August 13, 2013 at 13:00Modest Charm - Sony Xperia L Review
The expression "budget smartphone" for many is associated with an inconvenient and low-power device, which is suitable only for calls and correspondence. Until recently, those who did not want to pay a large sum for the phone were not so easy to find something worthy and, in most cases, had to be content with small screens, modest cameras, severe restrictions on the use of applications and games. Sony Xperia L quite fits into a modest budget, but can not complain about poor performance, has a large screen and a fair amount of modern technology. We bring to your attention an overview of this device!
The package bundle is quite concise, this is done in the name of economy. In the box is a phone, battery and charger. Headset, dock, NFC tags, and other accessories are not included.
When you first look at the Xperia L, the thought immediately comes to mind - yes this is the good old Arc S! Only with beveled ends, without buttons under the display and with fewer connectors. The tactile sensations are also very similar - the phone is equally thin and light, though the case is not glossy, but made of matte plastic (which is even better - it will not be so scratched). Above the screen there is a proximity sensor and a front camera, on the left is a miniUSB connector, on the right is a power button, a camera control button and a volume control, and in the middle of the upper end there is a 3.5 mm headset jack. The back is decorated with a large peephole of the main camera, an LED flash and an external speaker. A chrome strip is located along the edge of the case, separating the back cover, which can be removed using a special recess near the USB port. By the way, the lid holds very tightly and firmly, so it will take some effort, but surely no one will complain about gaps or backlash. An indicator is hidden at the bottom of the border, which can change colors depending on the events assigned to it or the image on the screen (for example, album covers, photos or videos - in general, like the strip on Xperia SP, just not so big). The device is available in black, white and red versions.
Under the cover, a battery compartment is found, as well as slots for a standard SIM card and microSD card, and with the possibility of hot swapping, it is not necessary to remove the battery.
The Xperia L has a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480x854, due to this the L-ka can boast a very decent performance for its price segment. There is no need to complain about viewing angles and brightness - when turning less than 60 degrees, the image does not even fade and even at 85 it can be seen. Like other models, the screen is immediately covered with high-quality film, which, if desired, can be easily eliminated.
In this model, the same eight-megapixel Exmor RS module is installed as in Xperia SP, the camera is equipped with its own button, which, depending on the settings, allows you to either start it, either take a picture right away or start shooting a video, or do nothing. Unlike older models, there is no super-automatic mode, but there are all the other functions, such as HDR, panoramas, exposure, white balance, focus and sensitivity, image stabilizer, smile detection, geotags and real-time graphic filters. Video is recorded in HD format with the ability to take one megapixel pictures during recording using a special button.
A year ago, it was difficult to imagine a dual-core processor and gigabytes of RAM in a budget smartphone, but today it is becoming more common. As already mentioned, due to not the highest screen resolution, the performance of Xperia L is quite high and quite sufficient for convenient operation in any applications. The device also copes well with games, including quite voracious three-dimensional ones such as races or ports with a PC (for example, GTA 3 works quite quickly). 3DMark gives out quite acceptable 19-25 FPS. You can find the results of other tests in the screenshots below.
The battery capacity of L is slightly lower than that of the SP and ZR champions, but not so high power and gluttony allows it to live quietly for three or four days in standby mode and about a day with heavy use - using 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, reading, taking pictures, watching videos, listening to music, sending SMS and talking on the phone. There is information on the Internet that some enthusiasts managed to get the Xperia L to hold out on one charge for a week. In addition, you can keep a spare battery with you or search for a high-capacity battery (although in the latter case, Sony is not responsible for the performance of the device).
Xperia L supports all communication standards applicable to a modern smartphone, except LTE - for this, nevertheless, you should turn to older models. For two weeks of active use, the connection never disappeared, all calls went through, Wi-Fi did not fall off, navigation worked perfectly.
By default, here, like other models of this year, the operating system is Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with the usual shell and a set of themes. A set of preinstalled software, unlike older models, is limited to free applications: File Commander, Facebook, Opera Mini, NeoReader, OfficeSuite ,, as well as a standard set of applications from Google. We have already talked about the Walkman branded player, and the version installed on the Xperia L is no different from the rest. Among the interesting options, one can note the already familiar Throw (playing content from a smartphone on other devices, such as televisions), transferring data via NFC using the Android Beam function, STAMINA mode, which allows to increase battery life by several times due to the limitation of network activity in the mode expectations
Convenient phone with elegant design at an affordable price. The large screen, good camera, solid battery life and sufficient performance for the vast majority of tasks make it a great option for those who are used to counting money, but prefer high-quality and convenient things. In addition, it’s nice to get a device for such modest money that is not inferior, but in many ways superior to yesterday’s flagships.
