Sony Xperia SP Unboxing and Initial Hands-on: Very Promising Smartphone

Sony Xperia SP Unboxing and Initial Hands-on: Very Promising Smartphone

Sony Xperia SP
Sony Xperia SP

Finally… the Sony Xperia SP!

After what seemed like forever, we finally good our hands on the budget-friendly LTE-powered Sony Xperia SP. Selling for just Php14,380 at Kimstore, the Sony Xperia SP offers outstanding value for money as it delivers good performance and full connectivity options. It also has promising battery life but we’ll reserve our official comment on that one after we’ve done the full review. For now we’d like to share with everyone our unboxing and initial hands-on.

As usual before we get to the good stuff here’s a refresher on the specifications of this bad boy.

Sony Mobile Xperia SP Spec Sheet

  • 1.7GHz Dual-core CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 Chip Set
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB Internal Storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
  • 4.6-inch scratch resistant TFT touchscreen, 1280×720 pixels
  • 8.0-megapixel camera with auto focus, Exmor RS, 16x Digital Zoom
  • Pulsed LED Flash
  • VGA front-facing camera
  • WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS with AGPS Support GLONASS, NFC
  • 3G, HSPA+, LTE (to be confirmed)
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 2,370mAh Battery

Unboxing

Really nice box for the SP. Opening is at the back, you flip it open and it reveals the device in plastic as well as several other compartments for accessories
Really nice box for the SP. Opening is at the back, you flip it open and it reveals the device in plastic as well as several other compartments for accessories

The Sony Xperia SP comes in a rather peculiar square-ish box. To open we removed the tape at the back and pulled the top lid open. As expected the handset immediately greeted us wrapped in plastic.

Officially unboxed!
Officially unboxed!

The rest of the peripherals and accessories are neatly tucked away in the different compartments of the box. We scoured what we could and found just the usual suspects: USB to micro USB cable, earphones, manuals, certificates, and the three-pronged wall charger.

Usual stuff inside the box. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Usual stuff inside the box. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Hardware: Whoa. It’s actually one of the best looking Xperia smartphones

Now we get to the hardware. Initially I thought that the Xperia SP would be a cheap Sony Xperia Z. Boy was I wrong. The Sony Xperia XP does still use plastic predominantly for it’s chassis however Sony coated it with some sort of brushed metal finish which just looks and feels fantastic. I actually thought it had an aluminum body until I took out the back plate and realized it was actually plastic. Sony definitely earns a lot of “pogi points” for their design and treatment of the Xperia SP.

It looks stunning
It looks stunning

An added bonus also is the LED strip at the bottom. You can actually customize the colors and when it will flash in the settings of the device. Makes for more personalization and that’s always a good thing.

The Sony Xperia SP is not the thinnest smartphone in the block. However, it is still quite comfortable to hold and easy to use with even just one hand. It has the right amount of heft, the kinda that can assure you that it is solidly built and not cheap or as if it’s made from cardboard.

Not the thinnest but it's actually just right.
Not the thinnest but it’s actually just right.

The display is also quite decent! The 4.6-inch screen has an HD resolution for 1280×720. Pixels aren’t really that distinguishable anymore at that level unless you look really hard or you’ve been spoiled by Apple’s Retina Display or the 400+ppi of the Android flagships.

Not bad looking at all
Not bad looking at all

All the usual ports and buttons are on the sides, including the silver metallic power lock button which is starting to become very iconic for Sony. Personally I’m loving it but I’m not so sure if everyone does, hehe.

Full Review Next Week

Expect our full review of the Sony Xperia SP by the middle of next week. We’ll be using this as our primary smartphone for the next few days first so we can get a better feel for it as well as check how good the optics and battery life are in real world scenarios.

If you want more, please do check out the official Sony Xperia SP promotional video which we’ve posted below for your viewing pleasure.

Sony Xperia SP Official Promotional Video

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