Sony has been recently concentrating in the mid-range market, with quite a few handsets being released for that segment in the recent past. The Xperia SP is one such device, coming out at a time when the latest flagships of various manufacturers are hogging the limelight. Does it capture our attention enough? That is the question we will try to find an answer to.
Package contents:
The device ships in a thin box that contains the handset, a data cable, a mains charger adapter, earphones and some manuals. A separate hard case was provided as part of the promotion by Sony.
Specifications:
Specs taken from GSMArena.
Looks & Features:
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, someone said. True to that, we always find contradictory views regarding the beauty or a lack thereof of a mobile phone. The XPeria SP, I believe, will manage to hook people’s eyes with its looks. At first glance, the device appears large enough, yet not very grotesque. The 4.6” screen (720 x 1280 pixels) occupies almost 80% of the front of the device; there are no physical keys here. On top of the screen, the SONY logo is to be seen, above which we have the grill for the earpiece. Towards the left side of this lie the sensors (for ambient light and proximity detection) and the second camera (VGA quality). Below the screen, again towards the left side, lies the microphone. The mic seems to be positioned in a way that will favour right handed persons.
On the back, we have the 8 MP camera lens, along with a single LED flash, and the 2nd microphone which will be used for noise cancellation during calls. The grill for the loudspeaker is also seen adjacent to the camera.
All the physical keys are located on the right side of the device – volume rocker key, power key and the camera shutter key, in that order from top to bottom. Keys are well built, and well detailed. The camera shutter key needs some time to get used to. It is very thin, and works in two steps (autofocus and click); getting it right the first time is a little difficult. The left side lodges the micro USB port for charging/data exchange. The top of the device has the 3.5mm slot for headphones. The bottom is bereft of any keys/ports. No micro HDMI port though.
Removing the back panel reveals that the battery is not user replaceable. There are slots for micro SIM and micro SD card.
The overall build of the device is good. It feels quite heavy in your hands, which is reassuring in a way. The back panel of the device is made of matte finish plastic, which does not feel slippery. The sides of the device are made of aluminium, which enhances the looks and build of the device, in my opinion.
What appears to be the selling point of this mobile is the illuminating transparent bar at the bottom end of the device. It is transparent through and through, and LED lights illuminate it in different colours depending on the settings. The colours can be customized for calls, messages, alerts and notifications, and for almost everything else. This strip does not appear out of place, and adds more esthetic appeal to the device.
The SP comes with 8GB internal memory, out of which only around 5GB is usable. A microSD card becomes a must therefore.
Display:
The displays that Sony uses in it's mobiles have been a subject of criticism very often, with many complaints that the display is sub-par. Strictly from a personal point of view, I found the display to be good. I only have the Galaxy S Advance to compare with, and in my opinion, the colours in the GSA were a little too saturated, although some prefer that. Either case, the Sony display is not very lacking. The display angles are okay. The high resolution makes the screen tack sharp, and there is no evidence of pixellation even when you observe very closely. In my view, the display on the SP is more than sufficient for general everyday usage.
User interface and the Android experience:
The device comes with Android 4.1.2 out of the box. Sony’s customizations are evident right from the lock screen, but neither do they appear overwhelming nor do they cause lag. That has partly to do with the more powerful internals. That said, in most cases, the Sony touch seems to be helping the user experience. The animations in the menus and in folders appear subtle and pleasing to the eye. Here is a small video I made to demonstrate the Android experience and gaming experience one can expect in SP (Apologies for the video quality. The audio is also too low).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxxhYU4bysE
Another video, similar in content. This was my first attempt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6LP-9oJfU
Xperia SP as a multimedia device:
Sony has a reputation of manufacturing devices that provide a good multimedia experience for the consumer. True to that name, the SP also shines in media playback quality. The device ships with applications for audio and video playback, named Sony Walkman and Sony Movies respectively. Audio playback is as expected. The quality of the speakers are good, and they are decently loud. There is not much distortion even at the highest volume. Playback via earphones was also good. (Please note: I am not an audiophile though).
One of the first questions people throw at you when you own a high end device is "Does your mobile play HD videos smoothly?" To test that, I downloaded a couple of short 1080p trailers/sample videos. Both were .mkv files. Although I was not sure about file format compatibility, it did not become a problem 'coz the Sony Movies app identified the files without a hiccup. And to top it off, playback was absolutely smooth. At the risk of sounding repetitive, let me say again "No lags". I am not sure if the file size of the videos play a role. The videos tested were both less than 3 mins in duration.
