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Sony unveils waterproof Xperia ZR phone

Introduced on Monday, the new waterproof Android phone offers a 4.6-inch screen, a 13-megapixel camera, and a quad-core 1.5 GHz processor.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
Sony's Xperia ZR phone can withstand a dunking.
Sony's Xperia ZR phone can withstand a dunking. Sony

Sony is launching a new Xperia smartphone designed to be dunkable.

Announced on Monday, the Xperia ZR phone can stay under as much as five feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Using the phone's 13-megapixel camera, you can shoot underwater photos and videos in full HD. The dedicated camera key also allows you to quickly take a shot even if the phone is locked.

The camera takes advantage of Sony's Exmor RS for mobile image sensor with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for both photographs and videos. The company promises that photos and videos are automatically captured with the best settings. You can also turn on a burst mode to snap an unlimited series of photos at 15 frames per second.

"The Xperia ZR pushes the boundaries on where and how consumers can use the full potential of their smartphone," Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications, said in a statement. "By combining Sony's leading camera technology with the highest level of water-resistance, you will never miss another moment."

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core 1.5 GHz processor, the Xperia ZR offers a 4.6-inch HD Reality screen with Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology. Equipped with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the phone also provides 4G LTE connectivity.

The Xperia ZR is slated to reach consumers in various markets around the world starting this quarter.