[Xperia SP Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DKT27:
Hello guys.

I'm a long time reader but a new member.

Almost two months ago, my HTC One V was stolen by pickpockets in a crowded Mumbai train. :(

Since then, I was looking to buy a new phone. Soon, phones like Xperia M and L caught my eye. While I was browsing to phones, I saw Xperia SP, and the bang for the buck it gave, made me decide that this might be the phone I might buy. :p

Now, as I was looking and going through stuff, I came to know a lot of the cons of the phone, while pros outnumber the cons, the cons were quite important in this case. I've gone through a lots of threads and have known a lot, but some questions remain. Hence, I'm asking some questions in order to solve my queries and give a better view about it. Wish to get proper replies. :D

1. What version is the Indian variant. C5302, C5303 or C5306.

2. Lots of people say it's heavy. How do you feel about it.

3. GSM Arena wasn't happy with the loudspeaker, does it ring loudly? I see all the phones having a speaker in the back, causing it to ring very quietly.

4. Now an important one. On my HTC One V, I had an option to move apps to SD card. As I was browsing, through the forums, I came to know that it's not possible anymore without rooting. And rooting is something I do not prefer as of now (I had huge plans for One V, but unfortunetely, it was stolen before I decided to root it after the warranty was over).

On One V, I was having loop boot problem after moving the files to the SD card, however, that's not an issue here. Thing is, on One V, I had used AppMgr III (App 2 SD) to move my apps to SD card.

So now is my question. Will App 2 SD work without rooting? Has anyone tried using it without rooting? The Apps 2 SD page mentions this:

Does this apply to Xperia devices too?

This is very much a concerning thing to me, as 5.8 GB isn't a lot if one likes gaming.

5. Has the lack of sufficient space, just 5.8 GB, ever caused concerns for you?

6. Again, important one. How bad is the WiFi? I live in a 1BHK house in a suburb. While I mostly use WiFi (and internet for that matter) near my router and PC situated in the hall, my One V never did well for reaching the bedroom, something I was expecting SP to do well until I came to know about the problem.

Same situation here, I do not prefer to root my phone. Can the WiFi be fixed in any other way? Different channel / mode?

7. Does the WiFi fixes available here actually fix your WiFi? After using the fixes available, is it comparable to other phones' / laptops' reception? What do you think, it's software problem or hardware problem?

8. Do you expect Sony to fix the WiFI problem in in future?

9. People who have rooted then flashed their phones to latest Android should not having any WiFi problems right?

10. I remember some version of iPhone having grip of death for WiFi. Do you guys think SP's bad WiFi reception is due to this?

11. Now the camera. I've seen enough photos / graphs to say that Xperia SP probably has the worst smartphone camera I've seen. Comparing it to my HTC One V, One V was like godsent camera phone. So what to you guys think, is the camera something that is acceptable or just total deal breaker?

I personally do not have any use for the camera. However, my sister is a big camera selfie lover. While I see that the camera takes some beautiful vivid pictures outside, my use the camera would be mostly indoors.

From what I can understand is that the camera is over-compressing the images? I've seen photos very in-depth and have concluded that, one, SP pictures lack details, two, have lots of noise.

Those who wanna compare it on GSM Arena, don't use to ISO chart, see the camera on the color poster: gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=3&idPhone1=5364&idPhone2=5363&idPhone3=5375.

Compare it something like HTC One V and see the difference of quality of images.

While I've photoshopped and removed noise from the pictures I've found from the internet, from Xperia SP, I don't know if it's worth it, so I'm confused.

12. I've read some users saying that they tried 3rd party camera apps like ProCapture and they immediately saw that Xperia SP started taking great pictures. Can you say the same for yourself? Has anyone tried doing such?

13. Have people who have rooted / flashed SP to latest Android see any improvements in the camera?

14. What do you think. Is Xperia SP's crappy camera about hardware quality of the camera or the software?

15. Do you, being realist here, expect Sony to fix the camera with an update?

16. Now about rooting. Will rooting void the warranty? I read somewhere that if you do not unlock the bootloader, you do not void the warranty. Is it possible to just root the phone without unlocking the bootloader without flash it?

17. Noob question. Do you receive updates if you have rooted the phone? If yes, lets say, I made changes to the WiFi file, and then I updated the phone, will the root stay? If not, will the changes made to the file stay?

18. Now about the CPU. I know the phones are moving very faster these days. However, I'm making a big investment if I buy Xperia SP. So SP being so powerful of a phone it is, do you expect it to stay good to play generally powerful games for lets say, next 4 years? I'm not a person who likes changing his phone every year or two, nor do I have money to do that.

19. Some people are reporting screen touch issues when charging or when putting on desk. It is said to be fixed, is it true?

20. I compared the phone to Galaxy S3 and found that S3 had more contrast ratio when playing videos, however, Xperia SP seemed more bright, what to you guys think?

21. How is the front camera? I don't care about the resolution, but clear enough for video calling?

22. Any other problems / things anyone feels worth mentioning?

That's pretty much it for the phone, however, I have more questions.

23. I'm willing to squeeze out more money for a better phone like Xperia ZR, Galaxy S3 and such. However, they have their own problems. Like, S3 is nowhere to be compared with Xperia SP as SP's graphics is top-end.

As for ZR. I have two problems with it, one small, one big. The small one being people calling it's loudspeaker muffed and the big one being it not being Gorilla Glass. To understand what I'm concerned about it, see this: youtube.com/watch?v=4GzYnDnZDRg and this: youtube.com/watch?v=Q2qdwsFd-Qw. It shows that ZR screen is neither tough / shatter-proof nor, thanks to the sheet, scratch proof. And removing the sheet means warranty void. I've seen that even Xperia Z has the same thing, which makes me think how people manage with this?

24. What alternative phones to SP price range (Rs. 20500 to 22500 here - $330 to $360) or Galaxy S3 / ZR price range (Rs. 26500 here - $425) do you guys recommend?

25. Is the phone worth it? Will you recommend it to me? :)

Anyway, sorry for huge post. As so many days of sadness for the loss of my HTC One V, I'm asking this, so please bear with me. All these questions have been churning in my mind from almost month and a half now.

Any help with the questions will be greatly appreciated.