Camera:
Probably one of the weaker points of this device is it's camera. Outdoor shots in bright light turn out pretty well. The indoor shots leaves a lot to be desired. The lens also shoots full HD videos. I haven't checked the video quality. On a device that aims to be the leader in it's category, you do expect the camera to be very good, especially when the competition is good. In that way, the Sony Xperia SP is lacking, and this would be a disappointment for many. Having said that, the camera is not very bad at all. If this is not your primary camera, I see no reason why you should avoid this device on account of it's camera quality.
Note: Sample shots will be uploaded later.
Call quality:
No surprises here. Call quality is good, as is the signal reception. The noise cancellation seems to work pretty well too.
Battery life:
The non-user replaceable battery on the device rates at 2370mAh. That should provide enough juice to last a full day on a single charge, even with heavy use. In a real world scenario also this holds good. On moderate usage, the battery lasts at least 1.5 to 2 days on a single charge. Sweet.
The numbers:
Synthetic benchmarks are just that.. synthetic. They are generally unreliable indicators of real-world performance of a device. However, for the sake of completion, I have run Antutu benchmark, Quadrant standard and 3dMark on the SP. The results, in a way, reflect the positioning of the device in the market. Although the CPU is not among the best, the GPU is a stand-out and performs exceedingly well. This could be seen in real-world usage too, wherein gaming is a breeze.
Antutu:
Quadrant standard:
3dMark (Ice Storm and Ice Storm Extreme):
Please let me know if you need any other benchmarks to be run. The real world performance has already been shown in the video.
The competition:
There seems to be a couple of worthy competitors in this segment - Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3. The Nexus 4 comes with no external memory support, but offers a vanilla Android experience. Galaxy S3, a previous gen flagship, offers almost everything that the SP has to offer, at a slightly higher price point. Also, I am not sure how the battery life compares between the 3 devices, but the SP is very likely to come on top here.
Conclusion:
At a market price of around 23.4k as on date (May 2013), the Sony Xperia SP seems to offer a little less on the spec sheet than what one would expect. However, specs aren't as important as actual performance, and it is in this regard that the SP shines. The device ships with Android 4.1.2, and official 4.2 upgrade is not far away. To my knowledge, the device is also marked for Key Lime Pie upgrade, when it arrives. The device offers a real lag-free Android experience, that can be compared to the current gen flagships. Gaming on the device is a pleasure. Media consumption should be a wonderful experience, with the ability to play even 1080p videos, matched with a wonderful audio quality. The camera might be a shortcoming though, as is the small internal memory of around 5GB. However, the battery life is one of the best in its category.
To sum up, the Sony Xperia SP is a dual core device, but a stunning performer nevertheless.
Package contents:
The device ships in a thin box that contains the handset, a data cable, a mains charger adapter, earphones and some manuals. A separate hard case was provided as part of the promotion by Sony.
Specifications:
Specs taken from GSMArena.
Looks & Features:
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, someone said. True to that, we always find contradictory views regarding the beauty or a lack thereof of a mobile phone. The XPeria SP, I believe, will manage to hook people’s eyes with its looks. At first glance, the device appears large enough, yet not very grotesque. The 4.6” screen (720 x 1280 pixels) occupies almost 80% of the front of the device; there are no physical keys here. On top of the screen, the SONY logo is to be seen, above which we have the grill for the earpiece. Towards the left side of this lie the sensors (for ambient light and proximity detection) and the second camera (VGA quality). Below the screen, again towards the left side, lies the microphone. The mic seems to be positioned in a way that will favour right handed persons.
On the back, we have the 8 MP camera lens, along with a single LED flash, and the 2nd microphone which will be used for noise cancellation during calls. The grill for the loudspeaker is also seen adjacent to the camera.
All the physical keys are located on the right side of the device – volume rocker key, power key and the camera shutter key, in that order from top to bottom. Keys are well built, and well detailed. The camera shutter key needs some time to get used to. It is very thin, and works in two steps (autofocus and click); getting it right the first time is a little difficult. The left side lodges the micro USB port for charging/data exchange. The top of the device has the 3.5mm slot for headphones. The bottom is bereft of any keys/ports. No micro HDMI port though.
Removing the back panel reveals that the battery is not user replaceable. There are slots for micro SIM and micro SD card.
The overall build of the device is good. It feels quite heavy in your hands, which is reassuring in a way. The back panel of the device is made of matte finish plastic, which does not feel slippery. The sides of the device are made of aluminium, which enhances the looks and build of the device, in my opinion.
What appears to be the selling point of this mobile is the illuminating transparent bar at the bottom end of the device. It is transparent through and through, and LED lights illuminate it in different colours depending on the settings. The colours can be customized for calls, messages, alerts and notifications, and for almost everything else. This strip does not appear out of place, and adds more esthetic appeal to the device.
The SP comes with 8GB internal memory, out of which only around 5GB is usable. A microSD card becomes a must therefore.