Processor: dual-core Qualcomm MSM8230, 1000 MHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM, 8 MB internal, SD card support
Video: Adreno 305
Communication: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
Main camera: Exmor RS 8 megapixel
Front camera: 0.3 megapixel
Battery: 1750 mAh, removable
OS: Android 4.1
Dimensions: 128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm
Weight: 137 g
Options and appearance
The package bundle is quite concise, this is done in the name of economy. In the box is a phone, battery and charger. Headset, dock, NFC tags, and other accessories are not included.
When you first look at the Xperia L, the thought immediately comes to mind - yes this is the good old Arc S! Only with beveled ends, without buttons under the display and with fewer connectors. The tactile sensations are also very similar - the phone is equally thin and light, though the case is not glossy, but made of matte plastic (which is even better - it will not be so scratched). Above the screen there is a proximity sensor and a front camera, on the left is a miniUSB connector, on the right is a power button, a camera control button and a volume control, and in the middle of the upper end there is a 3.5 mm headset jack. The back is decorated with a large peephole of the main camera, an LED flash and an external speaker. A chrome strip is located along the edge of the case, separating the back cover, which can be removed using a special recess near the USB port. By the way, the lid holds very tightly and firmly, so it will take some effort, but surely no one will complain about gaps or backlash. An indicator is hidden at the bottom of the border, which can change colors depending on the events assigned to it or the image on the screen (for example, album covers, photos or videos - in general, like the strip on Xperia SP, just not so big). The device is available in black, white and red versions.
Under the cover, a battery compartment is found, as well as slots for a standard SIM card and microSD card, and with the possibility of hot swapping, it is not necessary to remove the battery.
Screen
The Xperia L has a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480x854, due to this the L-ka can boast a very decent performance for its price segment. There is no need to complain about viewing angles and brightness - when turning less than 60 degrees, the image does not even fade and even at 85 it can be seen. Like other models, the screen is immediately covered with high-quality film, which, if desired, can be easily eliminated.
Camera
In this model, the same eight-megapixel Exmor RS module is installed as in Xperia SP, the camera is equipped with its own button, which, depending on the settings, allows you to either start it, either take a picture right away or start shooting a video, or do nothing. Unlike older models, there is no super-automatic mode, but there are all the other functions, such as HDR, panoramas, exposure, white balance, focus and sensitivity, image stabilizer, smile detection, geotags and real-time graphic filters. Video is recorded in HD format with the ability to take one megapixel pictures during recording using a special button.
Performance
A year ago, it was difficult to imagine a dual-core processor and gigabytes of RAM in a budget smartphone, but today it is becoming more common. As already mentioned, due to not the highest screen resolution, the performance of Xperia L is quite high and quite sufficient for convenient operation in any applications. The device also copes well with games, including quite voracious three-dimensional ones such as races or ports with a PC (for example, GTA 3 works quite quickly). 3DMark gives out quite acceptable 19-25 FPS. You can find the results of other tests in the screenshots below.
Battery
The battery capacity of L is slightly lower than that of the SP and ZR champions, but not so high power and gluttony allows it to live quietly for three or four days in standby mode and about a day with heavy use - using 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, reading, taking pictures, watching videos, listening to music, sending SMS and talking on the phone. There is information on the Internet that some enthusiasts managed to get the Xperia L to hold out on one charge for a week. In addition, you can keep a spare battery with you or search for a high-capacity battery (although in the latter case, Sony is not responsible for the performance of the device).
Communication
Xperia L supports all communication standards applicable to a modern smartphone, except LTE - for this, nevertheless, you should turn to older models. For two weeks of active use, the connection never disappeared, all calls went through, Wi-Fi did not fall off, navigation worked perfectly.
Software and Multimedia
By default, here, like other models of this year, the operating system is Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with the usual shell and a set of themes. A set of preinstalled software, unlike older models, is limited to free applications: File Commander, Facebook, Opera Mini, NeoReader, OfficeSuite ,, as well as a standard set of applications from Google. We have already talked about the Walkman branded player, and the version installed on the Xperia L is no different from the rest. Among the interesting options, one can note the already familiar Throw (playing content from a smartphone on other devices, such as televisions), transferring data via NFC using the Android Beam function, STAMINA mode, which allows to increase battery life by several times due to the limitation of network activity in the mode expectations
Summary
Convenient phone with elegant design at an affordable price. The large screen, good camera, solid battery life and sufficient performance for the vast majority of tasks make it a great option for those who are used to counting money, but prefer high-quality and convenient things. In addition, it’s nice to get a device for such modest money that is not inferior, but in many ways superior to yesterday’s flagships.
Specifications
Processor: dual-core Qualcomm MSM8230, 1000 MHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM, 8 MB internal, SD card support
Video: Adreno 305
Communication: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
Main camera: Exmor RS 8 megapixel
Front camera: 0.3 megapixel
Battery: 1750 mAh, removable
OS: Android 4.1
Dimensions: 128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm
Weight: 137 g