The Samsung Core 2 and the Sony Xperia E3 were launched almost simultaneously and are giving each other a tough competition for the market share. Both the phone models come in the category of mid-range phones. They are ideal for people who want a decent phone with all the features that a smartphone should have, without having to shell out a ton of money. These phones may not have an ultra- powerful processor or an advanced DSLR like quality camera, but they are value for money and certainly worth checking out.
With respect to appearance, both the phones have a slim body which gives them a sleek, stylish look. The Core 2 is slightly shorter, thicker and lighter than the E3 with 130.3x68x9.8 dimensions and weighing 139 gms, while E3 boasts a decent 137.1×69.4×8.5 dimensions and weighs 144 gms. Both the devices have a 4.5 inch screen resolution with Samsung using a 480×800 pixels and 207 ppi TFT resolution while Sony has chosen a 480×854 pixels and 218 ppi IPS display for its device. Besides, the Core 2 has a faux leather cover on the back along with a plastic frame which looks more metal-like than plastic. On the other hand the Xperia E3 comes with the design classic of the Sony Xperia series phones with a shatter proof glass back which gives the phone the appearance worthy of a much costlier phone.
As far as the hardware and OS are concerned, both devices come with android 4.4.2 (Kitkat). Obviously till now android 5 has not been made available for update on all devices, but one can assume that being the latest models on the market, they would have been made compatible with future versions of android. The E3 incorporates a 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processor based on Qualcomm MSM8226-2 Snapdragon 400 chipset and uses Adreno 305 graphics. The Core 2 also has a 1.2 GHz processor, though there is no certain info yet about whether it is the same model as the one used in E3 or not. One major difference between the two handsets which may make or break the deal for either one is that Xperia E3 has 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB, while Core 2 has 768 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage which can be expanded upto 64 GB.
Some other features which buyers are generally very interested in are the quality of the camera, battery, connectivity and of course the price! Well, the two devices are more or less similar in most of these categories. Both have a 5 MP camera with all the regular features like LED flash, autofocus, face detection etc. Xperia has one over the Core 2 with respect to camera since it can record videos at 1080p as compared to Core 2’s 480p. Xperia also outpaces the Core 2 with a bigger battery of 2330 mAh which can last up to 8 hours 40 minutes while Core 2 has a 2000 mAh batter lasting about 7 hours. Both the devices support all the regular connectivity port like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi etc. but only Xperia has NFC support. Finally, on the issue of price, the Core 2 is available for 170 dollars while Xperia is 25 dollars expensive than Core 2 on Amazon India.