HTC Desire 500 vs Sony Xperia M

A spec-by-spec comparison of the HTC Desire 500 and the Sony Xperia M, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.

Head to head

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Our rating6/105/10
Battery1,800 mAh1,750 mAh
RAM (max)1 GB1 GB
Storage (max)64 GB32 GB
Screen size4.3 in4 in
Main camera8 MP5 MP
Weight (lower is lighter)123 g115 g
ReleasedSep 2013Aug 2013
Summary: HTC Desire 500 is ahead on our rating, battery, storage (max), screen size. Sony Xperia M is ahead on weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? HTC Desire 500 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.

Display

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
TypeTFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsTFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size4.3 inches4.0 inches, 45.5 cm2 (~57.4% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution480 x 800 pixels (WVGA)480 x 854 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~245 ppi density)
ProtectionNot specifiedScratch-resistant glass
Pixel Density217 ppi—

Platform

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
OSAndroid 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.2.2, with HTC Sense 5Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 200 (MSM8225Q or MSM8625Q)Qualcomm MSM8227 Snapdragon S4 Plus
CPUQuad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A5Dual-core 1.0 GHz Krait
GPUAdreno 203Adreno 305

Memory

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Card slotmicroSDXC (dedicated slot), up to 64 GBmicroSDHC (dedicated slot), up to 32 GB
Internal4GB, 1GB RAM4GB storage, 1GB RAM
User Accessible StorageApproximately 1 GB—

Main Camera

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Single8 MP, 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size, AF5 MP, AF
FeaturesLED flash, BSI sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 28mm focal length, HTC ImageChip, HDR, panoramaLED flash, HDR, panorama, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
Video720p@30fps720p@30fps

Selfie Camera

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Single1.6 MP, BSI sensorVGA
Video720pNo

Battery

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
TypeRemovable Li-Ion 1800 mAh batteryRemovable Li-Ion 1750 mAh
Talk timeUp to 13 hours (3G)Up to 10 h 18 min (2G) / Up to 9 h (3G)
Stand-by—Up to 454 h (2G) / Up to 455 h (3G)

Body

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Dimensions131.8 x 66.9 x 9.9 mm (5.19 x 2.63 x 0.39 in)124 x 62 x 9.3 mm (4.88 x 2.44 x 0.37 in)
Weight123 g (4.34 oz)115 g (4.06 oz)
SIMOptional Dual SIM (Micro-SIM)Micro-SIM
BuildPlastic unibody back cover, removable batteryPlastic body, removable back covers

Comms

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNAWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth4.0, A2DP4.0, A2DP
PositioningGPS, A-GPSGPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
NFCYes (market dependent)Yes
RadioStereo FM radio with RDSStereo FM radio with RDS
USBmicroUSB 2.0microUSB 2.0, USB On-The-Go

Launch

HTC Desire 500Sony Xperia M
Announced2013, August2013, June
StatusReleased 2013, SeptemberDiscontinued

Frequently asked questions

Which has the better battery, HTC Desire 500 or Sony Xperia M?

HTC Desire 500 — 1,800 mAh for the HTC Desire 500 versus 1,750 mAh for the Sony Xperia M.

Which is lighter, HTC Desire 500 or Sony Xperia M?

Sony Xperia M — 123 g for the HTC Desire 500 versus 115 g for the Sony Xperia M.

Which is newer, HTC Desire 500 or Sony Xperia M?

HTC Desire 500 — Sep 2013 for the HTC Desire 500 versus Aug 2013 for the Sony Xperia M.

Is the HTC Desire 500 or the Sony Xperia M rated higher?

We rate the HTC Desire 500 6/10 and the Sony Xperia M 5/10.

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