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Unsurprisingly Sony is marketing the Xperia M2 as a cut-down version of its Xperia Z2 flagship, retaining all the key features but at a much more acceptable price tag.
This includes the camera, although heavily cut down from the 20.7MP offering that graced the Xperia Z1, Z1 Compact and Xperia Z2. Instead Sony has put in an 8MP sensor, backed up with an LED flash.
The big talking point I have found with Sony Xperia cameras is the app itself. Sony has clearly given the camera a lot of attention, making it a much nicer and more complete app than that offered by its Samsung rivals.
This is about where the compliments stop though, as I found that the images captured by the 8MP sensor weren't anywhere near as crisp as I expected.
On the surface they look clear and crisp, but any amount of zooming in highlights some pixilation and noise that I wouldn't expect from such a sensor.
Sony is also keen to talk about the 4.8-inch qHD screen, highlighting not only the inclusion of Sony's TV expertise but also the size. It seems odd that Sony would call 4.8 inches the perfect size for entertainment given that the more expensive flagship is actually 5.2 inches.
I agree with Sony on the size though. For those that are finding the rise of phablets to be a little daunting the 4.8-inch screen is perfectly sized. You are able to hit the entire screen one handed with relative ease while also making the M2 the right size to sit in your pocket.
As for the resolution, I am a little more sceptical. Given that Motorola has been able to pack in a HD screen for the same price tag I was a little disheartened. The lack of pixels became a little more apparent while texting, as the text felt a little fuzzy throughout, with movie watching also slightly hampered.
That said viewing angles are certainly impressive.
Finally Sony is also keen to point out the inclusion of Qualcommm's Snapdragon 400 SoC, with its quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz.
I found this meant that the Sony Xperia M2 ran very smoothly throughout. When swiping between home screens or gaming I never felt the Xperia M2 was struggling.
Given that this is the same CPU that sits behind the EE Kestrel, a handset that I found to be a little sluggish at times, I was impressed by the work that Sony has put into ensuring the M2 was smooth throughout.
