Xperia T update

My first thoughts on the Xperia T. 

I have had this phone now for about a month now, so I thought id share my thoughts on it, as this for me was one of the most eagerly anticipated phones in a very long time. 

The phone on paper doesn't jump out like its rivals such as the S3, but if you actually read in to what makes a great phone then this is easily the phone of the year.The phone design is very sexy. It reminds me of the old Xperia Arc but just a bit fatter.  

It distributes its weight really well over your hand for good balance and its also got a matt/rubber casing which adds to grip.Its one of the sexiest phone on the market, yet at the same time has a practicality to its design.

The Screen

I was very glad to know that it doesn't have an AMOLED screen, unlike with the Samsung S3. AMOLED has a very saturated look to its colours which ruins the user experience. Personally I prefer things I watch to look like what they are actually supposed to, rather than jazzed up and made to look flashy. AMOLED is also notorious for suffering from the common problem of screen burn.

Sony could have easily gone down this route but instead have gone for using some of their products from their TV department and stuck in the Bravia Engine. Its subtle rather than flashy and smooths over photos and videos to make the experience a little more polished without trying to blow your brains out .It works well for grainy Youtube videos but over all the changes are far to subtle to notice.  

Whitemagic would have been a great addition to this phone but sadly it has been missed out. I had White Magic in my Xperia P and it was absolutely sensational, this is something which I think could have gotten the reviewers noticing this phone a bit more than it did up to its release. 

The Camera

The camera is incredible.

It comes with a TON of features and different modes. Not only do you have the choice to go all the way up to 13 megapixels if you need it, but they have put in the Exmor R sensor which handles the extra noise.

Its also good for low light level photos, but to be honest I notice little difference here. The 13 megapixel setting limits you to taking square photos rather than widescreen so I find myself using the 10 megapixel setting more often. The camera was performing well for the first few weeks but now I have noticed that the camera is now starting to get slower.

I have tried numerous apps to try and empty the phone and make it run smoother, but sadly the cameras start up time is getting longer and longer. It occasionally lags and blurs more often than it did. Its very hard for dads like me who are constantly trying to take a photo of a toddler running around, the camera doesn't stabilize the photos very well at all.

I am also noticing that its sensor is struggling more as time goes on. It takes a while to focus when filming a video (sometimes up to 20 seconds!) and then keeps refocusing during the videos. When playing these videos back it looks terrible. This is probably my biggest criticism of the camera, it completely ruins the recording experience. 

The camera in high light conditions is absolutely fantastic. In both 13 and 10 megapixel modes it is incredibly sharp, but the moment it gets in to a dark/low light room, or in to the evening, then the camera really struggles. The Exmor R sensor does little to handle low light settings and It cannot handle noise well at all, which is a shame as Sony claimed that was one of the strongest points of having the Exmor R sensor. Thankfully I take 90% of my photos in high light conditions so it works for me.  

I am really looking forward to seeing what the Exmor R 2 sensor can do in the Xperia Z!

Internal Storage

The phone only comes with 16gb of internal storage. A lot of people have bad mouthed Sony for this but what they fail to realize is that in my local shop the phone is £150 cheaper than the Samsung S3. People who only use a small amount of information now don't have to pay for huge amounts of memory unless they want too.

You can get a 64gb SD card on Amazon now for £40, that's 80gb and still £110 cheaper than tis rivals.

Enough said. Well done Sony, you've used your brain here! 

Software

This phone does have a lot of Sony software on it.  

I wasnt too keen on it when I first saw a lot of it on my phone but now I use Music Unlimited a lot. Its a cheap and fantastic service. Their music selection is incredible and you have access to all the music in the world (pretty much) at any time. Its great for parties and discovering new music.  Sony have claimed it is their answer to countering the piracy so rife on the internet, will it work? Who knows. Its certainly a very good app. 

They have added the new Playstation store which was MUCH better than I thought it was going to be. They have added everything from PS1 games to completely free games, and the software looks modern and polished. Remember, when you sync this phone up to a wireless PS3 pad and put this in a TV dock you have also got yourself the best gaming phone on the market. 

They have also added a great app for syncing your phone to tablets and the Xperia lounge which gets you in to Sony only competitions and freebies.

Extra Features

The phone also has NFC. Not only that but it has the best selection of NFC accessories on the market. It comes with NFC tags which are a great new way of saving time and making your life easier. We all know that with new smart phones there is so much to do that you spend all your time changing settings here and there depending on where you are. This shortens all that to a simple swipe at a Smart Tag which recognizes the phone and changes you settings depending on what you have set it too.  Not to mention gadgets like the NFC speakers by Sony which not only make life easier but are fantastic at parties. Walk in to a room (with all the music in the world on your phone thanks to Music Unlimited) and tap your phone on the speaker and it will play your playlist. Pow! 

Battery

The phone comes with a standard 1,850 mAh battery. This is a refreshing change from the terrible battery life in the Xperia P. Though the battery doesn't last forever, it does last all day. As long as you charge it every night then you can use it to death! Even by my standards of usage! I am very content with the battery though not overly amazed. For its price its more than good enough.

Conclusion

One of the most important issues I have phone with the mobile phone market lately is how uneducated a lot of reviewers are. Samsungs success basically comes down to releasing phones with as high spec as possible as early as possible. The new S3 comes with a fancy new quadcore processor which most people looking at a spec sheet would tell you that "more cores means its faster", right? WRONG. Big manufactures like ARM are now coming out and congratulating Sony and Nokia for not blindly going down the quadcore route. Mainly because Android and 99% of apps aren't optimized for quadcore phones. People are being fooled in to  paying an extra £150 for a phone for a state of the art processor, like it is going to give you a much better performance. When a lot of benchmark tests are showing that the Xperia T's brand new S4 processor is actually keeping up (and in come cases beating it). 

So there you are. If you want a sleek, stylish phone which handles well in your hand. Takes the best photos out of any Android phone and has the most down to earth screen other than the Retina display, yet at the same times comes with numerous bits of useful software, NFC and a processor which keeps up with the big boys but doenst cost you half a grand then this is the phone for you. Remember a lot of the features on here such as the Playstation store and NFC aren't available for the Iphone yet so it also makes it cutting edge and good to show off.