The Sony Xperia M was recently launched and we did a review (check Sony Xperia M Review) to see how good it was, and for us it was quite a decent phone but when you are comparing it with a few competitors for a final decision, it’s not easy when several features are nearly the same and the pricing too is competitive. Below we compare the three smartphones – Sony Xperia M, Samsung Galaxy Core and the Sony Xperia L, where the third one is priced a bit higher than the other two, but performs better too.
The Xperia M although attracts us with the pricing, doesn’t hold up itself with the features and performance when you compare it with the Galaxy Core, or the Xperia L. Let’s see why!
Sony Xperia M vs Samsung Galaxy Core vs Sony Xperia L
Display, Design and the Form Factor
When you have the Galaxy tag to the smartphone, it’s the same design you would be seeing as always for all the Galaxy smartphones from Samsung, but Sony didn’t do any better job as the other Xperia devices were quite the same but the Xperia M still had the flat base, compared to the curved one on the Xperia L. Still, you don’t notice much of the difference from the front and back, making it an easily recognizable Sony device.
As for the design, there isn’t much to call one better than the other, because the white Galaxy looks better but the Xperia L has the Arc shape which sometimes feels more comfortable on the palm.
Processor, Storage and GPU
The Galaxy Core is quite better than both the Sony devices here, having a better processor speed, and the Cortex A-5 processor keeping the speed high, but when comparing the Xperia M and L, it’s the Xperia L having a better speed with a MSM8230 chipset against the MSM8227 one on the Xperia M. But let’s keep the specs aside, the Xperia L didn’t show the lag that the Xperia M did when frequently switching between the apps and games.
The GPU is better in the Xperia series when compared to the Galaxy Core, as there’s a Adreno 305 GPU compared to the Adreno 203 in the Galaxy Core. All the three devices have got a RAM of 1 GB for the multitasking.
The problem with the storage of the Xperia M was the 2 GB of available storage to the user, which restricts the number of apps that can be installed because the Play Store installs the apps in the phone storage and not in the SD card.
Camera – Capture quality, Video Recording and Features
It’s Xperia L > Galaxy Core > Xperia M when the quality of captures from the three cameras are compared. The 8-megapixel camera of the Xperia L did a pretty decent job of capturing a bright-light picture, and the Core too was good at that but the Xperia M was not up to the mark, with a lot of blur although a good light. The low light capturing with the flash too was not much different in all the three devices.
The video recording is possible with the 720p HD quality on the Sony Xperia L and M devices but the one on the Galaxy core is possible at 480p quality.
Other Features & Specs to Compare
All the three devices come with the Android Jelly Bean OS, with updates ready even just after the device is out of the box. The Xperia L and M both had some updates to the Android 4.1.2, some minor ones.
To talk about the battery, the Galaxy core has got a 1800 mAh battery, while the Xperia devices have got a 1750 mAh battery, with the Xperia devices having some good options for the battery management, including the Stamina Mode and others which get activated, limiting several features when the device is on low battery.
Pricing Comparison
The Xperia M and Galaxy Core are priced the same but the Xperia L is a little higher priced than the two. The actual pricing of the Galaxy Core is Rs. 12,900 in the Indian market, and the Xperia M is priced exactly the same, while the Sony Xperia L is priced at Rs. 17000, but when you are trying to select the best one in them and do not have a fixed budget, it’s easy to say that you can go with the Sony Xperia L, but when you are looking for something in the lower range, the final result would depend on whether you are looking for a device with a good camera, or a better screen – Core has got a neater camera, while the Xperia M has a better display.
| Specification | Sony Xperia M | Samsung Galaxy Core | Sony Xperia L |
| Dimensions | 124 x 62 x 9.3 mm | 129.3 x 67.6 x 8.95 mm | 128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm |
| Screen | 4-inch TFT Capacitive | 4.3-inch TFT Capacitive | 4.3-inch TFT Capacitive |
| Display | 480 x 854 pixels, 245 PPI | 480 x 800 pixels, 217 PPI | 480 x 854 pixels, 228 PPI |
| Processor – Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8227 | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play MSM8625 | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8230 |
| Processor | Dual core, 1 GHz, Krait | Dual core, 1.2 GHz, ARM Cortex-A5 | Dual core, 1 GHz, Krait |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 203 | Adreno 305 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| OS | Android 4.1 | Android 4.1 | Android 4.1.2 |
| Camera – Rear | 5 megapixels, LED Flash | 5 megapixels, LED Flash | 8 megapixels, LED Flash |
| Video Recording | 720p | 480p | 720p |
| Camera – Front | VGA | VGA | VGA |
| Internal Storage | 4 GB, 2 GB available | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage expansion | MicroSD, to 32 GB | MicroSD, to 64 GB | MicroSD, to 32 GB |
| Battery | 1750 mAh | 1800 mAh | 1750 mAh |
