The smartphone market is jam-packed. There are plenty of phones available for those looking to spend big bucks, but what is on offer in terms of mid-range devices?

Sony has unveiled a suite of phones looking to cater to the different price brackets. We told you about its high-end offering last week, but today, we're getting hands-on with the Xperia L1. This is the mid-range phone that costs around €159.99.

 

It has that classic Sony look, with its slightly boxy design. This phone has a 5.5-inch screen and is jam-packed with features. 

Internally there's a 1.45GHZ quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. There's 16GB of storage built in, but it's possible to expand that up to 256GB with a microSD card. 

The L1 has a very impressive 13MP rear camera and 5MP on the front for those all-important selfies. There's a USB-C port on the bottom of the phone for charging and it has a headphone jack too. 

I was very impressed by the battery performance. There's a 2620mAh battery, that endured my heavy usage. 

Bottom line

In terms of usability, I could not fault this phone. It performed really well whilst carrying out everyday tasks and the camera captures stunning images. If I had to fault anything, it would be the screen. Even at the highest level of brightness, it was still rather dull.

It performed really well whilst carrying out everyday tasks and the camera captures stunning images. If I had to fault anything, it would be the screen. Even at the highest level of brightness, it was still rather dull.

It does all of the basics well and is enjoyable to use. The slightly rough feel to the back of the device makes it sit comfortably in the hand and it feels less delicate than the more expensive XZ Premium model. 

At €159.99 on pay-as-you-go, you'd be hard pushed to find a better device.  

The Sony Xperia L1 will be available on Irish networks from later this month.