Gadgetory

it's pretty safe to say that Sony launched a successful comeback with the Xperia Z and ZL but they have not forgotten about the mid-range market now the mid-range market may not be the most exciting but it might just be another place for Sony to shine a Java garfi manager Authority what's going on everybody and this is the Sony Xperia SP under today's smartphone standards you could probably tell at first glance that this is not a top-tier device after all the frame accommodates a 4.7 inch screen and is altogether smaller than the five-inch screen devices that we've seen throughout 2013 sony has proven itself with design on their flagship smartphones and it shows on the espys rectangular form the front is comprised almost entirely of the screen and the signature big silver power button is about halfway down the side below volume rockers and above a dedicated camera button the frame is made of aluminum which gives the phone some heft a sturdy feel and easily gribble flat sides around the back is the a megapixel camera surrounded by a removable matte plastic cover and finally at the bottom of the devices a see-through plastic that diffuses the LED notification light this is definitely the most unique aspect of the phone's design and is an elegant yet different take on an otherwise typical Android smartphone feature in the hand the smaller form factor really helps the handling the aluminum is a nice touch and having a matte plastic back keeps the phone from slipping about if you haven't gotten into five-inch screen just yet this phone will make you feel right at home overall the SP is a good example of Sony's design experience and should please most users with its good looks and feel for those who have really gotten into five inch screens however the Xperia SP screen probably won't win you over that being said this 4.7 inch screen is capable of 720p resolution at 319 PPI of course the spec Hungary might look elsewhere but this display is still a good performer the TFT screen is backed by the Bravia Engine just like the Z and the ZL thus giving the phone greater contrast aside slightly lowered saturation it does somewhat suffer from the same viewing angle issues as it's big siblings but dead-on viewing is still great experience if you really want the extra resolution in pixel density then you have Sony's flagships available otherwise average and perhaps even some power users can come to appreciate how last year's screen specs can still be quite fun last year specifications make another return with the Xperia SP s performance it sports a dual-core Snapdragon Krait processor clocked in at 1.7 gigahertz obviously it doesn't sound as great as a quad-core Snapdragon 600 but 1.7 gigahertz is still more than enough speed and power for the average user a score of around 16,000 in n22 keeps the SP at a very respectable part of the android ladder you'll get a lot done quickly as the phone remains smooth through its elements two gigabytes of RAM are available for multitasking and as for graphics the SP does keep up with the rest of the pack by sporting the Adreno 320 processor rest assured that the Xperia SP will be a more than capable companion actually you could view this less as old and more like last year specs perfected hardware offerings on the Xperia SP remain pretty standard Wi-Fi GPS Bluetooth and NFC are all available for your connection needs and there will be different variants made for HSDPA and LTE networks only eight gigabytes are available for storage but that matte plastic cover actually houses a micro SD card slot for SD cards of up to 32 gigabytes in capacity for a sony phone sporting a Walkman app the espys rear mounted speaker thankfully is a better performer than the ones found in dizzy and ECL it's nice and loud without being as tinny and of course as you can see at the bottom the Xperia SP is having a little party of its own with a dynamic LED light it not only blinks when notifications happen it goes along with it whatever music the phone is playing it's a great addition that really sets this phone apart from its fellow performers and it's definitely this phone's cool factor usually a removable cover is good news and a sign of two big features unfortunately I have to burst that bubble and say only one of those features made it on to the Xperia SP I already mentioned the microSD card slot so sadly the battery is not user replaceable but it's not all bad news for a 4.7 inch screen device it packs a big 23 70 milliamp hour battery with slightly less powerful bits inside this phone's battery can easily go the distance a locally looped video ran down half of the battery in just over three hours making this phone likely capable of close to seven hours of straight local media consumption maybe more if you take advantage of the good power saving features the battery is a great example of how the Xperia SP manages to blur the line between mid range and top-tier or last year in current specs the 8 megapixel camera on the Xperia SP takes the same general idea from the Z and the Z L Sonya superior Auto Works to find the right scene mode to use for the frame and features like HDR touch capture and panorama are also available all of these modes are easily accessible in the app viewfinder pictures are pretty good with nice contrast and details though they can be a little too saturated at certain times low-light performance though unsurprisingly yielded lower quality pictures ultimately the camera on the Xperia SP is a capable shooter but isn't as a great as even other performers from last generation when 8 megapixels were the norm compared to today's 13 megapixels and finally the software the Xperia Z's UI basically makes its return in this jellybean 4.1.2 build it is the same melting pot of elements from multiple sources Ice Cream Sandwich inspired colour schemes and jellybean features like Google now and Sony editions apps like the Walkman and the album photo gallery bolstered the small apps small overlays accessible from the recent screen Sony takes a more minimalistic approach to their UI and if you prefer the basics with some extras and then all in a nice shell the Xperia U I should still please there aren't any listings for the Xperia SP on US carriers just yet but it should come in between 100 to 150 dollars on two-year contracts when unlocked it is decently priced right under $500 u.s. and so there you have it the spec hungry and those looking to be on the bleeding edge might look past the Xperia SP but even for them this should still be an attractive package sure it's sports last year's processor and a 720p display but on top of all of that it still feels like a very high quality proper Xperia phone the price is a good selling point as it's half the price of a lot of top-tier current devices and when you add in a couple of the unique features it has like the LED light at the bottom you have a unique experience that a lot of people should still have a lot 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