Although not a huge player in the mobile field, Sony is making an aggressive play to change that with its new Xperia smartphone line-up, which now boasts two new additions: the Xperia SP and Xperia L.
The Xperia Z has received generally positive reviews as Sony's flagship 5-inch phone, but with both Samsung and Nokia fielding a diverse array of devices for every price range, Sony has decided to expand its own team. The Xperia SP and L will both still look and feel like premium phones, but apparently now only phablets can be flagship devices.
The Xperia SP clocks in with a 4.6-inch screen and a 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor. The Xperia L, meanwhile, sports a 4.3-inch display and a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon. Both will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.
No specific release date was announced, but Sony did mention a Q2 2013 estimate. The rumored price is around $400 for the SP and a hundred dollars less for the L, though that has yet to be announced as well.
"Xperia SP and Xperia L are ideally suited for those seeking stylish class-leading smartphones that don't compromise on features," Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications, says in a press release. "Both of our new models benefit from Sony's proven innovation and engineering expertise — whether you want to enjoy premium HD quality entertainment over 4G LTE on our mid-range Xperia SP or capture every moment in perfect detail with our more affordable Xperia L."
Below are the specs for each phone, courtesy of Android Authority.
Xperia SP
- 4.6-inch scratch-resistant TFT display with 1,280 x 720 pixels resolution and 319 ppi
- Sony Mobile Bravia Engine 2
- Dual-core 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960T processor
- 1 GB of RAM
- 8 GB of internal memory- MicroSD card slot for expanding the storage with an additional 32 GB
- 8 MP rear-facing snapper with LED Flash, auto focus, 16x digital zoom, back-illuminated sensor
- VGA front-facing camera
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- 2,370 mAh battery
- Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot
- Bluetooth 4.0
- NFC, DLNA certified, MHL support, USB 2.0, aGPS, Glonass, screen mirroring
- 4G LTE
- PlayStation certified
- 3D surround sound
- 130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98 mm dimensions
- 155 grams weight
Xperia L
- 4.3-inch FWVGA display
- 1Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB internal storage, expandable via microSD upto 32GB
- 8MP rear camera with HDR mode for both pictures and video, 0.3MP front camera
- Dedicated camera button
- 1,750 mAh battery
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
