Will find it hard to compete in India.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Indian smartphone industry has gone through sea changes over the last one year and the focus has shifted from premium to affordable handsets that are as good as some of the premium phones when it comes to specifications.
Sensing the change in the attitude of smartphone buyers in India, Japanese smartphone manufacturer Sony has launched a budget smartphone in India, which is expected to hit the stores by the end of February.
The new smartphone dubbed Xperia E4 will be priced around Rs.10,000, but the device will have a tough time battling with the Chinese and home-grown smartphone brands that have already made inroads into the budget segment. Also, with whatever we know about the specifications of new Xperia device, Sony has miserably failed to entice prospective buyers.
It is startling that the company has not made efforts to separate Xperia E4 from its predecessor Xperia 4, which is also priced under Rs.10000. The Xperia E4 will have a new curved design and Sony expects to create a new trend in India with the new stylish design. But we have to wait and watch if the greatness of its design can cover up the spec sheet, which is in no way desirable.
Sony Xperia E4 is a 5-inch smartphone and is powered by the low-cost MediaTek 1.3 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM. Why not Snapdragon? This will be a question that many smartphone users in India are most likely to ask Sony. This due to the increasing perpetration of Yu Yureka and Xiaomi devices that features Snapdragon processor in budget smartphones.
Till last year Snapdragon chips were considered as premium processors anticipated only inside high-end devices but, as we said earlier, Indian smartphone industry has moved a long way from there in the last one year’s time.
Major upgrades for Xperia E4 from its predecessor is increased storage capacity of 8 GB and a larger display, which unfortunately still has a qHD resolution.
The front camera has moved a step higher and will feature 2MP, but the rear camera is untouched with 5 MP, which is another let down.
One of the highlights of the device is its long lasting 2300 mAh battery that boasts two days of backup with Ultra STAMINA Mode.
Xperia E4 will be available in black and white color options with customizable UI themes and different covers to suit different styles.
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