Can Sony‘s budget Xperia models compete with the Motorola Moto G and Moto E?

The Motorola Moto G, which launched last year, was a game-changing phone. A blend of great features, up-to-date Android build and low price point saw the phone sell in the bucketloads. The phone offered great value and could easily compete with phones for twice the price.

The Motorola Moto G is still one of the most compelling purchases at the budget end and can be bought in the UK around the £100 price point. However, recently Motorola announced two new phones the Moto E, which sits below the Moto G, and the Moto G 4G (adding LTE and a microSD slot). For those wondering how the specs of these handsets compare with Sony’s budget offering we’ve created the table below.

We’ve included the latest UK price points, which is obviously a key consideration when choosing between them. When looking at the Xperia E1, it’s a difficult sell when compared to the Moto E, let alone the Moto G, especially considering a paltry 512MB of RAM. Compared to the Moto E, the Xperia E1 comes off worse when it comes to display, RAM, camera and battery.

The Xperia M2 versus the Moto G 4G is a slightly different story, although ultimately the Moto still wins in our view considering the price points. The Xperia M2 is more expensive, which can be justified with the better design, camera (8MP vs 5MP), inclusion of NFC and battery (2300mAh vs 2070 mAh).

However, the Moto G 4G has a higher resolution display (4.5” 720p vs 4.8” qHD), is armed with KitKat out of the box and comes with the same chipset and RAM as the Xperia M2 despite being cheaper.

It shows just how much Motorola has disrupted the market and that Sony will need to offer much better value for money if it wants to seriously compete on the budget end. Would you choose any of the Sony models over the Moto G and Moto E? If so what are your reasons? Would you like to see a Moto G-killer from Sony? If so what specs and price point would you like to see? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.

Sony’s budget Xperia models versus Motorola Moto G and Moto E

Phone	Moto G 4G	Moto G	Moto E	Xperia M2	Xperia E1	Xperia SP	Xperia L	Xperia M	Xperia E
Display size (inches)	4.5	4.5	4.3	4.8	4	4.55	4.3	4	3.5
Screen Resolution	720 x 1280	720 x 1280	540 x 960	540 x 960	480 x 800	720 x 1280	480 x 854	480 x 854	320 x 480
PPI	329	329	256	229	233	319	228	244	165
Water Resistant	Water repellent coating	Water repellent coating	Water-resistant splash guard	No	No	No	No	No	No
Notification light	Yes (one colour)	Yes (one colour)	Yes (one colour)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Price (£) - May 2014	£149	£100 (8GB), £138 (16GB)	£79	£220	£109	£190	£149	£125	£75

Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8X26	Qualcomm MSM8X26	Qualcomm MSM8210	Qualcomm MSM8X26	Qualcomm MSM8210	Qualcomm MSM8960T	Qualcomm MSM8230	Qualcomm MSM8227	Qualcomm MSM7227A
Processor	1.2GHz Quad-core	1.2GHz Quad-core	1.2GHz Dual-core	1.2GHz Quad-core	1.2GHz Dual-core	1.7 GHz Dual-core	1 GHz Dual-core	1.0 GHz Dual-core	1 GHz Single-core
GPU	Adreno 305	Adreno 305	Adreno 302	Adreno 305	Adreno 302	Adreno 320	Adreno 305	Adreno 305	Adreno 200 (enhanced)
RAM	1GB	1GB	1GB	1GB	512MB	1GB	1GB	1GB	512 MB
Android version	KitKat (4.4.2)	KitKat (4.4.2)	KitKat (4.4.2)	Jelly Bean (4.3)	Jelly Bean (4.3)	4.1.2	4.1.2	4.1.2	4.1.2
Storage	8GB	8GB / 16GB	4GB	8GB	4GB	8GB	8GB	4GB	4GB
Expandable storage	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
LTE	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No

Size (mm)	129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6	129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6	124.8 x 64.8 x 12.3	139.65 x 71.14 x 8.64	118 x 62.4 x 12	130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98	128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm	124 x 62 x 9.3	113.5 x 61.8 x 11.0
Weight (g)	143	143	142	148	120	155	137	115	115.7
SIM	micro SIM	micro SIM	micro SIM	Normal SIM	Normal SIM	micro SIM	Normal SIM	Normal SIM	Normal SIM
Colours	Interchangeable back covers	Interchangeable back covers	Interchangeable back covers	Black, Purple, White	Black, Purple, White	Black, Red, White Silver	Black, Red, White	Black, Purple, White, Yellow	Black, Pink, White, Gold

Rear Camera sensor	5MP	5MP	5MP	8MP	3MP	8MP Exmor RS	8MP Exmor RS	5MP	3.2MP
LED Flash	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HDR	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo only)	Yes (photo/video)	Yes (photo only)	No
Video Recording	720p 30fps	720p 30fps	FWVGA 30fps	1080p	WVGA	1080p Full HD	720p HD	720p HD	VGA
Front camera sensor	1.3MP	1.3MP	No	VGA	No	VGA	VGA	VGA	No
Dedicated camera button	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Wi-Fi	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n	802.11a/b/g/n [2.4 GHz/5 GHz]	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 2.1
Location	GPS, GLONASS	GPS, GLONASS	GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, GLONASS	GPS, GLONASS	GPS, GLONASS	GPS	GPS	GPS

Battery capacity (min)	2070 mAh	2070 mAh	1980 mAh	2300 mAh	1750 mAH	2300 mAh	1700 mAh	1700 mAh	1500 mAh
Sealed Battery	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
MHL/Miracast	No	No	No	No	No	MHL	No	No	No
NFC	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
PlayStation Certified	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Accelerometer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Proximity sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Magnetometer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Gyroscope	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No