If you are searching for a cheap smartphone, then you can buy a new cheap smartphone or an older model with a dropped price.
There are a lot of cheap smartphones so there are many options. Here we are going to compare ZTE Blade 3, one of the most popular cheap smartphones and Sony Xperia E, a new cheap smartphone by Sony.
ZTE Blade 3 was launched in September 2012 and Sony Xperia E is just some months old as it was launched in March 2013.
Let’s compare these phones.
[bq_right]Winners:
Shape: Sony Xperia E
Design: Sony Xperia E[/bq_right]
Body
Sony Xperia E is a bit lighter as it has a smaller screen and a smaller body. So Sony weights 115g compared to 130 for ZTE Blade 3.
The design is a personal taste. We love the design of Sony Xperia E as it has the same line as the new premium phones of the company. I think Sony has made a better work than ZTE on the design.
ZTE Blade 3 is a bit slimmer, it is just 1mm but here the numbers make the difference.
[bq_right]Winner: ZTE Blade 3[/bq_right]
Screen
Sony Xperia E has a smaller screen, it is 3.5 inches compared to the 4 inches of ZTE Blade 3.
The screen of ZTE Blade 3 has also a better screen as it has 233 pixels per inch compared to the 165 pixels per inch of Sony Xperia E.
You will notice the difference between the two phones.
[bq_right]Winner:
Primary camera: ZTE Blade 3[/bq_right]
Cameras
ZTE Blade 3 has a 5MP camera and Sony Xperia E has a 3.15MP camera that take video too.
Both phones take VGA phones and they have a geotagging capability.
There is no secondary camera so you should forget the video chat.
The camera on ZTE Blade 3 is better.
Speed
Both phones have a single core processor at 1.0GHz and 512MB of RAM. So they have the same processor and they have the same speed. So no winner here.
[bq_right]Winner: ZTE Blade 3[/bq_right]
Battery
The battery on the two phones is almost the same. Almost. ZTE Blade 3 has a 1600mAh battery and Sony Xperia E a 1530mAh battery. The battery depends on the use we make of the phone and both phones will not stay without recharging more than 2 days. But as the numbers count, ZTE Blade 3 has a better battery.
Other specs and details
Memory: The two phones have 4GB of space and they support a microSD card. So you have as memory as you want on your phone. Winner: No Winner
Android version: Sony Xperia U is newer so it’s normal that it has a newer version of Android. ZTE Blade 3 started with Android 4.0 and Sony Xperia E has started with Android 4.1. We don’t know if Sony Xperia E will be updated to Android 4.2 (I think not) but here it takes the point. Winner: Sony Xperia E
Options & Apps: Both phones have the Android apps package and Sony has some more apps as all Sony phones. They both have GPS and Radio and support HTML5 and Java. Sony Xperia E has Timescape software, this is a custom Sony UI we like a lot so we give the point to Sony. Winner: Sony Xperia E
Final verdict
Newer is not always the best. Design does not always win. This is what you should remember in that war. ZTE Blade 3 is a bit older but it is still a good choice as it has a great screen and a better camera. Sony Xperia E has a beautiful design and a newer Android version. As there are no great differences between Android 4.0 and Android 4.1, Sony Xperia E has only the design to convince you. But do you really care about design? Well, that depends!
Total Wins
[two]ZTE Blade 3 (read the full review)
bigger and better screen
better camera
bigger battery[/two]
[two_last]Sony Xperia E
beautiful design
newer Android version
more preinstalled apps[/two_last]
Specs rating of ZTE Blade 3
| Spec | ZTE Blade 3 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 10 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 68% | |
| Weight | 130 | iPhone 5 | 112 | 84% | |
| Screen PPI | 233 | HTC One | 469 | 50% | |
| Camera MP | 5 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 12% | |
| 2nd Camera | 0 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 0% | |
| Processor | 1 * 1.0 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 8% | |
| RAM MB | 512 | HTC One | 2000 | 26% | |
| Battery mAh | 1600 | Samsung Note 2 | 3100 | 52% | |
| Android | 4.0 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 67% | |
| SAR | 1.35 | - | 0.00 | 33% | |
| Release Date | 2012-09 | Today | 2013-03 | 75% | |
| Our view | 70% | - | 100% | 70% | |
| AVP rating method | Total Rating | 45.3% |
Specs rating of Sony Xperia E
| Spec | Sony Xperia E | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 11 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 55% | |
| Weight | 115 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 85% | |
| Screen PPI | 165 | HTC One | 469 | 35% | |
| Camera MP | 3.15 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 8% | |
| 2nd Camera | - | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 0% | |
| Processor | 1 * 1.0 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 8% | |
| RAM MB | 512 | HTC One | 2000 | 26% | |
| Battery mAh | 1530 | Samsung Note 2 | 3100 | 49% | |
| Android | 4.1 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 83% | |
| SAR | 0.87 | - | 0.00 | 57% | |
| Release Date | 2013-03 | - | Today | 88% | |
| Our view | 65% | - | 100% | 65% | |
| AVC rating method | Total Rating | 46.5% | Get the best price! |
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