Sony Xperia SL Review
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The loudspeaker is very strong, as we mentioned, meaning that it will be unlikely you’ll miss a call. As long as the sound is turned on.
Battery:
Another feature in the Sony Xperia SL is the improved lithium-polymer technology that allows the device to charge in half the time of a regular battery, but only with the EP851 adapter (sold separately), whereas the retail box has the regular EP800 one.
Sony says that just 10 minutes of charging time will juice the Xperia S enough for an hour of talk time, and 30 minutes will get you up to 80% charge. After the 80% threshold is reached, the phone starts charging normally to 100%, in order to preserve the battery.
The 1750 mAh unit is rated for the very good 8 hours and 15 minutes talk time and 33 hours of music playback. 17 days of standby is also good, yet if the screen is on a lot, the phone drains the battery like a typical Android high-end for a day, day and a half, depending how you stress it. Video playback time has been improved compared to the Xperia S, though, squeezing half an hour more out of the SL, for 6 hours and 30 minutes rated playback time.
Conclusion:
With the Xperia SL, Sony introduces only marginal improvements over the Xperia S, like a slightly faster processor and new color schemes. It is shipping with Android ICS out of the box, which the Xperia S also received, though, and both now support DivX/Xvid video playback.
The pricing in the US hovers around the $450 mark and below, whereas the Xperia S can be found for around $400, so the only thing you might want the Xperia SL over the S, save for the 0.2GHz faster processor, would be the color choices – that pink one is a chick magnet. We kid, but for this pricing the Xperia SL is a very good Android phone with fast processor, HD screen and zippy, high-res camera that shoots nice pictures and video.
In that sub-$450 price range you can't find many phones with the Xperia SL specs, so Sony is doing the right thing to attract customer attention towards what would otherwise be considered a lame upgrade.
The Galaxy Nexus is a formidable opponent, with its $350 price tag, dual-core processor, HD screen, and rapid Android updates. You can also look at the Xperia P, which has a smaller screen, but a very bright display, though with some color gamut issues. The Samsung Galaxy S II is also a good option, but it doesn't have an HD screen. The HTC One S costs about the same as the XL, with a faster processor, slimmer and lighter, but it doesn't sport a high-res screen either, and has less internal memory with no expansion slot.
Software version of the reviewed unit: 6.1.A.1.2.45
Sony Xperia SL Video Review:
Pros
- 32GB memory makes the phone good value for money
- Fast camera with good photo and video quality
- HD display with very high pixel density
- Distinctive design with a transparent illuminated strip
- Good call quality
Cons
- The capacitive button dots are hard to spot and not responsive
- Chubby for a 4.3-incher
- Screen's horizontal viewing angles could be better
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34 Comments
1. wendygarett (limited) 5 days ago posted on 03 Oct 2012, 07:16 15 0
Lets make this phones to James bond's girl :p
2. shandesilva posted on 03 Oct 2012, 07:33 16 5
surely this deserves more than 7!!....PA has been bought by apple or what?? this is ridiculous...so much for a fair review.
6. eisenbricher posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:04 6 7
I think they got lost in the alphabet jungle of Sony.. t,j,s,sl,tx,p,u,v ~
10. sats.mine2k4 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:51 0 15
Actually no 7 is perhaps right
SL pros
1. The best display in the market.
2. A very good camera.
3. Beautiful design.
4. Andorid ICS
Cons
1. 18 month old processor which when combined with Sony's custom UI makes for a horrible experience. You will need to root and install an AOSP build to bring it to usable.
2. Made of plastic... so build quality is not great.
3. Non-replaceable battery + no sd card slot...
26. spikie posted on 01 Dec 2012, 02:31 0 0
don't iphones have Non-replaceable battery + no sd card slot...
11. jan25 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:54 0 10
4.3, S3 chipset, abysmal viewing angles and still on ICS. 7 is about right. i don't know why would someone not consider the G Nexus or the HTC One S over this.
18. XPERIA-KNIGHT posted on 03 Oct 2012, 13:21 2 3
i dont know about the garbage nexus but maybe the one s for sure lolz
21. jan25 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 15:44 1 0
garbage Nexus? how deluded are you.
22. ilriz08 posted on 05 Oct 2012, 00:04 1 0
dude the only reason the nexus is more powerful in performance than the SL is because it offers updates straight from google. but the nexus has only 1 Ghz single-core processor
23. ilriz08 posted on 05 Oct 2012, 00:06 1 0
oops sorry wrong info it's dual 1.2 ghz as for sl's dual 1.7
3. brock8687 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 07:46 15 1
deserves a better rating thats for sure.... for what I have experienced, Sony phones are one of the most stable androids out there...... pity their marketing division sucks....
