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If you're looking for a well-performing all rounder though, and don't want to spend upwards of 600 smackers, the SP is an excellent option to consider.

The Sony Xperia SP is a good mid-range phone. There's power and flexibility on board and there's the performance to back it up, aside from a few minor quirks.

The Xperia SP could have been a great smartphone with its solid build and great design. However, the poor display and camera performance lets the phone down.

Long story short, we believe the Sony Xperia SP to be one of the most compelling packages in the new midrange. It looks good and behaves admirably.

It is a capable multimedia device suitable for those who want the benefits associated with high-end devices – the large, high-resolution screen and fast processor, to name a few, but in a mid-range package that doesn't cost as much as a flagship handset.

When you're playing music content, not only will the lighting (roughly) match the album artwork, but it'll pulse in time to the music, like an off-screen equalizer graphic.

In the hand the body feels high quality, while the same high-quality aluminium standby button can be found to the side...Looks like a quality mid-range offering that will further strengthen the Xperia uprising.

As is consistently the case with Xperia smartphones, the display viewing angles are not among the best we've seen. Otherwise, helped by the Mobile Bravia Engine 2, the picture quality isn't bad at all.

The body is smooth and feels quality in the hand, and while the screen is slightly dwarfed by the larger chassis, there's no doubt this is a phone that could fly off the shelves if enough people get fed up with the notion of spending loads of money each month on a handset.

The only negative comment is that the display itself didn’t seem to be of particularly remarkable quality – contrast and viewing angles were just decent, rather than excellent. This may have been affected by the dodgy lighting of Sony’s demo area, though.

In terms of design, the SP isn't quite as slick as the Xperia Z, but then it won't cost you as much and the inclusion of the some of the flaghship phone's features - such as the Battery Stamina Mode and the Bravia Engine 2-powered screen - is good news.

Powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip performance seems fast and I didn't experience any lag with my short time with the device. The SP's aluminum frame feels great in the hand. It's not the thinnest of phones but it's still sufficiently comfortable.

The Xperia SP is a great-looking phone with a seriously powerful chipset. There's no word on pricing yet, but it could be an excellent upper-mid-range contender.