SpecEagle review · Sony

Sony Xperia T review: The "James Bond phone" from Skyfall, with a 13 MP Exmor R camera.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2012·$560
Overall
44/100
Class rank
#5 of 8
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The James Bond phone.

The Xperia T earned fame as the phone James Bond used in Skyfall — a high-profile placement for Sony's 2012 flagship. Behind the marketing was a solid device with a strong 13 MP Exmor R camera and an ergonomic curved back, if hampered by a small battery.

01Display

60/100

60/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2012.

TypeTFT LCD (Mobile BRAVIA)
Size4.6 inches
Resolution1,280 × 720 px (HD)

02Camera

60/100

At 60/100 this is one of the strongest camera showings among flagship phones of 2012 — 8 points above the cohort average.

Main13 MP, Exmor R, f/2.4, LED
Video1080p
Front1.3 MP

03Performance

56/100

At 56/100 this is one of the strongest performance showings among flagship phones of 2012 — 14 points above the cohort average.

ChipsetSnapdragon S4 (28 nm, dual)
RAM1 GB
Storage16 GB · microSD

04Battery

50/100

50/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2012.

Capacity1,850 mAh
Standby~ 450 hours

05Build

60/100

60/100 trails the 63-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2012.

06Value

54/100

At 54/100 this is one of the strongest value showings among flagship phones of 2012 — 9 points above the cohort average.

What works
  • 13 MP Exmor R camera was strong for 2012.
  • Famous Skyfall product placement.
  • Curved "arc" ergonomic back.
  • microSD + jack.
What doesn't
  • Small 1,850 mAh battery.
  • HD (not full-HD) screen.
  • Only 1 GB RAM.
  • Mono speaker.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 8-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .