Thursday, April 12, 2012

HTC One V versus the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V

Sony Xperia neo V

For nearly six (6) months Sony's Xperia neo V has on our list top mobile phones in the country.  Basically, it combined a decently large 3.7-inch screen screen with a high 480 x 854 pixel resolution, a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 5 MP camera and a 1500 mAh battery. All in all, not bad for the price of about Php13K. How does it fair against the newer models? 

HTC One V

HTC recently launch its HTC One , which has a 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display, 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 5 MP camera and a 1500 mAh battery, all for the price of Php13,490. Sounds rather familiar. While both phones have similar specifications, there are areas where they differ.

Internal storage. The biggest issue when buying a budget Android phone is how much internal storage does the phone have. While most Android phones can expand their internal storage via a MicroSD card, not all Android apps can be moved to the SD card. Moving apps to the SD also means not being able to use the widget associated with the app in most cases. 

The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V has 1 GB of internal storage, of which 320 MB is user available. A 2 GB MicroSD card is included in the package.

The HTC One V has 4 GB of internal storage with 1.1 GB being users available. For some reason or other, it appears HTC decided to divide storage for apps, pictures and video. You have 1 GB for apps and 95 MB for pictures and video. The One V does not come with a MicroSD card but comes with 25 GB of Dropbox storage

Front camera. The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V has a front camera, while the HTC One V does not. This also means no Android 4.0 Facial recognition unlock on the One V. 

Case, size and weight. Both phones are similar in size. The One V is wider at 59.7 mm as against the narrower 57 mm of the neo V. On the other hand the One V is thinner and lighter at 9.2 mm and 115 g while the neo V is 13 mm thick and 126 g  in weight. Both phones are small enough that size should not be an issue. I suspect though that manny buyers will like the aluminum case of the One V more than the plastic one on the neo V. 

Operating system. The HTC One V is running Android 4.0 with HTC Sense. The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V is running Android 2.3.4 with Sony's own user interface. A upgrade to Android 4.0 is available.

Price. We have found the HTC One V for as low as Php13,490 with an official HTC warranty. The same store where we got the price carries the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V at Php12,000 with an official Sony warranty.

Which is a better choice? Using my own sense of priorities I would go with the One V. I am currently using 434 MB of internal storage on my Android phone, so 320 MB wont be enough for me and the apps I use. I also worry a bit, that the 320 MB of the Neo V might actually go down with the Android 4.0 update, but that is just speculation on my part.

I have a data plan and use cloud storage. I currently have 11 GB on Dropbox and 50 GB on Box, so I really do not need the additional free 25 GB for two years on Dropbox, still it would be great to have it. I have never really used the front cam on my phones, and my current Android phone does not have one and I do not miss not having one. I prefer the premium looking aluminum case on the One V.

For others, the front camera may be a deal breaker, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V would be the better choice. The neo V is also Php1,490 cheaper, and cheaper is always a good thing.

A front camera would have made the One V a neo V killer. But absent the front camera, the One V makes a nice alternative to the neo V for those who will prioritize storage over the front camera.

13 comments:

  1. "it appears HTC decided to divide storage for apps. pictures and video. You have 1 GB for apps and 95 MB for apps"

    which is which?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, correction made. 1 GB for apps. 95MB for pictures and video.

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    2. yeah found it one phonearena.

      "Although the 4GB of built-in storage might seem okay, you will definitely be buying a microSD card for your HTC One V. That is because the actual user-available storage for stuff like photos, videos, and songs is only 95 megabytes, which is pathetic in our opinion. There is a gig of storage reserved for apps, which is also anything but spacious."

      how does this work? pag nag install ako ng apps diretso sa 1gb? di na sya pwede i-'move to sd'? moto milestone kasi current phone ko kaya di ko alam pano yan.

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    3. If you install a SD card, you can install both apps and store other content in the SD card. You can move apps from the phone storage to the SD card, unless the app does not support it.

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  2. How do these phones compare to the Huawei Honor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Huawei Honor has a larger 4-inch display, although is not the crispest display in the market. It has a large 8 MP camera, which is a decent camera, but it really compares better with the better 5 MP Android camera and not the best 8 MP cameras. The Honor has a larger 1950 mAh battery and a faster 1.4 GHz processor. It compares pretty well if you ask me.

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    2. How does all three compare to the Xperia NEO (not V), it has a better 8MP cam.

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    3. The Neo (not V) is not officially supported by Sony Philippines. We do not cover devices without official warranty support on this blog.

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  3. bert, can u tke a quick unit rview on live wth wlkman plz?tnx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, the Sony Live with Walkman has been my best choice for the Php8,0000-11,000 price range for the past few months. Same processor as the Neo V with a smaller lower resolution display and downgraded camera. Best at its price range though.

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  4. In general, neo v would be a practical choice. Having a front facing camera for face unlock and a hdmi port for sharing videos and photos and games. Worth the money unlike htc one v with limited features. I recommend neo v of sony.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ultimately, I think it depends on whether the front camera and HDMI port on the Neo V is more important to he buyer than the larger internal storage of the One V. If aesthetics is a consideration, the slimmer aluminum case One V has the more premium feel to it.

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  5. I think HTC One V is good phone from HTC Mobile.It's internal memory is 4GB and Neo V memory is 1GB and Picture Quality is also good in HTC One V.

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