Yeah, this was my exact reaction to the Xperia SP

[s44]

Sony, Wake Up: Selling A Boring Mid-Range Phone For Nearly $500 In The US Is The Definition Of 'Doing It Wrong'

 

[Ravynmagi]

Is it weird that I often forget Sony makes phones?

 

[Dari]

Not defending SONY here but, has anyone here looked at a Best Buy ads recently? All the phones, no matter how old, have a no-contract price of $699.99 and up (whether the contract price is $0 or $299). Even the 2 year old Galaxy SII that T-Mobile is selling goes for $699.99 off-contract.

With that said, SONY is completely delusional with their flagships. Selling old hardware at premium prices is ばか (I know you can read this Hirai-san).

 

[Red Storm]

Not defending SONY here but, has anyone here looked at a Best Buy ads recently? All the phones, no matter how old, have a no-contract price of $699.99 and up (whether the contract price is $0 or $299). Even the 2 year old Galaxy SII that T-Mobile is selling goes for $699.99 off-contract.

With that said, SONY is completely delusional with their flagships. Selling old hardware at premium prices is ばか (I know you can read this Hirai-san).

The T-Mobile Galaxy S2 is ~$413 brand new. Not even the S3, the Note 2, or even the S4 are $699 at T-Mobile.

 

[Dari]

The T-Mobile Galaxy S2 is ~$413 brand new. Not even the S3, the Note 2, or even the S4 are $699 at T-Mobile.

This link clearly has the price as $699.99, unactivated.

But the OP, as well as everyone else, knows full well that the street price will not be $490...

EDIT: The off-contract smartphone prices at Best Buy start at $599.99

EDIT: Look at all these $699.99 prices for a phone that came out in 2011.

 

[poofyhairguy]

This part was funny:

You'd have to be gunning for a "bad purchase decision of the year" award to take Sony's $500 mid-range "meh" fest over a much cheaper (and much better) Nexus 4 to use on something like Straight Talk.

 

[s44]

What Sony doesn't seem to realize is that to get mindshare they can't just put out competitive products, like companies who *already* have mindshare can do. They need to *kill it*... and it's been a shame to see them cut corners on even their flagship attempts. Is there seriously an excuse for Samsung to be destroying Sony on photos using Sony's own sensor!?

Maybe the Honami (20mp with 1/1.6" sensor) will finally let them incorporate/trickle-in their expertise from the actual camera side... and even add up to a first-rate flagship. Maybe. I have a feeling Sony will cheap out on the panel again or something.

 

[Red Storm]

This link clearly has the price as $699.99, unactivated.

But the OP, as well as everyone else, knows full well that the street price will not be $490...

EDIT: The off-contract smartphone prices at Best Buy start at $599.99

EDIT: Look at all these $699.99 prices for a phone that came out in 2011.

At Best Buy yes, the prices I quoted are from T-Mobile's own site, which is what I was using to compare to Sony.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I think it is safe to say nobody should buy an unlocked phone from Best Buy. I've noticed their prices too. But that's Best Buy's issue.

I've also noticed Best Buy selling 2 year old graphics cards at the same price they were when they first came out. Best Buy just does stupid stuff like that.

 

[Chrono]

I have to admit... Sony keeps pushing subpar phones out that are costly... why?

 

[Crono]

I have to admit... Sony keeps pushing subpar phones out that are costly... why?

That's the reason I don't really like Sony, period.
So many of their products (laptops, televisions, phones, audio, etc) are either mid-range and unspectacular, or pretty good but very expensive.
Their Vaio laptops in particular look nice but are expensive and in my experience repairing or troubleshooting them aren't built any better than HP or Dell. They still make nice television screens, but not at the same price points as manufacturers like Samsung or Vizio.

I do think their cameras are competitive, but that's about it. I think their name has carried them a bit for a while in other consumer products.

EDIT: I forgot that I do like Sony Vegas.

 

[Deeko]

I like their high end phones but not nearly enough to pay the premium, and that's been the case for years sigh them. The old Xperia X10 (I think that's the model) was gorgeous and one of the first 800x480phones, but waaaay overpriced. Its a shame.

 

[lopri]

Aren't there worse phones with the same $500 price tag? Granted this phone is perhaps unacceptable for the nerds, but I see really strange prices for really strange phones on store shelves quite often. The masses apparently don't care much.