Sony Xperia TX review

When British super-spy James Bond wants a smartphone, he wanders straight down the hall to Q's office and demands the latest device from Sony. For the latest Bond flick, Skyfall, the handset he received was this one, the Xperia TX.

Sure, the reality of the situation has a lot more to do with Sony bankrolling the film than 007's personal choice, but the end result is the same.

The Xperia TX is a stunning handset, combining bits and pieces from previous Xperia attempts and resulting in an attractive device.

The curved Arc shape returns from previous Xperia handsets like the Xperia S, while Sony has brought in the big guns with a 4.6-inch screen packing a 1280x720 resolution.

8.6mm thick at its thinnest point and weighing just 127 grams, the phone is both sturdy and lightweight. The plastic backing isn't as slippery as something like the Samsung Galaxy S3, but neither is it as striking as the Nokia Lumia 920.

The phone is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, backed up with 1GB of RAM, yet only manages to run the Ice Cream Sandwich release of Android, although Sony has promised an update to Jelly Bean by March 2013.

16GB of internal storage is paired up with a MicroSD card slot for an additional 32GB, which is conveniently located next to the replaceable 1700mAh battery.

While the 4.6-inch screen is the most striking aspect of the front, the back is highlighted by the phone's 13-megapixel camera, located smack in the middle of the top of the device.

Just below the camera is an LED flash, and a logo to let you know that this phone has NFC built-in.

Back on the front, a small 1.3-megapixel camera is capable of 720p recording for video conferencing. Well, at least in theory, but don't fool yourself into thinking it records high definition.

The sides of the phone are relatively simple. The power button rests at the top on the left hand side, while a camera shutter button lies in the exact same place on the bottom of the right side.

The volume rocker and Micro USB connector are also found on the right side, while the top houses the 3.5mm headphone jack.

It's easy to see why a silver screen hero like James Bond would fancy a shiny gadget like the Xperia TX. But Sony has a history of creating stunning hardware that's let down by software. So does the Xperia TX still stack up?