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Moto G 4G
In terms of high-end yet affordable handsets there has been one stand out in recent times, the Motorola Moto G. To take it one step further the newly purchased mobile manufacturer has recently added a 4G version that comes complete with a microSD slot.
Inside the Motorola handset is another Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC meaning the same quad-core 1.2GHz CPU and Adreno 305 GPU to keep everything running smoothly. It also comes with a pure Android KitKat experience, with the Xperia M2 currently sitting on Jelly Bean.
Motorola's handset also has the Sony beaten hands down on the screen, packing in a HD 720p screen with a pixel density of 326ppi. In terms of specs the camera is a little worse off in the Moto though, coming only with a 5MP rear sensor although the forward facing snapper does come with 1.3MP rather than the VGA resolution of the Sony.
In a final battle the Sony wins hands down with a battery test, outperforming the Motorola. Where the Motorola recorded an average 33% drop the Sony achieved a mere 17%.
EE Kestrel
Perhaps one of Sony's biggest rivals in the UK is the EE Kestrel. Contract prices are remarkably similar, although PAYG and SIM-free prices differ quite considerably with the Sony coming in about twice the price.
This makes the Huawei built Kestrel a much better alternative for those after a cheap second or festival phone, as well as a more ideal handset choice for a much younger audience.
Internally there is little difference between the Kestrel and the Sony Xperia M2; both come with a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, both have a 540 x 960 qHD screen and both run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
That said, the lower cost means a smaller 5MP camera, a lower build quality and smaller battery that drained 3 times faster than the Sony while mobile gaming.
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
Despite the fact that the Galaxy Ace 3 is now almost a year old, it is currently on sale at a very similar price tag to the Sony Xperia M2.
Like the other two comparison handsets the Galaxy Ace 3 comes packing 4G LTE technology inside, although with less overall power. Samsung's offering comes packing a dual-core rather than quad-core CPU although is also clocked at 1.2GHz, but does come with the same Adreno 305 GPU.
Elsewhere is a smaller 5MP camera, lower res 480 x 800 4-inch screen with a density of 233ppi and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. There have been hints that the Galaxy Ace 3 will get KitKat, although that is looking unlikely.
The smaller screen does mean that the Ace 3 is much smaller than the other handsets here, as well as coming in a lot lighter at only 119.5g.