19. XPERIA-KNIGHT posted on 03 Oct 2012, 13:25 1 0
7.5 - 8 at the most i can understand this coming from PA....... i guess knowing that they are usually wayy off its "ok"...............long as they dont try and give the TX and V something like this im good
5. ryq24 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 07:55 1 8
another sony phone failing to pass the 4 stars mark.
7. camohan posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:09 6 0
"In that sub-$450 price range you can't find many phones with the Xperia SL specs, so Sony is doing the right thing to attract customer attention towards what would otherwise be considered a lame upgrade." Than too just 7....not done!!!
20. XPERIA-KNIGHT posted on 03 Oct 2012, 13:28 2 0
dude i love sony but with 450 dollars you can get a One X, One S, an Evo 4g lte or if you're a tablet guy then you can get two nexuses with that kind of money............on ebay
8. kanagadeepan posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:16 2 0
Let us hope the upcoming Nexus from SONY will get more than four stars (out of five)... SONY please bring an android phone with Xenon flash... There is very less competition for great camera phones in whole of the Android world...
9. oktopod3 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:24 2 0
i like the XS very much, but this pink one makes me wanna puke.
12. ruchi posted on 03 Oct 2012, 08:54 2 0
It is so much better than even galaxy s2. The display quality is amazing. It has 720p screen resolution. It's CPU is also faster than samsung galaxy s2. See the main three points here:
http://www.smartprix.com/mobiles/sony_xperia_sl_vs_samsung_g alaxy_s2_i9100_s_ii-c2203_167.php
13. joaolx posted on 03 Oct 2012, 09:14 5 0
Those negatives points make this phone a 7? What the hell?
17. Zenith_95 posted on 03 Oct 2012, 10:17 3 1
Absolutely Agreed, and his Accent seriously P*ssed me off, seriously please, Change a reviewer like John V or someone else
15. Nathan_ingx posted on 03 Oct 2012, 09:38 0 0
Why is Sony making all it's Xperia phones look so much alike?
People are going to have a hard time figuring out which is which! Agree that it's a beautiful line, but still it don't feel so right.
16. rusticguy posted on 03 Oct 2012, 09:59 7 1
Do these "star" ratings really matter when the "bias" is so evident ?
25. jenna_23 posted on 11 Oct 2012, 18:06 0 0
I just ordered mine black of course no pink for this girl lol ;)
28. umarfarooqkhan posted on 16 Feb 2013, 16:55 0 0
Just bought SL and I MUST SAY .... AWESOME CELL PHONE.
PROS
1. Outstandingly attractive , I hear ppl saying check out the cell it so expensive you know
2. Super camera , but you need to know how to use the features apart from selecting the AUTO scene , if you can set your own req by changing the snap feature it can give you more then excellent results.
3. SOLID body
4. 32 GB is more then ENOUGH , so stop winning if it does not have an external SD card, i mean who needs more then THAT..lol
5. Great hands free which lots of Manufacturers like SAMSUNG Iphone SUCK at , come one you buy a 4-5 grand cell phone and you get those lame ass hands free ??
6. HD dsiplay
7. Perfect Video recording
8. Super Fast
Conns
1. Viewing angle is not that great
2. Battery not that good
One thing I love after buying a Sony is not everyone has it so you stand out in the crowd with your device and make other jealous, I dont know why ppl dont like the invisible strip, to me that was the main reason for buying SL, it makes it very Unique.
30. Blacklisted (unregistered) posted on 22 Feb 2013, 10:45 0 0
hey :) can you answer my question ....can we change the color of the led lights in the transparent bars like the other xperia S , U
32. umarfarooqkhan posted on 28 Feb 2013, 18:48 0 0
Nopes I dont believe it can, Maybe if you install a custom ROM then it would be possible
29. Blacklisted (unregistered) posted on 22 Feb 2013, 10:41 0 0
can we change the color of the led lights in the transparent bars like the other xperia S , U
31. Andrew26 posted on 26 Feb 2013, 06:02 0 0
what phone is bettr lg optimus 4x hd or sony xperia sl? and why?
33. rmarchon09 posted on 29 Mar 2013, 03:01 0 0
I am confused about which phone to buy,the xperia U or SL. I also wanted to know does the xperia SL have the illuminating lighting elements like the xperia U? Please reply soon.
34. seopenkey posted on 17 May 2013, 04:15 0 0
Sony Xperia SL is awesome phone. I am using this phone. The 3 thaings I love about this phone is it's display, processor and camera quality. This phone has a superb dispaly of 720 x 1280 px. It's processor is dual core of 1.7 GHz along with 1GB RAM. There are dual camera facility in this phone. Rear camera is of 12 MP Pixels Camera (4000x3000 Pixels) with Auto Focus and LED Flash and there is anothor camera in front of 1.3 MP.
I bought this phone at Rs. 23,000, but now this is available at Rs. 20,000 only at 91mobiles.com.
