Sony Xperia T Pro Reviews

Overall, Sony's Xperia T is an attractive phone with great camera and a beautiful screen, but it lacks Jelly Bean and, in the hand, it seems not so much the 007 of the smartphone market, more a 005½.

The Xperia T is a deceptive phone, with a design that looks and feels narrower than it actually is. Despite that huge display, it falls within the same dimensions as smaller-screened smartphones, with Sony shedding at least some of those exaggerated borders. It lands favorably with Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, something that was notably missing when the Xperia S landed. But, with a software update now readily available on that older phone (we refreshed the older phone with the latest software to compare in this review) it's difficult to pin any major improvements or innovations that the Xperia T brings to phone buyers.

The Sony Xperia T is by all means an impressive phone. The dual-core Krait does a great job of competing with many other flagships not only on its home turf, but in the quad-core arena as well. Add to that a display that pushes out an impressive amount of pixels without issue, and a streamlined Android ICS interface that introduces some nifty features and optimizations not offered by other OEMs, you have a package that is very well put together. However, when it comes to looking at a complete package - particularly one involving a flagship - it's important to take the price tag into account. At the time of release, many manufacturers promote their flagship as their technological pinnacle and tend to hike the price up accordingly, so it's important to see just how much bang you're getting for your buck. Currently, the Xperia T can be found for €550 in most markets, which is rather steep, especially considering that certain quad-core smartphones can be had for less.

The Sony Xperia T is a solid effort from Sony – it has a decent screen and camera but lacks the excitement we expected from a 'Bond Phone'. Our sample didn’t even include the Bond wallpaper used in the phone’s marketing. In short the handset doesn't seem very alluring when compared with its competition. We’re not saying the Skyfall’s awful and it is cheaper than other brands’ flagship phones. But for sheer value the Nexus 4 now out-does the lot at £239.

There's a lot that the Sony Xperia T does right. The display is impressive and once you get used to bumping the brightness back and forth, you'll appreciate the sharp details it produces and the nice balance of colours. There are plenty of nice touches in the customisation that Sony bring to the Xperia T too, like the small apps and the quick pinch reorganisation of albums. But there are still some areas where we feel Sony could tighten up: make the music and video apps more integrated, for example. But our biggest gripe about the Xperia T is the design. It just doesn't feel as slick in the hand as rivals. It's fatter than the HTC One X or the Samsung Galaxy S III, it nods to the Xperia Arc, but fails to embrace that wonderful waistline. If it's going to be fat, it should at least carry a higher-capacity battery. And we can't help thinking, even after plenty of time with the T, that the buttons are in the wrong places.

A powerful smartphone with lots to like, but at current prices it can't quite go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S3

The Sony Xperia T doesn’t offer groundbreaking features compared to the other flagships out there, but it is a pretty compelling package nonetheless. The sturdy arched design will appeal to many, and the 13MP camera will let you capture those impromptu moments on the fly because of the dedicated shutter key. There are no major gripes with the handset either – it is zippy, with expandable storage and easy to access card slots. The only minor issues are with the screen - its coating reflects too much light outside, which tampers with the view under direct sunlight, and the viewing angles are weak. Our biggest expectations were towards the 13MP sensor, but it doesn’t offer much better capture than its predecessor, and the pictures and video quality is about what we find in the other high-end phones of today. Those flagships in about the same price range are the Xperia T’s main competition, too – the Samsung Galaxy S III sports a larger 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display, which is superior to what we find on the Xperia T, and is also thinner and lighter. The HTC One X has a larger screen too, but its unibody design omits a microSD slot. The LG Optimus 4X HD has a brilliant screen, too, and is as compact as the T, but the camera fares worse. Sony’s phone, however, won’t have much to show against the upcoming Optimus G, which is more powerful, built with premium materials, and also has a 13MP camera like the T.