Sony Xperia C3 Hands-on, Initial Impressions and Photo Gallery

The trend of Selfies has picked up just recently, but it has gone to that extent where the smartphone manufacturers have started making the devices with the cameras dedicated to do more than just the video calling they were intended to, in the past. Here comes, the “Sony Xperia C3” calling itself the world’s best smartphone for selfies, although the numbers don’t say that.

First impressions, I don’t really like the device. Two reasons: 1. I’m not really a fan of selfies, rarely capture using the front camera, 2. Sony has probably compromised with several other specs, giving importance to the “selfie” factor.

It is too large a device to hold, although the 5.5-inch screen isn’t the biggest in phablet range, and after having used the Elife E7 from Gionee for months, this shouldn’t feel much different, but it did. That is a lot of space wasted on the front, especially below the display, because above it there is the special camera with the LED flash. The phone is so large that you cannot reach to the corners with the same hand you are holding it with.

To add to the uncomfortable size, the side panels look ugly. It is a semi-reflective plastic like material that is too glossy and gives the entire device a cheap look. The back is a standard plastic cover, which is not removable, and thus you get to see the slots for SIM and MicroSD cards on the sides of the device. On the right, all the physical buttons are seen – power, volume rocker and camera. On the same side, there’s the SIM card tray that can be pulled out after you pop out the cover. The MciroSD card slot stays on the left, with similar cover as for the SIM tray.

The 8-megapixel camera on the back is towards the top, with the LED flash and a secondary mic in the vicinity. The speaker grill is located on the back towards the bottom, and on the front, the earpiece and mic as well present themselves as grills near the edges of the phone.

The Sony’s Xperia UI is as always vibrant, and the choice of blue colors for most of the stuff makes it look beautiful. The device is running Android 4.4.2 Kitkat and the UI is similar to the ones you see in most of the Xperia smartphones. As usual, there is a load of pre-installed apps in the device, including the Google apps, and Facebook, TrackID, Walkman, Sony Select, Wisepolot for XPERIA, Smart Connect, Sony LIV, Converter, IG Games Store, Xperia Lounge, OfficeSuite, BIGFLIX, and File Commander.

The camera is decent, and though that is just the initial impression about the rear camera, the selfie camera is excellent, for the reason that has not just pumped up the numbers but also, included a perfect lens and sensor combination that captures the details pretty well.

One handed usage of the phone is not easily possible, thus it’s a good thing that Sony has at least provided a couple of options such as “double tap on home button” to drag the entire notification and quick settings section down, to be accessible easily, and then the option to bring the pattern lock section towards your hand, based on the hand you are using. Not everything is easy to use in a single hand, though.

On the early impressions, the Xperia C3 is a huge phone, and that is not because of the screen size alone. It is the same 5.5-inch screen, exactly the size many other smartphones have, but Sony has given a lot of space above and below the display, making it taller and wider. The area above the display is unavoidable though, because of the camera. We’ll be coming up with the review, pretty soon.