Sony's $199 Xperia L1 goes on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo

Sony has a new smartphone up for grabs in America – the Xperia L1. It's a budget device with a $199 price tag that's sold completely unlocked at Amazon and B&H Photo. The phone is compatible with GSM carriers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and Cricket Wireless.

Unfortunately, the handset doesn't strike us as particularly impressive for the price. It has a 5-inch 720p-resolution display and it's powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. These features aren't bad, but you can grab a Nexus 5X or look around for other sub-$199 phones, including older flagship devices. So Sony isn't being aggressive at all with the pricing.

In addition, the Xperia L1 offers a 13MP main camera, a 5MP front cam, a 2620mAh battery, USB-C connectivity, and runs Android Nougat. Not bad at all, but there's nothing mind-blowing, either. A fingerprint scanner or water resistance would have made the L1 significantly more compelling.