Sony announces stylish new Xperia S, P and U smartphones

by Alistair Lowe on 26 February 2012, 20:18

Tags: Sony (NYSE:SNE)

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It appears as though Sony also has some goodies for us at this year's MWC and it's in the form of three smartphones, the Xperia S, P and U, in descending order of market affordability and, goodies these devices certainly are, they look fantastically stunning.

Taking a moment to briefly discuss a new Sony technology that has found its way into the top two models of the line-up, 'WhiteMagic', is what Sony is titling its new display panel, which, much like LG's new OLED televisions, utilises a fourth 'white' sub-pixel, to boost brightness whilst maintaining image quality. From a mobile standpoint, the application of a white sub-pixel will see these new smartphones achieve excellent outdoor viewing through an ultra-bright display but also excellent power-saving when indoors as the brightness can be turned down in a power-efficient manner.

We're still awaiting complete specifications but this is what we have for you right now:

Sony Xperia S

CPU 1.5GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm (MSM8260 Snapdragon - speculative)
GPU Adreno 220 (speculative)
RAM 1GB
Internal Storage 1 to 1.5GB + 32GB eMMC
Camera 12.1MP f/2.4 auto-focus with flash + 1.3MP front-facing
Connectivity BT 3.0 + HS, WiFi b/g/n, NFC, MicroUSB, MicroHDMI, DNLA, 3.5mm Ear Jack
Display 4.3 inch 1,280 x 720 WhiteMagic TFT
Dimensions 128 x 64 x 10.6mm, 144g
Battery Unknown, up to 8.5 hours talk time, 420 hours standby and 25 hours music

Sony Xperia P

CPU 1GHz Dual-Core U8500
GPU ARM Mali-400MP1
RAM 1GB
Internal Storage 16GB
Camera 8MP auto-focus with flash + VGA front-facing
Connectivity BT 3.0 + HS, WiFi b/g/n, NFC, MicroUSB, MicroHDMI, DNLA, 3.5mm Ear Jack
Display 4.0 inch 960 x 540 WhiteMagic TFT
Dimensions 122 x 59.5 x 10.5mm, 120g
Battery

Unknown, up to 6 hours talk time, 475 hours standby and 80 hours music

Sony Xperia U

CPU 1GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm
Camera 5MP auto-focus with flash + VGA front-facing
Display 3.5 inch 854 x 480 TFT
Dimensions 112 x 54 x 12mm, 110g
Battery Unknown, up to 6.5 hours talk time, 472 hours standby and 45 hours music

Equipped with a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm, presumably MSM8260, processor and a gigantic 12.1 megapixel camera, the Sony Xperia S certainly means business and as such has received Sony's 'Playstation Certified' branding. Both the S and the P feature Sony xLOUD technology for sound reproduction and as has become a notable trend at MWC 2012, NFC. We don't yet have all the details on the Xperia U and so it may very well sport features we've yet to list; what is unique about this device is that it features an interchangeable bottom cover, allowing for individualised colours, likewise, the Xperia P features a very attractive, full aluminium unibody enclosure.

At launch these devices will be running Android 2.3 though are scheduled to be updated to 4.0 in the second quarter of this year, which also indicates a fairly imminent release window for the new Xperia series, with Sony stating that it intends to launch its largest ad-campaign in years to promote its new smartphones.



HEXUS Forums :: 9 Comments

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Xperia S is still looking like the favourite to replace my galaxy s in a months time. The clockspeed is good on the chip just a shame really it's the 40nm chip and not the 28nm chip of the same spec
they look fantastic!
Biscuit
they look fantastic!
Don't agree at all - compared to the Arc/ArcS and heck, even my two year old X10, they're dog ugly. Apart from the notification band (which I quite like) they look too much like the iPhone4/4S - aka “pocket slabs”. :puke: I much prefer the “sculpted curves” of the older models.

No expandable storage and - more importantly - fixed battery (reputedly) means that unless that screen is really, really good, then I'm going to pass.

Question: the Xperia U picture seems to show that the back (and one side) of the phone below the notification band is a different colour to the rest. Was this a genuine production/demo model or just a mock up?
EDIT: Oops - just noticed the bit in the text saying that the Xperia U has an "interchangeable bottom cover". I must read things more carefully! :embarrassed:
At a glace they do bare a resemblance, but its the common situation where things are always likely to look alike when they are minimal bevel and buttons with a massive screen. If you look a bit closer they have put some nice subtle curves in the back panel, added to the silver ring i think they look quite classy.

I dont think i would buy one but i would still like to see one in the flesh and have a play around with one.
I was really getting annoyed about the lack of mSD slots and replaceable battery in the new Xperia's and I can see its not going to change… I did read this interesting article on SD cards slowing mobiles (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224352/Slow_smartphone_It_s_not_the_network_it_s_NAND_flash) so I think I can forgive the fixed memory size but the lack of replaceable battery I can't. I've had to replace the battery in my X10 to get a day out of it once it reached 15 months old. With a 24 month contract I can't risk have to break the phone open to replace it. I've also had to hard reset by pulling the battery twice - something also impossible.

I have replaced the mSD card in my X10 but given the article above I guess I could go without next time.