Sony Xperia V vs SL
In this article, we are going to talk about two phones from Sony’s flagship product line Xperia. As of now, all phones of Sony, who has recently dissociated itself with the Ericsson counterpart, have been using Android operating system. However, the vivid display of alternative operating systems used by rival companies may lead Sony to diversify their product line, as well. However, we are not going to have an in-depth review about that. Instead, we have two smartphones revealed by Sony at the IFA that calls for a comparison. I was looking at the specs of these handsets and failed to understand the need for the differentiation at first, but when you look closer like we do in the next paragraphs, you’ll understand the difference between them.
Let us talk about the proud brainchildren of Xperia product line Sony Xperia V and Sony Xperia SL. If you can recall, Xperia line had S, U, Ion, Neo as well as several other handsets and now with the addition of Xperia V, J, and T they have some more characters from the alphabet in their bag.
Sony Xperia V Review
Sony Xperia V looks a lot like its predecessors with some internal differences. Sony has adapted the fine bezel we could find in Xperia T to Xperia V, as well. It is neither big nor small scoring a dimension of 129 x 65mm and rather falls under the thicker side of the spectrum scoring a thickness of 10.7mm. Sony Xperia V is IP57 certified for dust and water resistant which implies that you can sink this handset in water for 30 minutes without any harm. It comes in Black, White and Pink in colors and carries an attractive look. The 4.3 inches screen is not the biggest screen you can see in the market, but it certainly features a 1280 x 720 pixels resolution at a very high pixel density of 342ppi.
Sony Xperia V is powered by 1.5GHz Dual Core processor on top of Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset with Adreno 225 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Android OS v4.0.4 ICS has control of the hardware as of now and Sony plans to upgrade it to v4.1 Jelly Bean soon. On the surface, this may not look like a top notch smartphone compared to the quad core processors out there, but hey, Xperia V is a smooth performer and you can do anything seamlessly in this handset. As usual, we particularly like the Sony Timescape user interface where they give priority to the person rather than the channel of information. Although there were no explicit indication, Sony Xperia V is bound to have Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine for enhanced video quality, as well.
The main difference between Sony Xperia V and Sony Xperia SL is that the Xperia V has LTE connectivity. Along with that, Xperia V can gracefully degrade to HSDPA when necessary. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n ensures continuous connectivity with DLNA and the ability to host Wi-Fi hotspots to share your high speed LTE connection with your friends. Sony has decided to include 13MP camera that has autofocus and LED flash with the capability of capturing 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second. A 3D sweep panorama feature is also available along with image stabilization and video stabilization. The VGA camera in the front can be used for video conferencing. The internal storage stagnates at a meager 8GB which may be not enough with the media capabilities of the handset but fortunately microSD cards come to rescue. Sony indicates that its 1750mAh battery can last for 7 hours although we think it’s rather a small battery to start.
Sony Xperia SL Review
When two products that fit almost the same specs as the other are released at the same time by the same manufacturer, you tend to inquire what makes them different. In the case of Xperia V and Xperia SL, the major difference lies in the network connectivity. We can safely say that Xperia V and SL are the same version with and without 4G LTE connectivity. Let us see what Xperia SL looks like to confirm the initial hypothesis.
Xperia SL follows the exterior pattern set by Xperia S, which makes it look different compared to Xperia V. The transparent strip gives a sense of authority to the smartphone, and we’ve seen third party upgrades changing the color of the transparent strip, as well. It is the same size as Xperia V scoring dimensions of 128 x 64mm and is rather thick with a thickness of 10.6mm. The 4.3 inches LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen features a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at a very high pixel density of 342ppi. Xperia SL is powered by 1.7GHz Dual Core processor on top of Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset with Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM. The 1.7GHz clock makes Xperia SL the highest clocked smartphone in the market although it still wouldn’t beat the quad core beasts. Android OS v4.0.4 ICS controls the hardware as of now while we expect Sony to provide an upgrade to Jelly Bean soon.
Sony has been generous with the camera as usual and included a 12MP camera that can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second. It also has geo-tagging with assisted GPS, autofocus 3D sweep panorama and LED flash along with image and video stabilization. The continuous autofocus in video mode ensures the seamless focused capturing of the precious moments in your life. As we were discussing before, Xperia SL comes with HSDPA connectivity along with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for continuous connectivity. The presence of DLNA means the user can wirelessly stream rich media content to feasible devices. It can also host a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your internet connection with friends. It should be noted that Sony Xperia SL only supports microSIM cards. There is also a limited time offer of 50GB of cloud storage. Sony believes that this handset can last 8 hours and 30 mins with a single charge.
A Brief Comparison Between Sony Xperia V and Xperia SL
• Sony Xperia V is powered by 1.5GHz Dual Core processor on top of Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset with Adreno 225 GPU and 1GB of RAM while Sony Xperia SL is powered by 1.7GHz Dual Core processor on top of Qualcomm MSM8260 chipset with Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM.
• Sony Xperia V and Sony Xperia SL both run on Android OS v4.0.4 ICS with the possibility of an upgrade to v4.1 Jelly Bean.
• Sony Xperia V and Sony Xperia SL both have the same 4.3 inches LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at a pixel density of 342ppi.
• Sony Xperia V comes with LTE connectivity as well as HSDPA while Sony Xperia SL only features HSDPA connectivity.
• Sony Xperia V is lighter but more or less the same size and thickness (129 x 65mm / 10.7mm / 120g) as the Sony Xperia SL (128 x 64mm / 10.6mm / 144g).
• Sony Xperia V has 13MP camera while Sony Xperia SL hosts a 12MP camera that has the same capabilities.
Conclusion
Deriving the conclusion in this case is rather easy. It all depends on whether you need the high speed LTE connectivity or not. If you see a strong need for that, Sony Xperia V is your only choice, but if that isn’t a necessity, Xperia V and Xperia SL can be your candidates. As of such, you might want to look at the optics and performance respectively. Sony Xperia V has slightly better optics while Sony Xperia SL has slightly better performance. However, graphics will be better on Sony Xperia V with the better Adreno 225 GPU. Other than that, Sony Xperia SL has the unique transparent strip that Sony started to include with the Xperia S handset. This may be a deal-maker or a deal-breaker for you depending on your attitude towards the strip. However, anyone of these handsets will serve you loyally and royally without leaving doubts for any regret.