Xperia NXT Phones: Spec Comparisons

In the past week, we've heard quite a lot about the new Xperia lineup of phones. The S, the U, and the P (I find SUP to be a better acronym that PUS) are similar in design, but differ widely in their features. A few tech reviews have noted that it seems like Sony had a few different design teams working on these phones, as there are some similarities in the general designs of the phones, but their differences are enough that there must have been some miscommunications somewhere. In this post, I will attempt to clarify the different specifications of each of these phones and the pros and cons of each. Let's get started!

Xperia S

The big brother of the group, this phone promises to be Sony's first flagship phone under the new Ericsson-less name. The screen size is huge at 4.3" which is only slightly bigger than my Arc at 4.2" ... which could be a problem for some. A few people have told me my phone is difficult to handle. I'm used to it, and I don't mind the size, but it could be a deal-breaker for some who are tired of phones just getting bigger and bigger. However, for those obsessed with the newest technology and the highest specs, this phone is probably your latest wet dream. It has a resolution of 1280 x 720 and the highest pixel density of any other phone out there at 342 PPI (versus the iPhone 4S' measly 326 PPI). It has a 1.3MP front camera for video calls, and a 12MP rear camera for awesome photos. The storage capacity is enormous, at 32GB (more like 25GB after formatting and installations) and running it all at stupidly high speeds is its 1.5GHz dual-core MSM8260 processor. Did you hear me? Dual cores. That means two. My inner tech geek is drooling so hard.
There are two things stopping me from committing to buying this phone immediately. The first is that the lightbar design feature running through the bottom of the phone isn't exactly... functional. Sure, it lights up when you get a call or a message when the phone is on silent, but it doesn't actually house any buttons. It contains markers for capacitive directly above the lightbar but below the screen. It's not that I have a problem with making those things function (I used to love the capacitive touch buttons on my LG Chocolate) I just wish the buttons were actually on the bar. I feel like they cheated a little. I also want the bar to light up with other colours besides white. Also, I probably couldn't gather enough money to fill a fistful to throw at Sony for this phone. Bummer.


Xperia U
By far the funkiest of the bunch is the super-cute Xperia U. It's smaller and customizable, with extra "caps" you can put on the bottom of the phone (detaches below the lightbar). White phones will come with white and yellow caps, while black will come with black and pink. So awesome, right? Another bonus is that the lightbar on the U actually does what it should on these phones. The lightbar changes colour depending on what's on the screen! For current Xperia users, think of how the colour of the trackbar on the music player widget changes depending on the wallpaper of your phone. Like this!

Pink and blue background = pink trackbar.

And green = green! Awesome.

I've loved this feature since it was implemented, and I'm beyond thrilled to see Sony take it a step further with the lightbar. I think it's genius. 
The specs for the U are slightly less impressive, putting this phone into the average smartphone bracket. Think the Xperia Mini or Mini Pro in terms of the league it's in. It still has a 1GHz processor, which is pretty good. But the screen resolution is 480 x 854, and the screen's pixel density is a lowly 280 PPI. Furthermore, its camera is only 5MP, it has 8GB of non-removable storage, and it will only record video in 720p. That being said, this phone is probably my number-one choice out of the whole lineup. I'm well aware that it would be a step down from my Arc in almost every category (resolution, camera power, storage capacity, etc) however I'm willing to forego the impressive specs of the S if it means I get that funky lightbar. I clearly have my priorities straight, I know.


Xperia P

Last but not least comes the P. This is the only phone in the NXT lineup with an aluminum casing, and the only one that comes in either silver or red. If I was only concerned about build quality and looks, this would be the top contender. It has some great industrial-esque design features, like a visible screw head and a little grille over the side speaker. The lightbar only shows white light, however the buttons on the P are actually on the lightbar itself, and not above it. Its specs land somewhere in the middle of the S and the U: 1GHz processor, 4.0" screen with a 590 x 960 resolution, 8MP camera and 16GB of internal storage. But what sets this apart from the others is its WhiteMagic display: it has an extra white pixel to add to the standard RGB pixels of its cousins. From what I've read, the screen is noticeably clearer, sharper and more beautiful than most of the other phones out there. It manages to be 50% brighter than other screens while being 50% more efficient, so all that extra brightness won't drain your precious battery.


One last thing
ALL the new phones in the NXT series will have the fast-capture camera feature, meaning your phone can go from sleep to photo capture in 2 seconds without even unlocking the device. Simply hold the camera shutter button and it will instantly launch the camera function. I'm looking forward to this, since there have been a few times I've missed a good shot simply because the camera application took too long to launch. Once it's open, however, capture is extremely fast with my Arc--and I absolutely love being able to just tap my screen to take a photo. It's almost instant and I can easily get multiple shots in no time. I really hope they continue that into the NXT series.


TL;DR
Xperia S: stunning beauty and immense power, but at a high cost.
Xperia U: funky design to set it apart from the Android clones, but with average specifications.
Xperia P: lovely aluminum body and good specs, but no fancy lightbar.


I hope this adequately summarized the specifications of the NXT series for you. If you're stilly really stuck, the guys over at Xperia Blog made a handy chart to put them all side-by-side for you. Good luck deciding on only one!