €110) off contract.
There are little differences between the two Xperia E1 models and certainly none when it comes to software. They both ship with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box and Timescape UI on top.
Sony has yet to make an announcement regarding future updates for the Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual, but there will not be any major upgrade available for them. Those who are expecting to receive a KitKat update for either of these devices might want to look for another Android smartphone instead.
Hardware-wise, the Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual are identical, which means they both come equipped with 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processors inside, alongside Adreno 302 GPUs, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory.
Keep in mind that, although Sony states these devices pack 4GB of storage, the actual internal memory available for users is much lower, so you will definitely need a microSD memory card for more storage.
It is also worth mentioning that the smartphones sport 4-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen displays, which support 480 x 800 pixels resolution and feature scratch-resistant glass.
The Xperia E1 Dual is slightly heavier at 122g (battery included) than the Xperia E1 which weighs only 120g, but that should not be noticeable.
They also come with 3-megapixel rear-facing cameras with video recording capabilities, but there’s no autofocus feature or LED flash. Both smartphones lack secondary cameras.
Last but not least, Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual are powered by 1780 mAh Li-Ion batteries that offer different standby time. While the former should last for around 498 hours (454 hours in 3G mode) in standby mode, the latter is only rated for 366 hours (441 hours in 3G mode).