Sony Xperia P Review

Price
Euro210

Sony Xperia P Review

Sony Xperia P Review

Introduction

In our spotlight today we are exploring the new Sony Xperia P. After a long time Sony has registered itself in smart phones category in May 2012. Sony Xperia P is a decent build device with average smart phone features, doesn’t seems lagging if compare to other phones of similar class. It can be classified as a midrange phone which contains all the necessary features on an Android platform. We expect it to be launch with latest Android Ice-cream Sandwich but Sony introduced it with Android Ginger Bread. We hope Sony will soon release the Android 4.0 ICS updates as they announced.

Sony Xperia P offers impressive processing with credits to its Nova Thor U8500 Chipset and Dual Core CPU. With good processing power and upright features, Sony Xperia P signifies by its bright display. It comes with Sony White Magic technology and backed by the amazing Sony BRAVIA mobile engine. In direct sunlight the screen stay perfectly visible and clear to the eyes. Beside the amazing display Sony Xperia P offers 8MP Camera with 3264x2448 pixels, nearly perfect for photos and videos. It has basic camera functions like autofocus, LED flash etc. Mali-400MP GUP adds more life to the images and videos while watching on its screen or on your HD TV with its TV Out option. All this and more stays alive on Sony Xperia P with its Li-Ion 1305 mAh battery it’s a standard battery which gives 2days life with normal usage.

Design

Sony Xperia P is a beautifully crafted smart phone. Design is decently builds with Aluminum body which adds premium classy feel to it. Back is curved and perfectly design to grip comfortable in hand. It is quiet similar to the Sony and Sony Ericson Xperia series handsets. But it still appeals great to the user who are loyal to Sony brand.

Top side of Sony Xperia P has a 3.5mm audio jack and the lower side has only the micro phone. Left side has micro USB, micro HDMI and micro SIM ports. On the right hand side there is a volume rocker, shutter key and power button with lock feature. There is a small speaker on the right hand side of Sony Xperia P which keeps all the alerts loud while place on flat surface.

Sony Xperia P front contains the 4 inch display screen with scratch resistant glass. Upper side of screen has the Sony logo just beneath the earpiece. Sony logo seems quiet decent and carry the brand charm perfectly. Beside earpiece it has VGA front facing camera and ambient light sensor for better picture.

Front side is trough about level perfectly and deep black which adds more decency to the device. Low side of Sony Xperia P has a track pad navigation and transparent captive touch android keys (Back, Home and Menu), very responsive and easy to use.

Back of Sony Xperia P holds the 8 MP camera and LED Flash. It fits right in hand, though it’s not that slim as other smart phones of its range but it’s not fat either. A perfect Aluminum unibody which carries the promise of Sony durability and long lasting looks.

Performance

Sony Xperia P is capable to perform all general tasks sufficiently without slow speed or delay issue. As an mid-level smart phone its good enough to runs multiple application, browsing or other multimedia tasks. Sony Xperia P installed with 1GHz Dual Core Cortex-A9 CPU which is powerful and with NovaThor U8500 chipset it becomes swift on user experience and sufficient on energy consumption.

Sony Xperia P is almost great while exploring its menus but we did notice that swipe and touch response could be more responsive. It’s not lagging but while using it continuously users can notice a split second delay in swipe response and touch while going in menus. Sony Xperia P offers 1 GB RAM which is quiet large to run and store application and data. No matter using its 8MP camera or making a family video the overall performance power of Sony Xperia P stays good and it won't let you down.

Display

The most significant feature Sony Xperia P has is it wonderful bright 4 inch LCD screen. Sony Xperia P display resolution is qHD with 540x960 pixels, also has LED Backlit feature. Thanks to Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine and WhiteMagic technology its visibility stays 100% while you’re using it in low light or in direct sunlight.

With Mali-400 GPU Sony Xperia P graphic looks very pleasant while you play your favorite game or watching music videos etc. Sony Xperia P GPU also supports menu resolution and with its WhiteMagic technology icons and widgets settings visibility gets more prominent.

