Hot -- or at least warm -- on the heels of the 5-inch Xperia Z, Sony's lifted the lid on two new smart phones, one of which features a flashing disco strip along its undercarriage.
The Xperia SP (seen above) has a 4.6-inch, 720p screen, as well as NFC and 4G capabilities. It should be compatible with every UK 4G network, so you won't be tied to any particular operator if you want speedier mobile data.
The SP is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and plays host to a glowing strip of see-through plastic along the bottom, which you can see in action in the video below.
You can customise this band to change colour and notify you of new messages or calls, or -- Sony says -- set it to 'pulse to the beat of your music. It's a daft addition, but Sony clearly knows that everyone enjoys gawping at a colourful flashing light. Here's hoping it doesn't have an impact on battery life.
The Xperia L meanwhile is smaller and a little less fancy, toting a 4.3-inch 854x480 pixel screen and a 8-megapixel camera. There's no 4G and the processor is a more modest 1GHz dual-core affair, but these hardware cutbacks should mean the price is a bit lower.
The SP and L are both running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which isn't quite the latest version. As these phones aren't expected to come out worldwide until between April and June, it's a bit of a pain to have an older version of Android on board.
There's no word on an exact release date, but stay tuned. Sony's Xperia Z impressed in our review, so here's hoping the Japanese tech giant can repeat the trick with these more humble mobiles. Are you tempted?
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Comments 5
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anonymous 18 March, 2013 12:40
I wish Samsung phones were designed as well as Sony's.
Power + Looks would = Big bucks for Samsung.
anonymous 18 March, 2013 18:58
What they should do in my opinion is treat the designs more like the S, P and U.
Keep an identity between their phones. The Z is stunning and having a smaller screen with the same looks would be a winner for people I know.
anonymous 19 March, 2013 03:59
When will sony learn, that they need to move to quadcore and full HD phones to survive?
anonymous 19 March, 2013 11:42
@ above
Sony are learning. Xperia Z is their flagship and it is quad core.
SP, L are this years mid-range phones and so are dual core.
The SP is a pretty awesome higher-mid range phone- It's has one of the newer more powerful dual core cpu's,+(same GPU as the 1080P Htc One), and a much bigger battery then the Xperia T. It is what the Xperia T should of been.
For people who don't want a 1080p phone..this phone can compete on performance with the S3, possibly beat it
anonymous 17 April, 2013 10:41
The SP actually beats the quad-core One X by some distance in the Quadrant test..