Sony Announces Mid-Range Xperia SP and Low-End Xperia L

 

Sony’s mid-range Xperia SP will ship in three colors abroad: red, black and white. However, Sony’s made no volume on a U.S. quit as of yet. Image: Sony

Sony fleshed issue its revamped smartphone lineup on Monday, announcing two new handsets: the Xperia SP and the Xperia L. The pair sits clearly downmarket of Sony’s flagship Xperia Z, which was launched back at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, but has yet to go on sale in the U.S.

The mid-range Xperia SP has a 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, just 1GB of RAM and a scrimpy 8GB of storage. It does have microSD card slots for expanded storage. It’s 0.39 inches thick and weighs 5.47 ounces. Sony outfits the SP with an 8-megapixel lift shooter. The SP can connect to 3G and LTE networks, and uses the same design language and mix in of aluminum and glass construction as Sony’s flagship Xperia Z. Basically, the SP is make to the specifications of what could have been a flagship smartphone last year — except for the piteous 8GB of included storage.

The Xperia L is a decidedly entry level, bargin-bin smartphone. It has a pitifully low-resolution 4.3-inch, 854×480-pixel display. Inside, the L is powered by a dual-core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM. Storage likewise comes in at a lousy 8GB, but it besides includes a microSD slot. On the upside, Sony has equipped the L with a constitutional NFC chip, and it shares the same 8-megapixel rear camera as the Xperia SP. The L was denote with 3G connectivity, but no 4G LTE version as of yet (don’t hold your breath).

Both handsets will ship on a intemperately skinned version of Google’s Android 4.1 operating form (same as the upscale Z), and not the newer Android 4.2 software, which is found on phones like Google’s Nexus 4 and the newly inform Samsung Galaxy S4. And again, like the Xperia Z, neither the SP nor L have U.S. release dates, carriers or price points. The Xperia SP and Xperia L are set to go on sale in Europe and Asia sometime in the second quarter of the year.

The Xperia L sits at the bottom of Sony’s new three-phone lineup. Image: Sony

Materials taken from WIRED