Sony hops on entry-level bangwagon with Xperia E3 running Android KitKat

Besides introducing **two new high-end smartphones** , Sony also bulked up its entry-level line-up with the Xperia E3 at the pre-IFA event. Much like its higher-end cousins, the E3 will be available sometime next month, but there’s no clarity on India-specific pricing or release date.   [caption id=“attachment_232218” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Once again, Sony has picked great new colours for its phones[/caption]   The Xperia E3 has a 4.5-inch IPS display but with an average 480x854 pixel resolution. These days when phones in the sub-$100 range have qHD displays or even higher, the E3 is a laggard. Like its predecessor, this houses a 5-megapixel rear camera, which will let you play with features such as HDR and Timeshift burst. It also an average-sounding front-facing VGA camera. it runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Sony’s rather inoffensive UI.   There’s more hardware homogeneity (in comparison with the competition) thanks to the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.2GHz and there’s a gig of RAM and the Adreno 305 GPU. Internal storage is 4GB, but mercifully, there’s a microSD card slot for expansion (up to 32GB). The best part about the phone could be its battery life as the 2330mAh battery coupled with Sony’s excellent Stamina mode could eke out more than a day’s usage. One great addition is LTE (market dependent of course), but **unlike the Z series** , the E3 is not waterproof. Having said that, it’s certainly not an ordinary looking phone and does have some resemblance to the Z3’s fantastic design.   [caption id=“attachment_232217” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Sony has added camera features such as Timeshift Burst to a low-end phone[/caption]   Lacking any real hardware flair, Sony has to use software features such as shake to start’ for quickly accessing your favourite app to help market the phone. Still Sony has one of the least bothersome UIs among the big brands, and the Xperia E could be a competitor in the sub Rs 10,000 range, if Sony prices it there.