June 6, 2013 at 15:50Upper middle class - Sony Xperia SP review
The Xperia P that came out last year, in my opinion, was one of the most successful and pleasant to use smartphones in recent years and perfectly played the role of “second number” next to the flagship S. After the release of the top Z and ZL, this niche was empty for a short while and now as inexpensive, but stylish and productive smartphone with a large screen stands Xperia SP. Let's get to know him better.
In the traditional box for the last two years, the device itself, a high-power charger, a USB / Micro USB cable, a headset and various useful pieces of paper were placed.
Xperia SP boasts an elegant, despite the dimensions, appearance and laconic design - the number of extra buttons and holes is minimized, even the ear for hanging birds from Angry Birds is sacrificed. The device is very comfortable in the hand, the location of the buttons does not cause any complaints, except that, in my opinion, for a lefthander it is a little more convenient due to the fact that you can press them with different fingers, and not just with the big one. Well, you’ll have to get used to the centrally located power button if you previously had an Acro S type device. A
4.6-inch screen occupies about 65-70% of the “facade”, a peephole of the front camera, a spoken speaker and a sensor equipped with a grille is located above it lighting. In the lower left corner there is a hole with a microphone.
On the right, there is nothing but a combined USB / HDMI connector, and on the left is a large round phone power button, camera activation button and volume control. The 3.5 audio jack on the upper end is shifted to the left, which, in my opinion, is familiar and convenient.
The bottom end is decorated with a highlighted transparent strip of polycarbonate, which deserves a separate description. Loved by many owners of last year’s models, the detail became a little larger and acquired dynamic backlighting, which varies depending on the image on the screen, whether it is the main screen, photo or album cover in the player (in the latter case, the bar will also flash to the beat of the music). Using the backlight, you can also receive notifications, and the color is separately configured for SMS, incoming calls and an alarm clock, and a separate color can be assigned to each of the subscribers.
The back panel is slightly convex, made of thin matte plastic, reminiscent of soft touch, but a little different, also very pleasant to the touch, absolutely not dirty and non-slip. Here is a massive lens with a protruding aluminum edging, which, on the one hand, prevents the glass from being scratched, and on the other hand, prevents the installation of additional lenses with magnetic mount.
Below are the LED flash, a second microphone and speaker with the same mesh as the front. The cover is quite easy to remove, opening access to the slots for micro SIM and micro SD-cards. Cards are inserted and removed without the slightest problem. You can immediately notice that the speaker cover mesh is glued to the lid. The lid is held very tightly, although if it is not very carefully installed, a small gap forms on the right side, which is easily corrected by reinstalling it.
Xperia SP is equipped with a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display, already familiar to many by last year’s flagship Ion and does not need a special introduction. Extremely juicy, convincing colors and confident white. The application for adjusting the white balance migrated from Xperia ZL allows you to more accurately calibrate the display. This year's new feature, the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 feature, enhances contrast and saturation when viewing photos and videos, making the picture more attractive.
With a tilt of more than 30 degrees, the colors fade slightly, but, for example, when reading, this is absolutely not critical - the text is perfectly visible at 70-80 degrees, although I can’t imagine who it might be necessary for.
SP inherited from the Sola model the so-called “Glove mode”, by default it is already on, but for its final activation it is necessary to unlock the phone with a gloved hand so that it adjusts to this glove. The screen responds well to both a thin leather and a thick woolen glove - in severe weather this is just the point. The screen also reacts to wet fingers, although not always willingly, but this, however, was not promised.
The display is protected by mineral glass with scratch protection, on which a factory film is glued, which is absolutely not noticeable. For a week and a half of active use and storage in a pocket without a case, no scratches appeared.
The first thing I want to praise is the headset that comes with the kit. Smart Headset MH1c, in principle, was previously sold separately (for about 1,500 rubles), but, you see, it is much more pleasant to get it for free with a smartphone. Firstly - a very clear sound with bold bass, almost complete absence of distortion at maximum volume, as well as the complete absence of caustic resonances in the region of 6-7k, characteristic of “inserts”. Secondly - a flat cable, which is not prone to tangling up on its own and makes it easier to untangle, under the right earphone there is a remote control that allows you to control volume and playback (one press - pause, two fast - the next track, three fast - the previous one), equipped with the additional Smart Connect button, on which you can assign the launch of an application, for example, a camera.
