Sony shows off stylish new Xperia P and U
Sony's first post-Ericsson dual-core Android phones play it safe.
At Mobile World Congress today, Sony unveiled two new Android handsets to complement its Xperia smartphone line. The Xperia P and Xperia U both run dual-core CPUs and sport the snazzy design found on the Xperia S. The devices are expected to ship this week in Spain; they'll also feature NFC chips and strong multimedia capabilities.
According to Sony, both the Xperia U and Xperia P will offer lots of entertainment prowess and connect to the company's Sony Entertainment Network. Powered by Bravia graphics, Sony also claims the two handsets will smoothly display content such as Web sites, HD movies, and games better than any of the manufacturer's previous phones.
There are differences between the two new Xperias, though. For instance, the Xperia P will use what Sony calls WhiteMagic technology to showcase images and text with great brightness. The Xperia P's big 4-inch screen will also highlight content in crisp detail (960x540 pixels, qHD). Also onboard the Xperia P is an 8-megapixel camera that can shoot 2D and 3D panoramas.
The Xperia U on the other hand has a smaller 3.5-inch screen (854x480 pixels) and a lower-resolution 5-megapixel camera. The Xperia U and P come equipped with NFC (near field communication) chips, so hopefully if Android Ice Cream Sandwich is ever added to the phones, replacing Gingerbread out of the box, using advanced abilities such as Google Wallet and Beam will be possible.
One big letdown is that the handsets will run 1GHz dual-core processors and not quad-core hardware. Sony expects the Xperia P, Xperia U, and previously announced Xperia S to ship this week in Spain. No prices yet, but we'll update when we learn more.
