GO GO GADGET: Sony Xperia TL


Photo’s Courtesy of Sony



With Skyfall blasting into theaters, it would only make sense that Sony would launch a phone to utilize their product placement. I truthfully don’t see a Bond movie without seeing 2-3 Sony products flaunted on screen. So here’s the real question, is the Bond phone good enough for 007, or would he pick up a different device.

Why is it called, the Bond phone

The Xperia TL comes loaded with exclusive content for Skyfall, it has a 007 background, 007 text tone, and the gallery is loaded with onset footage from the film. It also comes packed with an Xperia smart tag that will play the theme song and load the website, ooh fancy!

Daily Use

The day to day use of the phone was easy and seamless. The battery life was comparable to any of the Xperia’s counterparts, and it held up against my rigorous rhythm of texting, groupme, email and phone calls like a champ.

The phone in hand feels pretty decent. The textured body takes away from how truly sleek the design is, and the buttons along the side feel more like they’re jutting out, than being a part of the phone. Even though the Xperia is only packing a dual core processor and 1 gig of ram it still has plenty of power to handle your daily business. The 4.5″ display looks crisp and clean, once again not competing with the current Samsung stuff, but it comes so close!



Audio integration worked really well, even though I ended up avoiding the Walkman settings altogether and just using Spotify instead. Audio sounded good, and my Skull Candy head phones worked perfect for phone calls and anything else. Audio played through my Jambox just as easily as well.

Love:
The overall size, feel, and weight, as well as the super crisp camera. The consistent questions from people, “which phone is that?” “I haven’t seen that one yet”, etc.

Not So Love:

It’s a bond phone, so give be bond content. I don’t mean video diaries, but for hells sake I would’ve loved a flashy little 007 logo, or a gun on the back or something. It’s called the Bond phone, it’s in the movie and they’re pushing for it heavily, why isn’t it branded a little stronger.
Summary:
As a whole the Xperia TL is a great phone, and it runs extremely well. The only thing holding it back is a few small design pains and lack of massive marketing. Releasing in a market where literally 5-10 new devices with the same operating system will launch within the same week you need something to set you apart aside from being held by Daniel Craig. For the price it is enjoyable, fun, and the bond content is an added bonus. For $100.00 you won’t be upset with this android dream, if a Camera is important, this is your phone.

Score:

  • Feel-Size : 8
  • Display: 8
  • Battery: 8
  • Use: 7
  • Price: 9
  • Overall: 8