Sony Xperia ion (AT&T) review

Score

2.9 stars
"Respectable"

(How we score)

solid camera, fast data

terrible battery life, poor display, sluggish performance, dated software

Summary

Sony Ericsson is no more. The once powerful and arguably innovative phone manufacturer was cannibalized by Sony this year when it paid nearly $1.5 billion for Ericsson's stake in the company. From the ashes of Sony Ericsson comes Sony Mobile, a new brand that will focus on smartphones that are integrated with the rest of Sony's personal electronics lines (something that Sony Ericsson was never able to accomplish). The Xperia ion represents Sony's first effort in the U.S. under the new brand, and is also the first Sony device to feature support for 4G LTE networks.

On paper, the Xperia ion sings. It checks all of the right boxes: high resolution screen, high resolution camera with speedy capture, sleek aluminum frame, and support for a high-speed cellular networks. Unfortunately, there are footnotes to be found with many of those features, and the sum of the Xperia ion is most certainly not greater than its individual parts.

Read on to find out if the Xperia ion is a worthy first effort from Sony, or if it is just another also-ran smartphone.