Sony Ericsson Xperia neo vs neo V, what’s the difference?

The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo was a phone we saw last March that was supposed to arrive in the country after the availability of the Xperia arc. It would’ve been the affordable yet unimpressive-looking version of the Xperia arc had the tsunami in Japan didn’t affect the production of Sony Ericsson.

Soon we will see the newer Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V (V as in 5) which replaces the old Xperia neo and you might be wondering what upgrades Sony Ericsson made on this phone. It has the same 1GHz Qualcomm processor inside, the same 3.7″ screen with mobile Bravia engine, and even the same measly 320Mb internal storage.

Actually, the most obvious difference is a downgrade in camera. From an 8.1-megapixel lens with Exmor R sensor of the original Xperia neo, the Xperia neo V now has an ordinary 5-megapixel camera. This is really odd since if the problem was lens supply, how come the Xperia ray has the same 8.1-megapixel Exmor R lens as that of the original Xperia neo? I will definitely raise this question when the Xperia neo V gets launched here this month.

In exchange for the lower camera specs, they did some software upgrades on the camera of the neo V that allows you to take 3D sweep panorama photos with it. I was informed that it’s still unclear if this piece of upgrade will be made available to the Xperia neo.

They also added a new white color but took out the red Xperia neo.

So here’s the thing if you’re looking to get the Xperia neo. The Xperia neo V should be cheaper than the original Xperia neo. Over at Widget City who’s known to have the latest Sony Ericsson phones ahead of anybody else, the Xperia neo is priced at P12,950 (which is a bargain!!!) while the newer Xperia neo V is at P15,500. So I’ll definitely go with the original neo between the two. And if the Sony Ericsson xperia ray is too small for my hands, I would definitely get the old Xperia neo which is slightly cheaper and has an HDMI out.