First launched in 2008 like a range of smartphones by Sony Ericsson, Xperia handsets were likely to give the company a foothold in what was quickly becoming a hugely competitive market. However while handset designs have looked great, poor marketing, strong competition and being late to adopt Android means Sonys dent available on the market has been minimal. Which is what makes the new range of Xperia phones a much more interesting, and crucial, launch.

Launched during the industrys flagship event, Mobile World Congress (MWC), in February, the Xperia NXT number of phones includes the Xperia S, Xperia P and Xperia U, all targeted at different ends of the market. Newly rebranded Sony Mobile, following Sonys purchase of Ericssons 50% stake, there is a renewed expectation this and a new selection of Xperia handsets will catapult the company into the major leagues of smartphone manufacturers.

I cant help but draw similarities between the fortunes of Sony Mobile and HTC. Both companies experienced a tough 2011, with HTC experiencing a 26% fall in profits during quarter four and Sony ericsson smartphone announcing losses of ?206 million for that year in full. Neither manufacturer produced handsets of any note and fell behind as both Apple and Samsungs fortunes surged. 2012 is clearly a make-or-break year for companies and both popularized MWC with the same strategy: to launch a series of three new phones directed at different areas of the market. Read about the HTC One Series here.

While HTC has given each person in its One Series another look, Sony has had the bold step of giving each handset an identical design, differentiated only through the colour from the bottom band; black for that S, silver for the P and pink for that U. Despite sharing an identical design on the outside, there are subtle differences between your three handsets, so lets have a look under the hood.

Sony Xperia S

The Xperia range is really a led off by the top of the range Xperia S, that is an HD smartphone sporting a 4.3-inch LED-backlist LCD display and 1280x720p resolution. This is a full 0.3″ larger than the Xperia P and 0.8″ bigger than the Xperia U. The Sony Mobile Xperia S ships with a generous 32GB of internal storage but instead disappointingly, Androids 2.3 Gingerbread operating-system, although there are plans for it to upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich and 4.0. Its 1.5 GHz dual-core processor spec only matches HTCs One S, so it has positioned because the mid-range handset in the new series.

Camera-wise, the telephone is in the premier league, with a 12MP, 4000×3000 pixels resolution and LED flash. Similar to the HTCs One X, its geo-tagging with face and smile detection but also features 3D sweep panorama and image stabilisation – its front-facing camera is the standard 1.3MP.

Despite being at the top-end from the range, some rather competitive Sony Xperia S deals can be purchased with a free Xperia S handset and 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 750MB of data on T-Mobile for ?17 per month over 2 yrs. Compared to HTCs flagship One X, this can be a very competitive price.

Sony Xperia P

The Sony Xperia P is your mid-range handset in the series and comes equipped with a suite of goodies to fit. Expected to be launched in the UK in April, again it will ship with Androids 2.3 Gingerbread on board powered with a dual-core 1GHz processor, however, there are intends to upgrade this to Ice Cream Sandwich.

The camera is smaller compared to Xperia S at 8MP, but is perfectly adequate for a smartphone, matching both iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II. Additionally, it has all the extra camera features that youll find on the S, so these actually push the telephone into the major leagues.

Sony Xperia U

Sony Mobile has positioned the Xperia U since its entry-level handset and it is an affordable and well-appointed handset. Available in black and white cases with changeable bottom caps in white, black, pink and yellow, this is Sony Mobiles fun and funky handset in the new range.

The phone is currently shipping with Androids 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, although there are intends to upgrade to Frozen treats Sandwich. Having a 1 GHz dual-core processor, this is actually the baby of the bunch from the performance point of view.

The primary camera is stripped down 5MP with 2592x1944p resolution, though comes with the bells and whistles youll get on the S, with an LED flash, face and smile detection, geo-tagging, touch focus, 3D panorama sweep and image stabilisation.

With Sony being noted for its quality of sound, you would expect strong audio technology using the Xperia range and it doesnt disappoint with 3D surround as standard.

Coming in at the bottom end of the market, you can get some fantastic Sony Xperia U deals with Mobilesplease, with a free handset and ?295 cashback on a 24 month contract being offered by Into Mobilephones currently.

Its worth noting at this time that while the Sony Xperia S is available to buy in the UK, the Xperia U and Xperia P are slated for release in April 2012.

Learn how to Compare Mobile Phones or find HTC One X Deals by visiting our website: www.mobilesplease.co.uk

Author: Ombl4dom

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