phone 6 – sony xperia miro

this 6th phone is my first in many ways. this is my first xperia. my first phone having a touchscreen. my first android smartphone. bought it on 2013, but was released on 2012. i bought it for having a good impression on previous sony ericsson phones. my dad even had an ericsson phone before (without the “sony”). there was a time when i frequently visited sony ericsson concept store just to appreciate designs and capabilities of those phones.

i settled buying a lower midrange as i cannot afford the flagships that time. so i did not expect this phone to properly represent the brand, sony xperia. but i am still satisfied. though the physical design represents the nxt series of the sony xperia. it has a small led strip below the display (much smaller than the led strips on xperia u, s, p, sp), which is not obvious when it is lit off. by default, the led strip lights up at the beginning of each track on the walkman app, as long as the display is also opened. it can also light up when a notification from a social media app arrives. for missed calls, sms, battery status and other common notifications, the smaller led light above the display is used. to maximize the use of the led strip, an app should be installed first.

sony xperia miro, like other xperia during that period, were marketed as a social media phone. social media app is integrated into the user experience. a widget consolidates all social media feeds. you can browse, on a single feed, updates from facebook, twitter and others. facebook is also integrated well into phonebook as you can synchronize your friends list and consolidate it with local numbers. photo of each contact can also be based from facebook display photo. in a way, i can easily recognize who sent an sms, miscalled or calling as it shows the display photo from their facebook accounts.

despite of its size (lxh), i had no problem with handling it or putting it on my pocket. it even fits better on my pocket since it is slimmer than my previous phones. the adjustment is on using the onscreen qwerty keyboard. luckily, there is an option for t9 keyboard (or "phone keypad” keyboard). this allows me to use it one handedly and efficiently. though i need a wrist strap to prevent it from falling, especially when i was still adjusting to its larger, yet slimmer design, unlike my previous small and bulky phones.

display is good enough during those days. enough colors, quite pixelated images due to low pixel density.

the 800mhz processor and ice cream sandwich are responsible for powering up the device and making it usable. since xperia ui (it still follows timescape ui design) is almost bare or stock, the experience is quite fluid. but the ui cannot hide stuttering when some background apps start to kick in. sometimes, when the walkman app shift to the next song while i do typing, it stutters. even games show stuttering, as simple as subway surfer does (which is the game i used to test the battery). these hiccups are expected even before i bought it.

the phone can handle 32gb microsd card where i can store my music files and photos taken with its 5mp rear camera and vga front camera (which is useless without a bright ambient light).

for battery testing, sony xperia miro was the first one to be tested, despite being the 6th phone in queue. (the preceding phones on this series were tested after this phone) i tested music play using walkman app, web browsing using the stock web browser (which is different from chrome browser), subway surfer for gaming, stock apps for taking photos and videos, then the movies (videos) app for playing videos taken with it. the battery was fully charged for 3 hours and almost 30 minutes, but only lasted for almost a day – more than 4 hours for active use, the rest inactive.

battery score card

using it now as a music player and a backup phone. i prefer this over lenovo e156 as a backup phone. better sound than that lenovo, too. i can also use any wired audio device, like earphones and speakers; and wireless audio too.

overall, the experience on this phone is never disappointing. it makes me consider xperia or any android as my next phone. but i was still open to try other brands that time. this phone made some of my routines easier than on my previous phones. at the same time, it, somehow, made me dependent on it. i started having more time tinkering on my phone than on other things. some things i do on my laptop or on physical notepad previously can easily be done on this little device. of course, those "not so power hungry" tasks. satisfied.