Sony Xperia P

“In a not-so-far-fetched scenario, the Sony Xperia P struggles to emerge from the shadow of the Xperia S flagship and sees its sales eaten into by its own more affordable siblings, the Xperia U and sola. Many phones in a similar position would find it hard to rise to the challenge. Not the Sony Xperia P. This metal-clad warrior wants to be the maker of its own future.But even if we look past the stylish aluminum unibody, the Xperia P still has a lot going for it.One is a good camera that can stand its own against pricier devices and will satisfy most people's need for still imaging and video capture. The screen is pretty good too - the colors get blown out if the brightness is set too high, but even at reduced brightness the sunlight legibility is good and so are the viewing angles.The performance and equipment are up to scratch too. With a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and Mali-400 GPU, there's enough processing power for practically everything. We especially liked the microHDMI and USB OTG combo - you can hook up the phone to a TV (or monitor) and connect a mouse and keyboard plus some storage and use it as a media player or even a PC replacement.The NFC connectivity doesn't do much for now except the clever automation enabled with Smart Tags. But as it becomes more widespread, you'd be able to share data between phones easily, NFC payment systems from PayPal and others are growing in popularity and there are there's potential for the odd practical joke too.So, here's the deal. The Sony Xperia P is an excellent package, and one of few to offer this much in its price range. But you might want to hold off until Sony finally release the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update (it's expected in Q3), when its price will have settled to a lower level and the bang for the buck ratio will have gone sky-high.But even right now the Xperia P is a solid alternative to the likes of the plastic Galaxy S II and the pricy One S. This could prove one of the strong sellers for Sony, and one that will age well.”

“The Sony Xperia P is only an inch away from being the ultimate mid-range Android smartphone – packed with cool features, yet relatively inexpensive considering what you're getting in exchange. And what you get is a great camera, pretty interface, snappy dual-core processor, and one of the brightest smartphone displays to date, all encased inside of a solid aluminum package.The only things that drag the smartphone down are its imperfect color representation and the aging Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Sure, a promised software update will take care of the latter, yet the former is something we will have to settle down with.If you are determined on getting the Sony Xperia P anyway, chances are that your needs will be fulfilled, but we would advise you to check out a few alternatives first. For example, if you are more into AMOLED displays, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance is worth considering as it is another great Android mid-ranger that should bear a more affordable price tag. The HTC Sensation may be over a year old, but it does not lag behind in terms of specs and comes at an identical price point.”

“The Xperia P is not a record-setting handset, though it’s WhiteMagic screen is certainly a winner in my book. The design is clean and the hardware is fast enough to satisfy most users. Assuming the update to Android 4.0 comes through for everyone with the P (some users have gotten it already), it could be a good option for those looking for a smaller handset. Phones keep getting larger and larger. It’s good to see a solid phone in a smaller size.”

“The Xperia P is a more user-friendly sized, better designed and more attractively priced version of the Xperia S. Although the specifications aren't astounding and the software is yet to be brought into 2012, we like the device. Highlights are the decent screen and excellent camera but if you have a bit more cash to spend, the HTC One S is a better option.”