While Sony looks pretty straightforward on the notion to “become the world’s third best Smartphone Company” most probably within 2014’s range because this year is almost over; we get ourselves a lot of juicy material in terms of phones to choose from in the eco-section! While Xperia SP and ZR wage war at the upper end devices (as per Sony the SP is targeted at the middle section but it promises something more by keeping heads with Top Dogs such as Galaxy S4, Xperia Z, HTC One and the likes), we get to test the lower end devices Xperia M and Xperia L so as to get a taste of what our budget criterion lets us enjoy. The later mentioned are the ones which are going to be in focus today as I myself am going to buy one of these before the end of November.
Click to maximise Display Screen of L
Click to maximise Display Screen of M
DISPLAY:- Let us start off with Xperia L first as it is the larger brother of the Two phones because it packs a larger 4.3 inch LCD TFT technology with 16 million colours and a capacitive touch-screen. It also gives you per pixel density (PPI) of 228 because it has the same resolution of 480 x 854 stretched over a larger display. A plastic body is all you get but the trim is embossed with a metal-like material to keep you engaged with that ‘Premium’ feel you want!
The Xperia M’s display on the other hand is a bit modified towards the lower era of generations with 4 inch of the same tech but still giving out punchier colours because of the same resolution being fit in to a smaller screen so as to ‘densify’ the PPI to 245 units. We won’t be able to judge the density while looking at the phones independently but the screen DOES look sharper of the ‘M’ once we put both the phones side by side.
Summarising the hardware left to cover I should be clear enough while saying they both use the same hardware on the inside except for the camera module though which is larger for Xperia L exaggerating its limits at 8 megapixels while the Xperia M gives us 5 megapixels only. Why did I say the Xperia L exaggerates its 8 MP? It is because when you get to see the post-produced photos by the phone you’ll end up saying “Okay I’ve seen much better before!”
Click to maximise body of L
Click to maximise body of M
PERFORMANCE:- Android 4.1 Jellybean out of the box to play with (a bit played out by now though), we get a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8230 SoC in the L while the M gives us the same brand’s MSM8227 S4 Plus chipset; both having the same Krait-tech 1 GHz dual-core processor. 1 GB DDR3 ram is found to be backing up our apps on both the phones while the games are run at optimal speeds with the popular Adreno 305 GPU in both of them. There is however one notable difference in both of them while we look at them for apps and games; which is the ROM section. While Xperia L gives us 8GB ROM storage, Xperia M is its younger sibling with a 4GB ROM only. Rather minute on the budget-sections, both the phones allow Micro SD cards as an expandable storage option.
Click to maximise waistline of L
Click to maximise waistline of M
SIZE:- As for the size counts, Xperia M is just 9.3 mm slim which most probably won’t let you know while being in the pocket and the L is a tad thicker at 9.7 mm waistline. PERFORMANCE wise, both the phones would certainly work as a breeze because Benchmark Pi places them both at the score of 435 and 400 respectively with the M winning due to smaller screen and the same hardware to back it up.
OPTIONS:- While deciding though, I went through some Chinese phones and brands as well. The Huawei G610s was a good competitor because it has got a quad-core processor with a 5 incher on the forefront but while I kept going towards the precious metals, Xperias’ tended to meet my eyes more! The G610s wasn’t as astonishing as much as I wanted and that fact alone demotivated me somewhat. The Xperia M has a classy camera button to show off while Huawei pleases us through its screen only.
Click to maximise L
Click to maximise M
CAMERA:- The camera quality of Xperia L and Xperia M is somewhat the only game-changer for my decision. The final decision that is! Xperia L captures more through its 8 MP camera and the pixels actually saturate nicely with almost the same quality as of the Samsung Galaxy S3. The pictures promise good light kept in focus while the saturated colours are punchier and more natural than the ones captured and snapped from Xperia M.
FINALE:- The last pebbles joined up to tell us the Xperia L is a much better option than the M because it packs a larger display and a much better camera alongside. Dual SIM maybe too much of a necessity for some but not for me; so Xperia M is not any good for me anyway! The design factor catches eye towards the L because of the metal trim running all along the phone’s middle width which is an attraction to top it all off. The price difference is too less to go for the younger brother because it is a mere $20 lower than Xperia L. I would definitely go for Xperia L with a bright smile!
Note: Xperia L is on the left and Xperia M is kept on the right (always)
