The Sony Xperia L Review

Most of the mid-range phones that are currently out there are decidedly average looking.  While they work and are not exactly ugly, they are not very eye-catching.  The Sony Xperia L is the exception to that rule.

Sony has a good track record in making aesthetically pleasing phones and, for those who don’t want to spend too much, they are bringing their aesthetic sensibilities to their mid-range lines.

In this review, we look at what else Sony has to offer with the Xperia L aside from just looks.

Build Quality & Design

• The white Xperia L is a striking device.
• A visually interesting detail of the Xperia L’s design is the back’s concave curve. Even though the front is flat, you get the impression that the whole phone is curved.

• The buttons on the Xperia L are on the right side. The volume rocker is placed on top and the power button is lower down, nearer the middle of the device.  At the bottom is placed the camera button.
• The left side of the Xperia L is where Sony has placed the USB port.
• The headphone jack placed in the middle of the device’s top.
• The Xperia L as a whole feels solid and strong.

Display

• The Xperia L has a 4.3-inch display.
• The display has a resolution of just 480 x 854 for a pixel density of 228 ppi.
• This is small and low compared to high-end phones but works well in the Xperia L.
• The screen looks nice and both text and images displayed clearly with very little pixelation.
• Color reproduction is good and you get bright whites and deep blacks at both low and middle brightness settings.
• Turning the brightness up results in colors getting little washed out but, leaving the Xperia L at its auto-brightness levels keeps this from happening.
• Viewing angles are very good.

Performance

• The Xperia L uses a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset that clocked at 1Ghz. This is backed by an Adreno 305 GPU with 1 GB of RAM.
• This packaging works very well and the Xperia L gets an AnTuTu Benchmark score of around 10,053.
• Real world performance is good as well. Apps launch quickly and performance is smooth.
• Gaming is okay though the low-resolution display means picture quality leaves something to be desired.

Software

• The Sony Xperia L runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean but it uses Sony’s own UI.
• Sony’s UI is lighter than other UI’s from manufacturers such as the HTC Sense or even Samsung’s TouchWiz. The processing package is more than enough to see this functioning properly.

• The Xperia L has a themeable interface but this is mostly limited to changing the color scheme.
• Sony included several of its own entertainment and media based apps such as Walkman, Album, Movies and Sony Select.
• The Xperia L also has the stock Google apps.
• Other apps in the Xperia L are Facebook, Notes, NeoREader, a backup app, File Commander, and AASTOCKS.
• The Xperia L also PlayStation certified which means that few games which not available in other devices now available thought the Xperia L.

Camera

• The Xperia L has a 8 megapixel rear camera.
• Given as Sony usually known for its excellent cameras – even on their phones – the performance of the Xperia L’s camera is disappointing.
• Colors not captured that accurately.
• We found it hard to get a nice, focused shot as images were always a little fuzzy even at the highest possible resolution.
• Low-light performance was bad, even if the Xperia L had a built in flash.
• The Xperia L has 720p video capture, but that suffers from the problems of the still photos.
• Auto-brightness in the Xperia L is too harsh.

Battery

• The Xperia L has a 1750 mAh battery.
• Sony claims that the Xperia L has a talk time of 8.5 hours. We found that this was accurate.
• Under normal conditions, the battery life of the Xperia L should be enough to last a full day.
• If you really use your phone for demanding tasks, you can take advantage of the fact that the Xperia L’s battery is removable. You can carry a spare and change it as needed.

Performance wise, the Sony Xperia L is solid but not remarkable.  What makes it stand out from its mid-range counterparts are definitely its look and design.  Whether the look and design are enough to make the Sony Xperia L better for you than a similar phone would depend entirely on your taste.

What do you think of the Sony Xperia L?

JR

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