Display:
The displays that Sony uses in it's mobiles have been a subject of criticism very often, with many complaints that the display is sub-par. Strictly from a personal point of view, I found the display to be good. I only have the Galaxy S Advance to compare with, and in my opinion, the colours in the GSA were a little too saturated, although some prefer that. Either case, the Sony display is not very lacking. The display angles are okay. The high resolution makes the screen tack sharp, and there is no evidence of pixellation even when you observe very closely. In my view, the display on the SP is more than sufficient for general everyday usage.
User interface and the Android experience:
The device comes with Android 4.1.2 out of the box. Sony’s customizations are evident right from the lock screen, but neither do they appear overwhelming nor do they cause lag. That has partly to do with the more powerful internals. That said, in most cases, the Sony touch seems to be helping the user experience. The animations in the menus and in folders appear subtle and pleasing to the eye. Here is a small video I made to demonstrate the Android experience and gaming experience one can expect in SP (Apologies for the video quality. The audio is also too low).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxxhYU4bysE
Another video, similar in content. This was my first attempt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6LP-9oJfU
Xperia SP as a multimedia device:
Sony has a reputation of manufacturing devices that provide a good multimedia experience for the consumer. True to that name, the SP also shines in media playback quality. The device ships with applications for audio and video playback, named Sony Walkman and Sony Movies respectively. Audio playback is as expected. The quality of the speakers are good, and they are decently loud. There is not much distortion even at the highest volume. Playback via earphones was also good. (Please note: I am not an audiophile though).
One of the first questions people throw at you when you own a high end device is "Does your mobile play HD videos smoothly?" To test that, I downloaded a couple of short 1080p trailers/sample videos. Both were .mkv files. Although I was not sure about file format compatibility, it did not become a problem 'coz the Sony Movies app identified the files without a hiccup. And to top it off, playback was absolutely smooth. At the risk of sounding repetitive, let me say again "No lags". I am not sure if the file size of the videos play a role. The videos tested were both less than 3 mins in duration.
Camera:
Probably one of the weaker points of this device is it's camera. Outdoor shots in bright light turn out pretty well. The indoor shots leaves a lot to be desired. The lens also shoots full HD videos. I haven't checked the video quality. On a device that aims to be the leader in it's category, you do expect the camera to be very good, especially when the competition is good. In that way, the Sony Xperia SP is lacking, and this would be a disappointment for many. Having said that, the camera is not very bad at all. If this is not your primary camera, I see no reason why you should avoid this device on account of it's camera quality.
Note: Sample shots will be uploaded later.
Call quality:
No surprises here. Call quality is good, as is the signal reception. The noise cancellation seems to work pretty well too.
Battery life:
The non-user replaceable battery on the device rates at 2370mAh. That should provide enough juice to last a full day on a single charge, even with heavy use. In a real world scenario also this holds good. On moderate usage, the battery lasts at least 1.5 to 2 days on a single charge. Sweet.
The numbers:
Synthetic benchmarks are just that.. synthetic. They are generally unreliable indicators of real-world performance of a device. However, for the sake of completion, I have run Antutu benchmark, Quadrant standard and 3dMark on the SP. The results, in a way, reflect the positioning of the device in the market. Although the CPU is not among the best, the GPU is a stand-out and performs exceedingly well. This could be seen in real-world usage too, wherein gaming is a breeze.
Antutu:
Quadrant standard:
3dMark (Ice Storm and Ice Storm Extreme):
Please let me know if you need any other benchmarks to be run. The real world performance has already been shown in the video.
The competition:
There seems to be a couple of worthy competitors in this segment - Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3. The Nexus 4 comes with no external memory support, but offers a vanilla Android experience. Galaxy S3, a previous gen flagship, offers almost everything that the SP has to offer, at a slightly higher price point. Also, I am not sure how the battery life compares between the 3 devices, but the SP is very likely to come on top here.
Conclusion:
At a market price of around 23.4k as on date (May 2013), the Sony Xperia SP seems to offer a little less on the spec sheet than what one would expect. However, specs aren't as important as actual performance, and it is in this regard that the SP shines. The device ships with Android 4.1.2, and official 4.2 upgrade is not far away. To my knowledge, the device is also marked for Key Lime Pie upgrade, when it arrives. The device offers a real lag-free Android experience, that can be compared to the current gen flagships. Gaming on the device is a pleasure. Media consumption should be a wonderful experience, with the ability to play even 1080p videos, matched with a wonderful audio quality. The camera might be a shortcoming though, as is the small internal memory of around 5GB. However, the battery life is one of the best in its category.
To sum up, the Sony Xperia SP is a dual core device, but a stunning performer nevertheless.
.