An external monaural speaker is an external monaural speaker that provides sound quality at the level of an average pocket radio receiver. It is possible to programmatically increase its volume (xLoud) and increase the mono-compatibility of tracks (ClearPhase), but for listening to music, of course, it is better to use headphones. As for the conversational speaker, in my opinion (that is, a rumor) he cannot complain about the lack of volume and even has some reserve of it.
Connecting a smartphone to monitors and TVs does not cause any problems, except for the need to purchase a special cable or MHL / HDMI adapter, which costs about 400 rubles in Russian retail or around 150 in great Chinese online stores. In my opinion - an adequate fee for minus one connector on the case. When connected to a computer via USB, it is defined as a device or as a flash drive, if you select the appropriate mode in the settings.
Here we are waiting for the old 8-megapixel acquaintance Exmor RS with some software improvements, such as HDR and super-auto mode, as well as a huge number of settings. We will not pay special attention to the camera, since it has already proven itself very well. Among other things, it works great at dusk, but with too bright lighting sometimes you have to manually adjust the exposure. The hardware button allows you to shoot the phone in the same way as a soap camera, and you can hang on it as just starting the camera, and instant shooting.
Xperia SP can safely be called the most “long-playing” of Sony phones, and indeed in its class. With active use (listening to music, watching TV shows, games, reading, constant use of Google Maps, Chrome, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), the charge is more than enough for a light day. If you put the device in Stamina mode, then the charge in standby mode should be enough for more than two days. A very serious statement from the Android smartphone. This trend cannot but rejoice, remember Xperia ZL, which also showed outstanding results in this area, so it seems that you can forget about jokes about Android and a set of chargers.
Inside, the Xperia SP is quite expected and relevant, for the middle class in 2013, iron. Moreover, in some tests, this model manages to overtake the flagship (although this happens, of course, due to lower screen resolution). In complex, from the point of view of graphics, three-dimensional games, FPS confidently holds at around 35-40, and in the 3DMark test, Ice Storm sags to 15-20 in especially complex scenes. I especially want to note that while the phone heats up very moderately and cools quickly. You can observe the results of the main tests in the screenshots below.
Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to test the operation of Xperia SP in the LTE network. You can watch the test results in 3G and Wi-Fi modes below. GPS works great - a ten-kilometer route was recorded very carefully and with all the details.
The device boots up in 22 seconds, demonstrating, at this time, a nice animated screensaver. By default, Android 4.1.2 is installed here with the possibility of an early update to 4.2. Sony Mobile's own shell is similar to that installed on the Xperia Z and ZL. Among the characteristic features include a lock screen with the ability to quickly access the camera and player, vertical unlock with a nice “blinds” effect, a Walkman branded player with automatic sound enhancement, surround sound simulation, an equalizer and bass amplifier (all this, of course, can be turned off). The list of pre-installed software includes the Evernote organizer, MobiSystems File Commander, NeoReader QR scanner, car navigator, Opera Mini browser, Adobe Reader, reader for social networks Socialife, simple video editing applications and the basic version of McAfee Mobile Security. All pre-installed software, of course, can be safely removed if you do not need it.
Processor : Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro, 2 cores, 1700 MHz
Memory : 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal flash array
Video : Adreno 320
Display : TFT, 16 million colors, 4.6 inches, HD, 1280 x 720 pixels, ( ~ 319 ppi)
Communication : GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/900/2100, LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/260
Main camera : 8 MP, Exmor RS matrix, 3264 * 2448 pixels, autofocus , LED flash
Front camera : VGA
OS : Android 4.1.2
Dimensions : 130.6 x 67.1 x 10 mm
Weight : 155 g
As a result, we have an elegant smartphone with original details and pleasant materials. Quite compact, by today's standards, having one of the longest-lasting batteries and having the most beautiful performance in its class. We also note the lack of significant heating under heavy loads, a bright screen with the ability to calibrate, the absence of extra buttons and connectors, a spoken speaker with a good supply of volume and an excellent headset in the kit. As for the price, it is 15-17 thousand rubles, depending on the distributor.
