Sony has lagged behind in the U.S. smartphone market, but the company hopes to turn a corner with its first post-Ericsson smartphone, the Xperia ion . The device leverages many of Sony's unique assets, including its own sensor for the 12-megapixel camera and a mobile version of Sony's TV Bravia engine for the 4.6-inch HD display. Plus, the ion taps into Sony's wide array of media content and is PlayStation certified. Add in 4G LTE speeds and NFC capability and you have what looks like a $99 bargain. Is this Xperia a compelling enough package to turn the tide?


Design
The Xperia ion's minimalist design--beveled sides, and squared-off top and bottom--makes it one of the classier smartphones we've seen. The black brushed aluminum back sports Sony's (slightly raised) circular logo towards the bottom and the "Xperia" branding written in simple font right beneath it. Though the handset looks pristine from afar, up close we saw fingerprints wherever we touched it.

The Xperia ion features four silver icons (the standard Back, Home, Menu and Search) along the bottom edge. Unfortunately, the icons rely mostly on the reflective quality of their silver coloring for visibility. Thin strips of light do appear under each virtual button, but the icons themselves are not backlit, making them hard to locate in the dark. In addition, these buttons weren't as responsive as we're used to; at times we had to touch the icons multiple times before registering a reaction.

A 3.5mm headphone jack sits smack-dab center on the phone's top edge, while the back houses an impressive 12-megapixel camera along with flash. The left edge of the smartphone houses the power button and volume rocker toward the top, with a dedicated camera button sitting toward the bottom. On the right edge, a flap covers microUSB and HDMI ports. We're not a fan of flaps.



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We typed reasonably fast on the ion's keyboard, appreciating the phone's gentle haptic feedback. Long-pressing the top row of keys gave us secondary access to numbers, which was useful, but we missed the presence of the shortcut ".com" key. Google voice typing is also onboard, letting us quickly dictate texts and draft emails. The system worked well, except for when we uttered homonyms (such as "blue" and "blew") as part of our message.

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Verdict
Sony took its sweet time from announcement to availability with the Xperia ion, but you get a lot of smartphone for your $99. The 12-MP camera, HD display, and and 4G LTE speeds all impress, even if the processing power trails higher end devices like the Galaxy S III. Sony also sweetens the deal with easy access to its entertainment services and clever accessories. Unfortunately, the design is relatively heavy and bulky and the Gingerbread OS feels dated. If you don't need the latest and greatest OS, the ion is a solid mid-range choice.

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