Sony pumped up its Xperia lineup of phones on Wednesday with three new models, the Xperia T, Xperia V and Xperia J.
The Xperia T is Sony's new "global flagship," according to Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, "a model that delivers our best high-definition experience in a smartphone to date." Running Android 4.0, the T features a 4.55-inch, 1280-by-720 screen, and a 13-megapixel camera in a sleek, black body. NFC lets the phone pair with Bluetooth speakers and headphones with just a tap, and the new Walkman-branded music app adds album art and artist information automatically to your music.
That said, some of the Xperia T's specs are a little funky for a flagship. It's using a 1.5Ghz Qualcomm S3 processor—nothing to sneeze at, to be sure, but short of the S4 models that Samsung is using. Its Android 4.0 OS is also a little short of the current version 4.1, and it lacks 4G LTE.
The Xperia V, on the other hand, has LTE. It's also water resistant, and like the T it has a 13-megapixel camera, the new media player, and NFC pairing. It runs a faster processor than the T, too, with a 1.5Ghz Qualcomm S4. So why isn't this a "flagship?" It can only be because of its slightly smaller screen, a 4.3-inch, 1280-by-720 panel. Still, though, the V seems to deliver more of what current smartphone users need, even if the screen is 0.3 inches smaller diagonally.
The Xperia J is the affordable model in Sony's new lineup, and the company is pitching it as "stylish." A black slab-style phone just like the others, the Xperia J will come in at a lower price point by using a 1Ghz Qualcomm S2 processor, 854-by-480, 4-inch screen and 5-megapixel camera. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich like its brethren.
If you want further details, Sony has the spec sheets for all three phones up on its site.
Hirai also played up Sony's entertainment applications and additions to Android. Sony "will deliver an enhanced and unified user experience on top of the existing android experience [and] Sony's media applications will be an integral part of the experience," he said.
If my experience with the new Sony Xperia Tablet S is any example, that means Sony will pour a bunch of proprietary music and video apps onto each device, but won't connect them coherently or offer a common portal. Sony has a music store, a video store, the Crackle movie app, and other resources at its disposal, but they're all separate for now.
But Will They Ever Come Here?
It's unclear when or whether any of these phones will come to the U.S., though. Looking at Sony's current lineup, of the 21 phones Sony currently has on the market, only two of them—the Xperia Play and Xperia Ion —ever came out with a U.S. carrier.
Looking at the phones' spec sheets reveals that they'll probably be sold here unlocked direct through Sony stories, if at all. The T is compatible with both AT&T's and T-Mobile's HSPA+ networks, but AT&T is requiring LTE on high-end smartphones nowadays. The J is compatible only with AT&T's HSPA network; the V isn't properly compatible with any U.S. 3G system.
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