Sony Xperia M rocks up as fully-featured budget blower

Sony Xperia M rocks up as fully-featured budget blowe
Definitely one to keep an eye on

There's a new smartphone in the Japanese firm's stable and it's arrived in the form of the Sony Xperia M.

We've already seen Sony launch the Xperia SP, Xperia L and flagship Xperia Z this year and the triplets have now become quads with the new baby of the range.

Sony is keen to point out the Xpera M arrives at "a new price point" for the firm, although it fails to tell us what that price will actually be. What we do know is it will be available worldwide from Q3 this year.

Spec-tacular?

The Sony Xperia M isn't going to cost you the earth, although don't think that means it skimps on specs with a 4-inch 854 x 480 display, 1GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and 5MP rear camera with HDR mode.

Sony Xperia M

It's not all good news however, with the puny 4GB of internal storage actually only giving you 2GB of available space - although there is a microSD slot - and the VGA front facing snapper isn't going to give you the best mug shots.

A common theme with Sony handsets of late are their vast array of connectivity options and the Xperia M is no different boasting Wi-Fi, aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA and a microUSB slot, plus there's the choice of single and dual-SIM variants.

Sony Xperia M

Strong on paper

There's a 1750mAh battery housed in the 124 x 62 x 9.3 mm chassis, which comes in black, white, purple and yellow hues, and at 115g the Xperia M shouldn't be overly cumbersome.

So on paper at least, the Sony Xperia M is shaping up to be a decent contender at the bottom end of the market, but without knowing the price or having used the handset we'll reserve judgement for now.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.