Sony Xperia M Reviews

Sony's smartphone division has been experiencing a resurgence of late, led by the Xperia Z and Z1 Android devices. Despite a similar look, however, this success hasn't rubbed off on the low-end Xperia M.

Pick it up and the immediate impression is one of low quality: the rear doesn't fit tightly onto the body of the phone, so it moves when twisted, and the volume and camera buttons feel insubstantial. It's light and pocketable, thanks to its 4in display, but this isn't a phone anyone would lust after.

The display isn't a feast for the eyes, either. It's bright enough to be readable in most conditions, but a low contrast ratio of 653:1 gives images a flat, washed-out look. Meanwhile, there are few features of note, with no 4G support, only single-band Wi-Fi, 4GB of storage (although there is a microSD slot for expansion) and no luxury extras such water resistance.

In testing, the Xperia continued to disappoint. Its camera produced images and video of consistently low quality. Photos were underexposed, over-compressed and full of horrid chroma noise.

Performance was better. The Xperia feels generally responsive and did reasonable well in benchmarks, with a score of 12fps in the GFXBench T-Rex HD gaming test. You'll be able to play most games on this phone without a hitch; only the most demanding – such as Asphalt 8: Airborne at top detail levels – will prove beyond it.

The battery drained at rates of 21% per hour for gaming and 720p video playback and 8.4% per hour for audio streaming over 3G, for an average of 17% per hour. It's a middling result.

This can't rescue what is a disappointing handset from Sony. It looks and feels cheap, the display is underwhelming, and the camera is awful. It's a good performer for the price, but that's its only redeeming feature.