Sony unveils Jelly Bean-running Xperia M mid-range smartphone

Sony has announced the Xperia M, a new mid-range handset which joins the company’s already-crowded 2013 smartphone lineup.

Very similar in specs and looks to the Xperia L, the M is squarely aimed at those looking for a budget performer. It has a 4-inch FWVGA (854x480) display protected by a scratch-resistant glass panel. As usual, you will find multi-coloured LED illuminations below the display and the Xperia M features Sony’s OmniBalance design, which the company claims helps in daily handling of the device.

In terms of processing power, the Xperia M seems well-outfitted for a mid-range smartphone. It has a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon SoC inside, coupled with 1GB of RAM. There’s a measly 4GB of internal storage, but there’s also a microSD slot, which takes in cards up to 32GB in size.

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Sony Xperia M will launch in four colours

The primary camera is a 5-megapixel Exmor RS sensor on the back along with an LED flash. Sony has also decked up the M with a front-facing camera, but surprisingly there’s no mention of its megapixel count or any other details about it. Software-wise the Xperia M should be a capable smartphone thanks to the addition of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. There’s no LTE support, but HSPA+ connectivity is more than enough for a smartphone in this category. For quick sharing, there’s Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

When it hits markets in Q3 this year, the Xperia M will be available in single and dual-SIM versions and in sober black and white as well as in the more peppy purple and yellow colours.