Equipment
In the traditional box for the last two years, the device itself, a high-power charger, a USB / Micro USB cable, a headset and various useful pieces of paper were placed.
Appearance and Ergonomics
Xperia SP boasts an elegant, despite the dimensions, appearance and laconic design - the number of extra buttons and holes is minimized, even the ear for hanging birds from Angry Birds is sacrificed. The device is very comfortable in the hand, the location of the buttons does not cause any complaints, except that, in my opinion, for a lefthander it is a little more convenient due to the fact that you can press them with different fingers, and not just with the big one. Well, you’ll have to get used to the centrally located power button if you previously had an Acro S type device. A
4.6-inch screen occupies about 65-70% of the “facade”, a peephole of the front camera, a spoken speaker and a sensor equipped with a grille is located above it lighting. In the lower left corner there is a hole with a microphone.
On the right, there is nothing but a combined USB / HDMI connector, and on the left is a large round phone power button, camera activation button and volume control. The 3.5 audio jack on the upper end is shifted to the left, which, in my opinion, is familiar and convenient.
The bottom end is decorated with a highlighted transparent strip of polycarbonate, which deserves a separate description. Loved by many owners of last year’s models, the detail became a little larger and acquired dynamic backlighting, which varies depending on the image on the screen, whether it is the main screen, photo or album cover in the player (in the latter case, the bar will also flash to the beat of the music). Using the backlight, you can also receive notifications, and the color is separately configured for SMS, incoming calls and an alarm clock, and a separate color can be assigned to each of the subscribers.
The back panel is slightly convex, made of thin matte plastic, reminiscent of soft touch, but a little different, also very pleasant to the touch, absolutely not dirty and non-slip. Here is a massive lens with a protruding aluminum edging, which, on the one hand, prevents the glass from being scratched, and on the other hand, prevents the installation of additional lenses with magnetic mount.
Below are the LED flash, a second microphone and speaker with the same mesh as the front. The cover is quite easy to remove, opening access to the slots for micro SIM and micro SD-cards. Cards are inserted and removed without the slightest problem. You can immediately notice that the speaker cover mesh is glued to the lid. The lid is held very tightly, although if it is not very carefully installed, a small gap forms on the right side, which is easily corrected by reinstalling it.
Screen
Xperia SP is equipped with a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display, already familiar to many by last year’s flagship Ion and does not need a special introduction. Extremely juicy, convincing colors and confident white. The application for adjusting the white balance migrated from Xperia ZL allows you to more accurately calibrate the display. This year's new feature, the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 feature, enhances contrast and saturation when viewing photos and videos, making the picture more attractive.
With a tilt of more than 30 degrees, the colors fade slightly, but, for example, when reading, this is absolutely not critical - the text is perfectly visible at 70-80 degrees, although I can’t imagine who it might be necessary for.
SP inherited from the Sola model the so-called “Glove mode”, by default it is already on, but for its final activation it is necessary to unlock the phone with a gloved hand so that it adjusts to this glove. The screen responds well to both a thin leather and a thick woolen glove - in severe weather this is just the point. The screen also reacts to wet fingers, although not always willingly, but this, however, was not promised.
The display is protected by mineral glass with scratch protection, on which a factory film is glued, which is absolutely not noticeable. For a week and a half of active use and storage in a pocket without a case, no scratches appeared.
Multimedia
The first thing I want to praise is the headset that comes with the kit. Smart Headset MH1c, in principle, was previously sold separately (for about 1,500 rubles), but, you see, it is much more pleasant to get it for free with a smartphone. Firstly - a very clear sound with bold bass, almost complete absence of distortion at maximum volume, as well as the complete absence of caustic resonances in the region of 6-7k, characteristic of “inserts”. Secondly - a flat cable, which is not prone to tangling up on its own and makes it easier to untangle, under the right earphone there is a remote control that allows you to control volume and playback (one press - pause, two fast - the next track, three fast - the previous one), equipped with the additional Smart Connect button, on which you can assign the launch of an application, for example, a camera.
