Nexus 4 vs Xperia SP

[Mehta23]

I'm looking for a replacement to my Sensation. Currently looking at a 16GB Nexus 4 for £120 and a Xperia SP for £150, but I don't know which to get.
I'm almost certainly going to root and run some custom ROMs, and I'd prefer a good camera too. However, I know the SP has 4G and a microSD slot, but I don't know if I can pass on the N4, especially when I could be getting all the Android updates very quickly.

Reasons for not going with the N4 are mainly camera, battery, storage (I've got 3GB free on my 32GB sdcard, so I'm unsure if I can manage with 12.x) and thats about it. A lack of 4G might make a difference but the only 4G I can afford is when 3 mobile upgrades its networks next year (in my area)

Reasons for not going with the SP are just because it's not a Nexus, and I think it has less RAM - not sure if it'd make a difference.

Thoughts?

[LeetyMcLeet]

You've basically outlined the pro's and cons perfectly.

If budget is an issue, but you still want the microSD option, decent camera (at this price point) AND the ability to run custom ROMS, you could pick up a second hand Galaxy S2 for ~ £60-100 or maybe even an S3 for under £150 on ebay.

Tough decision

[noodles2k]

The Nexus 4 is also quad core, whereas the SP is dual core. So in some situations the N4 has an almost 2x advantage.

[Biscuit]

I chose the SP instead of the nexus, for no particular reason other than i quite like the way it looks and feels. The camera on it still isnt fantastic and the battery life is also nothing to shout about. I find myself reaching for the charger by most evenings.

I only use it for browsing, social media, phone calls etc, no gaming but its more than adequate for my needs.

If you're rooting and romming then android updates are neither here or there really, you can get pretty much the latest version fairly soon as its released on at least one of the companies other handsets, or with cyanogenmod even sooner.

[mrcyco]

Go with the Sony the lack of expandable storage can be big draw back. The pro of the Nexus are minimal, if your going to custom ROM the Sony anyway.

[Rob_B]

The SP camera is a bit rubbish, battery life is impressive though (I'd say twice what my iPhone 4 was) Some SPs can't be unlocked though, I bought then unlocked one from EE but they have locked bootloaders (well, some can apparently still be unlocked but I'm not that bothered to try it)

[mrcyco]

http://unlockbootloader.sonymobile.com Unlocking the boot loader.

[Rob_B]

Yep, but some aren't unlockable as mentioned.

However, even if the device model is supported, certain releases of the device model may not be supported due to operator restrictions. To check if your device can be unlocked, go through the first two steps on the page.

[mrcyco]

The sp is on the list. You may be able to find out from the network ( if it's lock to a network) of brought online you have a 7 day return "distant seller" clause if you try it and it doesn't work just, take it back :-D

[Rob_B]

It has a locked bootloader, I've checked on the Sony site for how to check the settings.

Unlocking for network usage was quick and easy but there is no root options for me (other than trying to unlock it and hoping - xdadevelopers show there may be a slim chance it'll still work)

[Biscuit]

im interested in how people got 'impressive' battery life. For such a large battery, i get pretty average life on my SP