CES 2013 – The Xperia Z, Sony’s Answer to the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3

Sony introduced their new flagship phone at CES 2013 and they’re not messing around. The Xperia Z features a 5” Full HD 1080p Reality Display, Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, 13 megapixel fast-capture camera and 4G LTE. Sony claims that they’re cramming half a century of innovation into this single, powerful smartphone.

The Xperia Z also uses Battery STAMINA mode, which automatically shuts down battery-draining apps when the screen is off. This can extend the standby time by four times or more. The apps will automatically turn back on when the screen comes back on.

Of course, being a Sony phone, media plays a big part in the experience and the Xperia Z makes it easy to share all of your music, photos, and videos with other NFC-enabled Sony devices, which includes things like speakers, headphones, and even televisions.

The Android 4.1 phone will launch globally in Q1 of 2013.

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Introducing Xperia™ Z –the best of Sony in a premium smartphone

January 7th 2013, Las Vegas, USA – Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) today introduces its new flagship Android smartphone, Xperia Z. With a 5” Full HD 1080p Reality Display, Snapdragon™ S4 Pro quad-core processor, 13 megapixel fast-capture camera and 4G LTE, Xperia Z has all the specifications expected from a premium smartphone. On top of this, it brings the best of Sony’s unique technology, content, design and connectivity to deliver rich user experiences. Xperia Z will launch globally in Q1 2013.

“With Xperia Z, we are bringing over half a century of innovation in TV, imaging, music, film and gaming to create a superphone experience that truly stands out,” said Kuni Suzuki, President and CEO, at Sony Mobile Communications. “With great specifications, Sony’s media applications, One-touch functions and outstanding battery life, Xperia Z is well positioned for leadership in the smartphone market. By putting smartphones at the heart of our strategy, Sony is enabling people to create, enjoy and share content and experiences like never before.”

Intelligent Sony Technology Xperia Z’s razor sharp Reality Display, powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2, brings Sony’s long-standing TV expertise to the smartphone and delivers an immersive viewing experience with super brightness and clarity. 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.

Xperia Z 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.

Discover, enjoy and share entertainment with Sony’s media applications and One-touch functions Sony media applications offer a consistent entertainment experience across a range of Sony devices. Pre-loaded on Xperia Z, the “WALKMAN”, Album and Movies apps, enable 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 all your downloaded music, a library of 18 million songs to explore from Music Unlimited and Facebook social integration. The Movies application gives consumers access to over 100,000 movies and TV series from Video Unlimited 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 today, simply touch Xperia Z to the remote control of the TV to instantly enjoy your photos and videos on the big screen.

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

Stand-out design and durability Precision engineered with premium materials, Xperia Z introduces a unique OmniBalance design with subtly rounded edges and smooth reflective surfaces on all sides. Despite its slim 7.9mm body, Xperia Z is highly durable with tempered glass and anti-shatter film on the front and back, as well as the highest levels of dust and water resistance*** (IP55 and IP57) found in a premium smartphone.

In selected markets, a design variant of Xperia Z – Xperia ZL – will also be released in Q1 2013. Xperia ZL delivers the same immersive entertainment experiences as Xperia Z but in a smaller form factor.

Xperia Z and Xperia ZL will launch on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and will be upgraded to 4.2 shortly after launch for the latest Android user experience.

Key features for Xperia Z • 5” 1080 x 1920p full HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 • 13MP Fast Capture camera with Exmor RS for mobile, HDR video, Superior Auto and Noise Reduction to effortlessly capture razor sharp pictures and videos in any conditions • Dust and water resistant (IP55 & IP57) with a durable glass display • 1.5 GHz asynchronous quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB RAM • Battery STAMINA mode improves standby time by at least 4 times

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