An external monaural speaker is an external monaural speaker that provides sound quality at the level of an average pocket radio receiver. It is possible to programmatically increase its volume (xLoud) and increase the mono-compatibility of tracks (ClearPhase), but for listening to music, of course, it is better to use headphones. As for the conversational speaker, in my opinion (that is, a rumor) he cannot complain about the lack of volume and even has some reserve of it.
Connecting a smartphone to monitors and TVs does not cause any problems, except for the need to purchase a special cable or MHL / HDMI adapter, which costs about 400 rubles in Russian retail or around 150 in great Chinese online stores. In my opinion - an adequate fee for minus one connector on the case. When connected to a computer via USB, it is defined as a device or as a flash drive, if you select the appropriate mode in the settings.
Camera
Here we are waiting for the old 8-megapixel acquaintance Exmor RS with some software improvements, such as HDR and super-auto mode, as well as a huge number of settings. We will not pay special attention to the camera, since it has already proven itself very well. Among other things, it works great at dusk, but with too bright lighting sometimes you have to manually adjust the exposure. The hardware button allows you to shoot the phone in the same way as a soap camera, and you can hang on it as just starting the camera, and instant shooting.
Battery
Xperia SP can safely be called the most “long-playing” of Sony phones, and indeed in its class. With active use (listening to music, watching TV shows, games, reading, constant use of Google Maps, Chrome, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), the charge is more than enough for a light day. If you put the device in Stamina mode, then the charge in standby mode should be enough for more than two days. A very serious statement from the Android smartphone. This trend cannot but rejoice, remember Xperia ZL, which also showed outstanding results in this area, so it seems that you can forget about jokes about Android and a set of chargers.
Comprehensive testing
Inside, the Xperia SP is quite expected and relevant, for the middle class in 2013, iron. Moreover, in some tests, this model manages to overtake the flagship (although this happens, of course, due to lower screen resolution). In complex, from the point of view of graphics, three-dimensional games, FPS confidently holds at around 35-40, and in the 3DMark test, Ice Storm sags to 15-20 in especially complex scenes. I especially want to note that while the phone heats up very moderately and cools quickly. You can observe the results of the main tests in the screenshots below.
Communication
Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to test the operation of Xperia SP in the LTE network. You can watch the test results in 3G and Wi-Fi modes below. GPS works great - a ten-kilometer route was recorded very carefully and with all the details.
Software
The device boots up in 22 seconds, demonstrating, at this time, a nice animated screensaver. By default, Android 4.1.2 is installed here with the possibility of an early update to 4.2. Sony Mobile's own shell is similar to that installed on the Xperia Z and ZL. Among the characteristic features include a lock screen with the ability to quickly access the camera and player, vertical unlock with a nice “blinds” effect, a Walkman branded player with automatic sound enhancement, surround sound simulation, an equalizer and bass amplifier (all this, of course, can be turned off). The list of pre-installed software includes the Evernote organizer, MobiSystems File Commander, NeoReader QR scanner, car navigator, Opera Mini browser, Adobe Reader, reader for social networks Socialife, simple video editing applications and the basic version of McAfee Mobile Security. All pre-installed software, of course, can be safely removed if you do not need it.
Specifications
Processor : Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro, 2 cores, 1700 MHz
Memory : 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal flash array
Video : Adreno 320
Display : TFT, 16 million colors, 4.6 inches, HD, 1280 x 720 pixels, ( ~ 319 ppi)
Communication : GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/900/2100, LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/260
Main camera : 8 MP, Exmor RS matrix, 3264 * 2448 pixels, autofocus , LED flash
Front camera : VGA
OS : Android 4.1.2
Dimensions : 130.6 x 67.1 x 10 mm
Weight : 155 g
Summary
As a result, we have an elegant smartphone with original details and pleasant materials. Quite compact, by today's standards, having one of the longest-lasting batteries and having the most beautiful performance in its class. We also note the lack of significant heating under heavy loads, a bright screen with the ability to calibrate, the absence of extra buttons and connectors, a spoken speaker with a good supply of volume and an excellent headset in the kit. As for the price, it is 15-17 thousand rubles, depending on the distributor.