BARCELONA, Spain--Sony Mobile Communications announced updates to its flagship mobile products at Mobile World Congress, including new premium devices the Xperia Z2 smartphone and Xperia Z2 tablet.
Xperia Z2 is a high end waterproof smartphone combining Sony's best display, sound, camera and a 4K camcorder experience. Xperia Z2 is the newest addition to Sony's premium Z series and will launch globally from March 2014.
The smartphone provides 4K resolution (3840×2160 pixels/30p) camcorder at four times the detail of Full HD, while the 20.7 megapixel camera is matched with 1/2.3-type Exmor RS for mobile CMOS image sensor, Sony's award-winning G Lens and intelligent BIONZ for mobile image processing engine resulting in superb photo and video quality.
Unique to Sony, Xperia Z2 also provides an introductory content offer that includes six blockbuster movies from Sony Pictures, including Captain Phillips, through the Video Unlimited service, as well as 30 days free trial of the Music Unlimited service and a range of PlayStation Mobile games.
Sony also announced a new tablet, the Xperia Z2 Tablet, Sony's slimmest and lightest waterproof tablet. Sony claimed the Xperia Z2 Tablet is the world's first tablet display with a Live Colour LED display, providing bright natural colours and sharp images in any light thanks to Sony's latest Bravia TV technology expertise. The 10.1inch Full HD Triluminos Display for mobile is teamed with Sony's new Live Colour LED technology, resulting true to life colour and resolution.
The Xperia Z2 Tablet also offers the clear sound quality with Sony's Front Surround audio technology and Digital Noise Cancelling technology that reduces ambient noise by up to 98 per cent when paired with the Sony MDR-NC31EM Digital Noise Cancelling headset.
Available in March 2014, the Xperia Z2 Tablet features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 2.3 GHz processor quad-core Krait CPU that delivers high performance without draining the battery. Users can also experience immersive multimedia experiences and 3D gaming thanks to the enhanced graphics capabilities of the latest Adreno 330 GPU.
Nick Dillon, senior analyst at Ovum, commented on Sony's portfolio updates: "The Xperia Z2 and Tablet Z2 are modest updates to Sony's flagship smartphone and tablet devices, but their importance in helping to re-establish Sony's brand and design credentials should not be discounted. Design refinements, improved screens, and 4K video capture are clearly incremental improvements. However, this not necessarily a bad thing, given that the smartphone market has matured to such a point where transformational innovations are hard to come by, and Sony used last month's CES to showcase its more innovative products."
Added Dillon: "The flagship devices are an embodiment of the 'One Sony' vision set out by president and CEO Kazuo Hirai two years ago. This vision combines technology from Sony's TV, audio, camera, and gaming divisions and content from its media business. Mr Hirai has finally managed to make Sony worth more than the sum of its parts, something that evaded his predecessor, Howard Stringer, during his seven year tenure. It is crucial for Sony to be successful in mobile, and it needs to continue to prioritize this over its other businesses. As we move toward a world of multiscreen experiences, Sony's other assets will become more important, but mobile will remain the primary touchpoint with consumers."
Sony also announced the Xperia M2, a mid-range price point 4G LTE smartphone with an eight megapixel camera with Exmor RS for mobile and Sony's music and video entertainment. Sony's OmniBalance design, as found on Sony's premium smartphone range, an ultra-fast processor and a large qHD display, combine to provide all-round performance on the Xperia M2.
Xperia M2 will be supported by a free entertainment package of three blockbuster movies, 30 days free trial of the Music Unlimited service, and a range of PlayStation Mobile games. Xperia M2 will be available worldwide from April 2014.
Finally, Sony stated that the SmartBand SWR10 and new Lifelog application will be available from March 2014, and are official smartphone accessories of the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup.
For more:
- see this press release on Sony's announcements
- see this release on the Sony Xperia Z2
- see this release on the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
- see this release on the Sony Xperia M2
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