Sony Xperia SL

Sony Xperia SL price in Malaysia starts from RM1130, putting it in the mid-range bracket for its era. Under the hood sits a Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset with a dual-core 1.7 GHz processor and Adreno 220 graphics, paired with 1 GB RAM and 32 GB fixed storage. There's no memory card slot, so what you get out of the box is what you're stuck with. The 4.3-inch LCD screen runs at 720 x 1280 with a sharp-for-its-time 342 ppi.

Camera-wise, the 12 MP rear shooter comes with autofocus, LED flash, image stabilization and 1080p video capture, plus handy extras like touch focus and 3D sweep panorama. A 1.3 MP front camera handles basic video calls. Keeping things running is a 1750 mAh non-removable battery, modest even by 2012 standards, and it ships on Android Ice Cream Sandwich with an upgrade path to Jelly Bean.

At 144 g and 10.6 mm thick, it's compact and easy to pocket. NFC, GPS with GLONASS, and stereo FM radio round out the connectivity, features you'd expect on a phone built for everyday use rather than heavy multitasking.