Design/Build/Size/Hardware How Does the Latest Sony Xperia M Stack Up to the Competition?

We have Sony Xperia Z, Z Ultra, S, SP, E, L, J, U and now the M. Since Sony has a wide range of similar devices with such similar names, it is easy to be slightly confused about where the Sony Xperia M sits within the range. We will try to show what M has to offer and how it compares with the line up.

The alphabetical line up of the Sony Xperia devices might make you believe that the specification of the devices get better as you proceed through the alphabet. Well, that is partly true, since Z Ultra is better than L. On the other hand, L is better than U and M. To cut a long story short, you need to consider the specs and not to be led by the alphabetical order when deciding which device is the best for you. Of course, the review is about a pre-production unit, so there is a possibility that small things tweak and some issues become improved.

Sony Xperia M has featured Omni Balance design with an aluminum power button sitting proudly on the right hand side of the device along with camera shutter button and the volume keys. Around each of the four sides of the white unit, there is a silver (more matt than gloss) banding (on black phone, the banding is black) giving some character and definition to the device. The 4” touchscreen display is in the front with the microphone, light and proximity sensor and the front facing camera. On the back is the rear camera, microphone, flash, the rear speaker. The removable back cover has Xperia branding and Sony logo on it. This device won’t win any awards when it comes to design, but it looks alright and not garish. Black is somewhat better, by my opinion, since it won’t pick up marks as the white one. The device weighs just 115 g and the measures are 124 x 62 x 9.3mm. Even though M could have been thinner, it sits comfortably in the hand feeling more robust and it looks like it could take a few of knocks (even though I don’t recommend testing it!).

When it comes to hardware, the only thing that frightens me is the front of Sony Xperia M which seems to have a lot of space that could eventually be removed. Even though you might like the notification light on SP, here it seems to be taking up too much space, instead of some other buttons that are now in the software.

Sony Xperia M has 1GHz dual-core processor, 4GB memory, 1 GB RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS etc. All in all, it’s not a lousy device.