Technology News South Africa

Premium smartphone from Sony

Sony Mobile has announced the launch of its new flagship Android smartphone, Xperia Z, scheduled for South Africa in Q2 2013.

It offers full HD 5" reality display with mobile Bravia Engine 2 for brightness and clarity, easy and fast one-touch functions to wirelessly share music, photos and videos across devices and a design with water and dust resistance

"With this model, we are bringing over half a century of innovation in TV, imaging, music, film and gaming to create a super-phone experience that stands out," said Kuni Suzuki, president and CEO, Sony Mobile Communications. "With great specifications, the company's media applications, one-touch functions and outstanding battery life, it is well positioned for leadership in the smartphone market."

Camera capability

The smartphone shares capabilities with Sony digital cameras and features Exmor RS for mobile, the world's first image sensor with HDR (High Dynamic Range) video for smartphones. HDR technology gives clear images against strong backlight, so users can capture razor sharp pictures and videos whatever the conditions.

It also includes battery stamina mode that can improve the standby time by four times or more by automatically shutting down battery-draining apps whenever the screen is off and starting them up again when the screen is back on.

Entertainment elevated

Pre-loaded are the Walkman, Album and Movies apps, to enable the discovery of on-line and off-line content through a single access point with new ways to enjoy and share that content. The Walkman application provides access to downloaded music and Facebook social integration. The Movies application gives consumers access to movies and TV series while the Album application enables easy access to Facebook friends' photos as well as browsing photos by location.

One-touch functions enable consumers to easily share music, photos and videos from their smartphone to an array of NFC-enabled Sony devices, including speakers, headphones and now TVs. With the new Bravia TV, also announced this week, users can simply touch Xperia Z to the remote control of the TV to instantly enjoy photos and videos on the big screen.

Two additions to Sony's range of NFC-enabled headsets were also introduced the Stereo Bluetooth Headset SBH20 and the Wireless Headset DR-BTN200M. Touch Xperia Z to either headset and begin listening to tracks instantly.

Xperia Z will launch on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and will be upgraded to 4.2.

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