2012 has been a quiet year for Sony. While they continuously released phones last year, they did not quite attract the attention of the market mainly because a lot of their releases were not at par with those from other brands.

The main problem was that Sony did not release any quad core phones as they believed the extra cores would not provide battery efficiency and the full potential of dual core chips were yet to be utilized. So instead, they opted to use a new chipset architecture that would outperform quad core chips.

The number of processors may not necessarily indicate the performance of a smartphone, but in this case, they were outclassed by Samsung and HTC’s flagships the Galaxy S3 and One X, with both having relatively good battery efficiency. The Xperia S, Sony’s 2012 flagship, only fared well against Samsung’s 2011 Flagship the Galaxy S2. Be that as it may, Sony did manage to garner success from their mid-range smartphones such as Xperia U, Xperia Sola and Xperia Neo despite struggling with their high end.

With a new year ahead, Sony took a giant leap and released the Sony Xperia Z, placing their hopes on the new flagship smartphone to try and turn the tides back in their favor. True enough, the Xperia Z did garner much success, selling 150,000 units in Japan in its first week of launch.  It may very well be the best phone available in the market today. Building on their success, Sony announced two more phones last March that will be released this May. They are the Sony Xperia L and Sony Xperia SP.

Sony Xperia L

Sony_Xperia_L

Both these phones target the mid-range segment where Sony had some success last year. Powered by a 1GHz Dual-Core Krait and an Ardeno 305 GPU, the Xperia L looks to be a promising mid-range phone. It has a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480×854 and is protected by scratch-resistant glass. What is important to note is that the Xperia L is missing the Bravia Engine, so don’t expect the display to be as vibrant as its big brother, the Xperia Z, and its viewing angles aren’t expected to be any better. It has its own pros and cons, but the clincher should be a tempting price point, which is yet to be announced.

Xperia L Specs

  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

  • 4.3-inch TFT Capacitive Touch Screen (854×480)

  • 1GHz dual-core processor

  • 1GB of RAM

  • 8GB storage, microSD support up to 32GB

  • 8-megapixel camera

  • VGA  front-facing camera

  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct

  • Bluetooth v4.0

  • GPS, A-GPS

  • Dimensions: 128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm

  • Weight: 137g

  • 1750mAh battery

Sony Xperia SP

Sony_Xperia_SP

The Xperia SP, on the other hand, looks like a different kind of performer with relatively good specifications. It feels more like a downscaled Xperia Z than an upgraded Xperia L. Unlike the Xperia L, the SP has a better 1280x720p display with Gorilla Glass protection and the Sony Bravia Engine 2. It also has an Ardeno 320 GPU, similar to the Z. which make it more of an affordable alternative. These two phones may remind you of Samsung’s Mega 5.8 and 6.3, though they are significantly smaller.

Xperia SP Specs

  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

  • 4.6-inch TFT Capacitive Touch Screen Gorilla Glass (1280×720)

  • Sony Bravia Engine 2

  • 1.7GHz dual-core processor Krait

  • 1GB of RAM

  • 8GB storage, microSD support up to 32GB

  • 8-megapixel camera

  • VGA  front-facing camera

  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct

  • Bluetooth v4.0

  • GPS, A-GPS

  • Dimensions: 130.6 x 67.1 x 10 mm

  • Weight: 155g

  • 2370mAh battery

Price and Availability

Both these phones are looking to roll-out in Europe in May with a rumored price of approximately $516 (P21,672) for the Xperia SP and $362(P15,204) for the Xperia L. The Xperia Z is very attractive and these new mid-rangers may be for those who want to experience the Z without spending as much. The Xperia SP may garner some more attention, but both these phones will supposedly be priced at the mid-range point. Honestly, I think they are priced a bit too steep. A few more bucks and you can get yourself last year’s S3 or One X, which should give these two phones a run for their money. Still, to each their own. What do you guys think? Will they will be as successful as last year’s mid-range offerings from Sony?

 

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