17 replies to this topic

[Nevin John]

Okay, now we have the Xperia P and Xperia U. One of the differences I noticed with the two is that the P has 1GB of RAM and U has 512MB.  But then, both have a 1GHz dual core processor. So what would be major difference in performance?

[rajul singh]

Nevin John, on 06 March 2012 - 07:06 AM, said:

Okay, now we have the Xperia P and Xperia U. One of the differences I noticed with the two is that the P has 1GB of RAM and U has 512MB.  But then, both have a 1GHz dual core processor. So what would be major difference in performance?

I think the major difference will be in speed of phone

[Boysie]

Topic moved

[SK:-)]

I think, file transfer rate should be differ. Not sure..

[Boysie]

SK:-), on 06 March 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:

I think, file transfer rate should be differ. Not sure..

I don't think so.

Nevin John, on 06 March 2012 - 07:06 AM, said:

Okay, now we have the Xperia P and Xperia U. One of the differences I noticed with the two is that the P has 1GB of RAM and U has 512MB.  But then, both have a 1GHz dual core processor. So what would be major difference in performance?

Think of it like how your pc would perform with more ram.

[Madfish]

SK:-), on 06 March 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:

I think, file transfer rate should be differ. Not sure..

What are you talking about?

@Nevin: 512MB is ok for decent work. Don't expect some heavy multitasking from that
I have 512MB on my Neo V. To be honest, I would be happy to get 512 more


I have problem with Android moving opera mobile from memory to cached memory, if I minimize it and open few other apps(at least 2 of them). This is just example.
But you can normally listen music, browse, texting.

512MB is the lowest bottom smartphone should have, and to be honest I'm disappointed they put only 512MB in that phone. They could at least put 768 like desire s have some time now.
If you ask me, I would go for 1GB. It's a smartphone, things are getting heavier, you will have it for some time.

[shapeshifter]

I have experienced ICS, memory management still feels same as of previous versions but you can now end applications without force closing, 512 MB is enough for me at least, you can keep upto 4-5 apps in RAM, also some games like minecraft can be minimized, I guess with 1 GB of RAM you could be able to minimize heavy games too (for a short time). and when you resume it, it will load faster unless the phones with 512 MB RAM.
about the performance, 512 is enough to keep your browser, messages, phone, launcher and 1 game minimized even if you have some bloatware installed.
xperia P has a slightly high resolution qHD screen so it will need a bit more RAM than xperia U. bottomline is, it wouldn't be a problem is xperia P had 512MB RAM but 1 GB is cool
also you'll see negligible difference in speed of both phones if we exclude benchmarks.

[Nevin John]

Okay, I know the 512MB is enough for most of the users since it can handle multi tasking pretty decently.

Madfish, on 06 March 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

512MB is the lowest bottom smartphone should have, and to be honest I'm disappointed they put only 512MB in that phone. They could at least put 768 like desire s have some time now.

This is what I'm really bothered about. Remember the case of X8?; the company's explanation to reject future version updates of Android? They said the RAM memory was not enough to meet the requirements of later versions and they didn't even give 2.3 for X8. I fear this would be the case with U as well; means it'd be all over with ICS?! We don't really know anything in detail about Jelly bean or 'Key Lime Pie' but can we say that  Xperia U will get those updates, keeping in mind the disastrous story of X8?!

It's all up to the company and the phone is not even in the market but it's worth thinking about because no body wants to be fooled after spending 20000 rupees (400$) on a smartphone!

[REDHOTIRON2004]

Nevin John, on 06 March 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

Okay, I know the 512MB is enough for most of the users since it can handle multi tasking pretty decently.

This is what I'm really bothered about. Remember the case of X8?; the company's explanation to reject future version updates of Android? They said the RAM memory was not enough to meet the requirements of later versions and they didn't even give 2.3 for X8. I fear this would be the case with U as well; means it'd be all over with ICS?! We don't really know anything in detail about Jelly bean or 'Key Lime Pie' but can we say that  Xperia U will get those updates, keeping in mind the disastrous story of X8?!

It's all up to the company and the phone is not even in the market but it's worth thinking about because no body wants to be fooled after spending 20000 rupees (400$) on a smartphone!

512MB vs 1GB. You would certainly find much better multitasking on 1gb mobile. 512mb won't do justice to other specifications that the mobile have. Although,
You won't notice any difference while running individual apps.

Yes ! You are right about the update part. Though, it's for the company to decide. But, I doubt they would be updating that mobile. Keeping there present strategy in mind. They just want to sell there so called newer mobiles which have ridiculous differentiation (or no difference) with illogical price points.
IMO, Even if 'x8' would have the 'ram' needed to support the upgrade. They would have given some other reason for not updating that mobile.
There underlying message is that if you want to have a small software upgrade then you need to buy another (so called new) mobile to get that upgrade.
But, surprisingly there are some who support this view (maybe just for saying or only for contradicting others). And are willing to pay 20k again for that small software upgrade (complete madness/SEnse-lessness or wastage of money IMO).

Edited by REDHOTIRON2004, 06 March 2012 - 11:53 AM.

[anaksim]

I'd say it's a very big difference. I have only 512mb, and I see my phone often lacking RAM numerous time. In my chipset's case (Tegra 2), more than 100mb is preserved for the GPU, leaving the phone in normal standby state with only ~250mb of free RAM. When I begin multitasking, very often will for example apps like Opera Mobile and Engadget clean their cache and restart themselves when I leave them and switch between many apps.

In ICS, the amount of RAM will be very relevant in regards of performance. Hardware Acceleration, which has only begun to be included in phones since ICS, needs a several amount of RAM per apps accelerated, resulting in a pretty big amount of RAM consumption. Theoretically, HW acceleration should lead to smoother UI performance. But if there is lack of RAM, the effect would likely reverse and rather result to worse performance. A developer from Google has once explained this case using the Nexus S as an example; with 512mb RAM, it achieves more fps when scrolling with HW acceleration off than with it on. Phones with bigger RAM (1gb, for example) in the other hand are able to gain the benefit of having HW acceleration on. So Hardware Acceleration isn't a full win solution, unless the RAM necessary is present.

Having that said, I say it'd be best to go with the bigger RAM. I for one would like to have as much RAM as possible if I were to buy a new phone. Development happens very fast, so things we thought were enough turn to be obsolete in no time.

Edited by anaksim, 06 March 2012 - 11:58 AM.

[Nevin John]

So from all the comments I assume Xperia P is future proof.

And Xperia U is for someone who just needs an android; who doesn't really cares of the apps or the future updates and things like that. In short, a phone for a beginner who steps into the android world. (and for those who are fascinated by the illuminating strip )

[anaksim]

I like the P better because the case is aluminium. I admit the illuminating strip looks awesome though

But yes, assuming you'd want a phone to 'tinker' with, the P is the better choice

[Nevin John]

The aluminium body has drawbacks, I believe. The keys (volume rocker, camera shutter key ) can get stiffer as it gets older and in the worst case the fast capture feature fails coz you find it difficult to press the key!

[Madfish]

Nevin John, on 07 March 2012 - 10:11 AM, said:

The aluminium body has drawbacks, I believe. The keys (volume rocker, camera shutter key ) can get stiffer as it gets older and in the worst case the fast capture feature fails coz you find it difficult to press the key!

Not sure how aluminium housing is related to problems with side keys
Or I didn't understand you and you didn't connect those two things?

[Nevin John]

Isn't this part of the phone also made of aluminium?

Spoiler

I just wanted to express my worries about the possibility of keys getting stiffer due to normal wear and tear. (It's metal, right?! . My personal opinion, don't know how many of you would agree to me. )

[KkSCchaos]

I have to agree with MadFish; if its going to become "stiff" and "impossible to use", it would be the hardware button thats connected to the phone's board thats the problem, not what the case is made out of

[Flo95]

512MB isn't enough anymore.
The apps that are running in the background are consuming more and more RAM.
Without a memory optimizing script or a Custom ROM you have launcher redraws all day long because of missing memory.
Now, with the mods, I'm happy again, but I'm definitly going to get a phone with 1GB of RAM.
Sometimes the RAM is full and the device has to kill services and then the app takes a while to open and the phone lags.

Edited by Flo95, 07 March 2012 - 02:39 PM.

[Nevin John]

Xperia U and Xperia sola is out from my list and now I decided to go for Xperia P for it has 1GB RAM, aluminium body, Whitemagic (better sun light legibility and viewing angles), 4" display (not so big but not so small too!!!), an impressive 8MP camera (seeing the camera samples I guess it's the best 8MP sensor from Sony or it's the same sensor as 2011 Xperias but with some serious software mods?!), the perfect design (personal opinion) and lot more.

The phones is priced 24500 rupees (~350€).
Accessories: 2 NFC tags (only for the first stock they said), HDMI cable, MH750 headset, charger, USB cable.

Currently only the black version is available (means I'll have to wait for the silver one to arrive).