The Xperia C4 is Sony’s gift to selfie lovers, despite having a name which reminds us more of high explosives than duck faces. While the photographic capabilities are the C4’s big feature, it’s also notable for a few other reasons, including a large, high-resolution display, and a fast oct-core processor made not by Qualcomm, but MediaTek.
Updated on 10-07-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in news a U.S. version of the C4 is now on sale at Best Buy
4G model sold at Best Buy, Marshmallow update incoming
Sony originally put the Xperia C4 on sale during the summer, in both single SIM and dual-SIM configurations. At the time, only a 3G model could be purchased in the U.S. through Sony’s Amazon store. That’s now changed, and a 4G LTE Xperia C4 is being sold at Best Buy, and at a far cheaper price than the inferior model at Amazon. Both the black and white 4G LTE Xperia C4 cost $275 unlocked, and are listed as in stock online.
Perhaps even better news for anyone considering buying the Xperia C4, is that the phone’s on Sony’s list to receive an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update in the near future, and because it’s not tied to a network, the wait may not be as long. It’ll come with 5.0 Lollipop installed.
Sony’s ultimate selfie phone
First, let’s talk about selfies. Sony has put an oversized 5-megapixel camera lens above the screen, accentuated by a chrome lens surround, which uses the Exmor R sensor and has a 25mm wide-angle lens. There’s an LED flash next to it, and Sony’s software automatically adjusts the settings to make the best use of available light, plus SteadyShot keeps the effects of camera shake to a minimum. Sony has also added HDR, and its own fun take on the beauty modes we often see on other devices, plus an AR Mask mode. Check it out in the video to see how it can swap the Mona Lisa’s face with your own.
The front camera is where the action is, but there’s a 13-megapixel autofocus camera on the rear for when you want to take more traditional pictures. The Xperia C4 is a relatively large phone with a 5.5-inch, 1080p display. Sony has chosen a MediaTek processor to power the C4 — the 1.7GHz octa-core MK6752 — with 2GB of RAM, 4G LTE, and 16GB of internal memory. There’s a MicroSD card slot to up this by 128GB, and Android 5.0 is installed.
Sadly, Sony hasn’t added water resistance to the Xperia C4, but the 7.9mm thin body only weighs 147 grams, and the screen has a scratch resistant coating. Finally, a 2,600mAh battery is hidden inside.
Article previously published on 05-06-2015
