Sony announces cheaper Xperia M for Aussie shores

While the premium Sony Xperia Z1 and Xperia Ultra is slowly making its appearance in Australia, Sony has announced that the cheaper Xperia M is now available for just $249.

Interestingly, Vodafone Australia will also have it available for prepaid customers from today for an even cheaper $199.

Sony is pointing to the price in particular, stating that adding the cheaper model to its Xperia range gives users "unique Sony experiences at new price point".

Though it is more than $500 cheaper than its Z-branded counterparts, it also sits below the $499 Xperia SP, but still isn't as cheap as the recently announced LG L2 2.

Sony specs

This low-to-mid point means however that the Xperia M doesn't skimp out on too many specs.

It sports a 4-inch 854 x 480 display, 1GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a reasonable 1750mAh battery and a 5MP rear camera with HDR mode.

Sony is touting the handsets many connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA and a micro USB slot.

But you do however only get 2GB of internal memory, though that can be pushed up through the microSD slot. It also only has a VGA front facing camera, which will disappoint many.

Though there will be yellow and purple options added later, it will only be available in black and white at first.

• Check out our review of the new Xperia Z1!