Beside the amazing visibility, Sony Xperia P is still not perfect in its contras ratio and lags on displaying true colors. Screen stay bright but colors are not high-flying as they should, felt a bit yellowish and thin rather than deep and dark. We believe Sony should consider improving color contras ratios as it definitely will add more life to Xperia P.

Camera

Sony always stays out of the crowd for its amazing camera technology since Cyber Shot introduced years ago. Sony Xperia P has a great 8 Mega Pixel camera great for capturing memories anytime anywhere. It’s very easy to operate and have all the features that any decent digital camera can offer. User can take multi angel shots, portraits and others quick, its autofocus function is quiet handy while taking picture outdoors. LED flash gives good enough light to take picture in low light surroundings.

Sony Xperia P captures HD video with 1080p recording at 30 frames per seconds. User can capture videos anywhere anytime as autofocus option keeps it steady all time for perfect motion recording. Sony Xperia P camera not only delivers sharp video but its audio recording is quiet decent with its stereo sound. It’s a perfect camcorder in a smart phone for instant video making.

OS and Other Features

Sony Xperia P comes with Android Gingerbread operating system (version 2.3.7). It’s now something new which makes it outstand form other similar platform smart phone. If Sony offers Xperia P with latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich then it sure becomes a completive mid range phone. As far as the apps freedom we still like Android Gingerbread. Sony already announced that updates for Xperia P for Android 4.0 will be available soon. So for the time being we are stuck to old android Gingerbread V2.3.7.

Sony Xperia P Wi-Fi capabilities are great we enjoy the internet browsing. With four fingers touch control feature browsing experience becomes great while viewing web pages. Sony Xperia P is also perfect for social networking applications it offers integrated Facebook features as well as other social network apps. Sharing pictures and videos are very simple and easy while you are on the go with Sony Xperia P.

For Storage capacity Sony Xperia P offers 16 GB internal memory which is quiet adequate. Unfortunately there is no support for micro SD card, means memory can’t be extended. Sony Xperia P features great sound quality with its simple audio player and freedom of headsets with its 3.5mm audio jack. FM Radio with RDS is also ready to keep you updated with your favorite station.

Sony Xperia P is a great navigation device, it features built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support. Maps and locations are easy to control and clearly visible. Beside this Sony Xperia P also have micro HDMI port for HD TV connectivity, dedicated TV Launcher, micro USB, Stereo blue tooth and VGA front facing camera for video chats.

Disadvantages

Sony Xperia P offers with old Android Gingerbread which makes it not competitive as other old smart phones like HTC sensation or Samsung Galaxy S II. Sony already announced Android 4.0 ICS updates for Xperia P so it will affect its market value in a positive manner. We didn’t like the color contras as they look thin and at times seems yellowish.

We expect that Sony should work on its display drivers to enhance the color scheme in near future. Other than that Sony Xperia P lacks the Micro card slot and it also restrict user to Micro sim card only. Battery life is average as it has 1305mAh Li-ion battery which last up to 2 days or less. A larger battery could make Sony Xperia P a better competitive smart phone in midrange devices.

Should You Buy Sony Xperia P?

Well, Sony Xperia P is no doubt a good smart. It offers great looks and beautiful design, good performance with fair features. We recommend this smart phone to users who are looking for a decent device and have a normal budget to spend. It’s a great device for business persons, professional and user who want a decent Smartphone for general tasks.

If you are searching for a decent looking device with average features then Sony Xperia P is perfect, but there are other similar configuration smart phone which gives a tuff compaction to this Sony. So before you make any final decision we recommend that you should also check other midrange Smartphone devices like HTC Sensation, HTC Rezound, and LG Optimus and Motorola Droid Bionic etc. Sony Xperia P is currently available in price range from 370$ to 400$ depends on regions and market situations.

Overall we gave Sony Xperia P 8/10 Rating.