Sony Xperia miro - Sony is leaving no stone unturned

I just finished writing the entry level smartphone buyers guide a few days ago, when the Sony Xperia miro became available in the Philippine market. It really looks like Sony is launching a very serious challenge to Samsung for the in the top smartphone manufacturers crown. While that is a pretty tall mountain to scale, hardware wise I think Sony is winning.

The Sony Xperia tipo is already my favorite entry level smartphone with a suggested retail price of Php7,690, and available as low as Php7,150 with an official warranty. At risk of offending some readers, anything less is not worth the money. Anything cheaper will be running an old version of Android or Symbian.

The Sony Xperia tipo comes out of the box with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If the Xperia tipo is never updated during its like, Android 4.0 will keep it a viable platform for the next two years or so, in terms of software compatibility. Being a newer phone, and given Sony's track record in updates, it is also a decent chance of getting update an OS update.

The Xperia miro costs more than the Xperia tipo with a suggested retail price of Php10,490, which is much higher than the Xperia tipo. On the shelves, we have seen the new Xperia Miro at just Php9,100 with an official warranty. This makes the price gap less than 2K.

Sony Xperia miro quick specs:

• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• 3.5-inch display with a 320 x 480 resolution
• 800 MHz Qualcomm processor on MSM7225A
• Adreno 200 graphics 
• 4GB internal storage (2.5 GB user available)
• microSD slot up to 32GB
• 512 MB RAM
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and Auto focus
• VGA front camera
• HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• WiFi and WiFi Hotspot functionality
• aGPS
• USB 2.0, Micro USB, Bluetooth
• FM Radio
• 1500 mAh battery

For 2K more the Xperia miro gives you a larger display (3.5 versus 3.2 inches), a better camera (5 MP versus 3.2 MP), and a front camera.  One big difference I think, is instead of the chunk 13 mm thickness of the Xperia tipo, the Xperia miro is a trim 9.9 mm.

I still like the Xperia tipo, but if budget allows, the Xperia miro is work the extra 2K or so.