SpecEagle review · Sony

Sony Xperia C review: A dual-SIM mid-ranger aimed at emerging markets with a big screen.

SpecEagle Editorial·Aug 2013·$330
Overall
36/100
Class rank
#25 of 29
Tier
Budget
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

Sony's dual-SIM emerging-market play.

The Xperia C brought Sony styling and a big 5-inch screen to budget, dual-SIM buyers in emerging markets, on an affordable MediaTek platform. Modest in specs, it was Sony's attempt to compete in the high-volume value segment dominated by local brands.

01Display

50/100

50/100 is one of the weaker display results among budget phones of 2013 — 8 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

TypeIPS LCD
Size5.0 inches
Resolution960 × 540 px (qHD)

02Camera

50/100

50/100 trails the 54-point cohort average for budget phones of 2013.

Main8 MP, Exmor RS, LED
Video1080p
FrontVGA

03Performance

44/100

44/100 trails the 50-point cohort average for budget phones of 2013.

ChipsetMediaTek MT6589 1.2 GHz quad
RAM1 GB
Storage4 GB · microSD

04Battery

58/100

58/100 is one of the weaker battery results among budget phones of 2013 — 7 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Capacity2,390 mAh (removable)
Standby~ 630 hours

05Build

52/100

52/100 — right at the average for budget phones of 2013.

06Value

54/100

54/100 is one of the weaker value results among budget phones of 2013 — 7 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

What works
  • Dual-SIM for emerging markets.
  • Big 5" screen at an affordable price.
  • Removable battery + microSD.
  • Sony Xperia styling.
What doesn't
  • qHD resolution on a 5" panel.
  • MediaTek chip lacked LTE.
  • Only 4 GB storage.
  • Plastic build.
Cross-shop it against
Redmi 1S
$120 · score 66/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 29-phone cohort of budget devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .