Sony Xperia C5 Ultra review: Crowd selfie

Phonebook

The phonebook on the Xperia C5 Ultra is called Contacts. It uses a tabbed interface, consisting of Contacts, Favorites and Groups. It's not bundled with the phone app, but you can still quickly jump to it from the dialer. The contact list has a dedicated search filed plus it offers a very nicely animated alphabetical scroll bar.

Phonebook • Editing a contact

Single contact view opens in full screen, rather than the pop-up view of previous Xperias. You get plenty of options for adding contact details with practically unlimited number of fields.

Dual SIM telephony

The Xperia C5 Ultra had no problem with reception and we didn't experience dropped calls or other issues. The volume range is rather wide and you wouldn't want to pump it all the way up in all but the loudest surroundings. Even at maximum volume the output remains clear.

The dialer is its own dedicated app and supports smart dialing. It doesn't have a built-in recorder, if you're into that sort of thing.

Using the dual-SIM enabled Xperia C5 Ultra is hassle-free - the dialer offer virtual keys for both SIMs, as is the messaging apps. Dialing a number from the Contacts app will invoke a small pop-up to choose on which SIM card you want to make the call.

Standalone dialer with smart dial • in-call screen

The loudspeaker of the Xperia C5 Ultra behaves almost the same with ClearAudio+ disabled and with the feature turned on - both times meeting our criteria for a Very Good rating. You'll get a richer and deeper sound with ClearAutio+ turned off though.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia Z Ultra	64.0	65.1	61.7	Below Average
Motorola Nexus 6	66.5	66.2	66.3	Below Average
LG G Flex2	66.5	65.8	70.5	Average
Sony Xperia C4	65.0	65.8	75.7	Average
Samsung Galaxy A8	66.7	66.6	75.7	Good
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra	74.0	66.6	75.7	Good
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra	69.8	66.6	82.7	Very Good
Sony Xperia C4 (ClearAudio+ on)	71.1	70.5	79.9	Very Good
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra (ClearAudio+ on)	72.7	66.6	82.7	Very Good
Oppo R7 Plus	73.7	72.8	79.9	Very Good
Meizu MX5	75.7	73.5	79.5	Excellent

Messaging, email and text input

The Sony messaging app has the regular functionality with threaded view and automatic transition to MMS when attaching media. Google Hangouts is also on board.

Naturally, the Gmail client and the default Email apps are on board. Either one can sync with multiple accounts, both Google and POP3/IMAP.

Messaging app • Email • Gmail

The Xperia keyboard has every feature you may need. It has symbols on long press, smiley key, and Swype-like gesture input. There's also a one-handed mode which squishes the entire keyboard to one side for easier access. A selection of three differently colored skins is also available.

Xperia keyboard