Why the Sony Xperia V is the real new flagship

Sony Mobile has touted the Xperia T (LT30p) as the new flagship of its Xperia range. However, if we take its 4.6-inch display size out of the equation, then a strong case can be made that instead the 4.3-inch Sony Xperia V is the real flagship. It carries many of the same features including the chipset (the MSM8960 versus the MSM8260A in the Xperia T are virtually the same), 1GB RAM, 13MP camera, NFC, MHL and PlayStation Certification.

The Sony Xperia V loses out to the Xperia T in terms of storage (8GB of flash storage versus 16GB for the Xperia T), it also has a VGA front camera versus the 1.3MP front camera on the Xperia T. The Xperia V also does not have a dedicated camera shutter key which is a shame and a lower capacity battery. However, the Xperia V improves in a number of areas. It is after all a water and dust resistant device. It also has a higher pixel density display than that seen on the Xperia T.

The real kicker is that there are at least five features that the Xperia V has that is not present in any other Xperia (including the Xperia T/TX):

1) Bluetooth 4.0 (the Xperia T has Bluetooth 3.1).

2) Mobile BRAVIA Engine2: An evolution of Mobile BRAVIA Engine delivering an ever better viewing experience by adding a new real-time contrast optimisation and improving sharpness enhancement on top of high quality colour management and noise reduction.

3) ClearAudio+ mode: Developed with Sony’s own signal processing technologies, allows users to effortlessly enjoy audio quality that may have been stripped away by music compression. ClearAudio+ mode incorporates a variety of Sony’s sound technologies, but with one simple operation, users can easily enjoy Sony recommended sound in ultimate clarity and presence, across the entire spectrum of sound.

4) HDR (High Dynamic Range): The camera quickly captures the image twice with different exposure levels and layers it together to create one optimised photo. HDR is automatically activated when Superior Auto detects scenes with strong backlight.

5) Superior Auto: Technology used in Sony Cyber-shot Digital Cameras that intelligently detects scenes (up to nine scenes), sets most optimal settings for still image, and applies best image processing including layered technology (up to four photos), making it easy to get the best shot even in a dark or backlight scene.

After reading all of this, which phone sounds like the flagship to you? Sony has clearly featured most of its new technology exclusively into the Xperia V, so for us, we see it as the real flagship despite what Sony says.

Tagged as: Bravia Engine, Xperia T, Xperia TX, Xperia V