I've been using this phone for over a year now. It is a good mid range device which excels in most key areas but unfortunately falls short in some others. The 4.5 inch screen size makes it handier than most smartphones today where a 5 inch screen is the norm. The screen is vibrant and sharp. Sony's music quality output through earphones is as good as ever. The quad core processor and 2 GBs of RAM leave no room for complaints and the phone is zippy. I'll go ahead and highlight some areas which might be a cause for potential buyers and users alike:
The front camera is a VGA camera which is sad to be honest. Its performance is poor, to say the least.
Despite being backed by a 13 MP sensor, the back camera is inconsistent. It's a decent camera( 3/5) but there's more noise in the pictures than I'd like to see. Its performance in low light is mediocre.
Wi-fi and 3g usage sap the battery a little too quickly.
The internal storage of the phone is 8 GB which would be a cause for trouble if you download too many applications. Not many applications can be moved to the SD card.
Sony's version of the Android OS is bloated with too many useless applications. On the plus side however, stock applications like walkman, album and the video player are beautifully crafted and a joy to use.
The flaps that cover the usb port and headphone jack are flimsy. In fact, they gave up on me after a year of usage which also means my phone is no longer water resistant.
This phone is a very decent buy overall. Over a year and 3 months and it's still running pretty strong for me.
