Hands-on with the Sony Xperia T – aka, the Bond Phone (video)

26 Sep 2012

The Sony Xperia T will be available across Ireland on 1 October, including a special James Bond-themed edition with exclusive content from the upcoming film. Siliconrepublic.com went hands-on with the so-called ‘Bond Phone’ today to see if it lives up to its 007 credentials.

When you hear the words ‘Bond Phone’, you think of a phone with plenty of handy gadgets to help you get out of whatever scrape you’ve landed in. While the Xperia T doesn’t include a self-destruct button, hidden tear gas cartridge or laser beam to cut through any material, it does come with plenty of features to help users share and create quality content.

First of all, the 4.6-inch Reality HD display is apparently Sony’s best yet for a mobile device, so videos or images viewed on the device are clear and high in quality. The device also captures 1080p HD video with its rear-facing camera, and 720p HD with the front-facing camera. The 13MP rear-facing camera also features fast-capture technology, which rapidly loads the camera app and takes a photo when a dedicated button on the device is pressed, even from standby mode.

To share content captured on the device, users have many options. The Xperia T comes with an NFC chip, enabling one-touch sharing of images, video or music with other NFC-enabled devices. It also uses DLNA technology, which means users can ‘throw’ content from the smartphone to other DLNA-enabled devices on the same wireless network (such as a smart TV) to share files simply and rapidly.

In November, the phone will also be upgraded to include Miracast, which will mean users can enable a second screen that mirrors the smartphone, allowing them to watch video from their device or play a smartphone game on their smart TV. And there’ll be no shortage of gaming with the PlayStation-certified Xperia T when the PlayStation Mobile store opens up.

These features will be available on the Sony Xperia T from all carriers, but what O2 customers will get on the exclusive Bond Phone is additional content tied in with the latest instalment of the franchise, Skyfall, which is released in Irish cinemas on 26 October. This includes behind-the-scenes videos, ringtones, official Skyfall wallpapers and screensavers, and film stills geotagged with their location in the film. The really keen customers who pre-order on the dedicated O2 website will also receive a free gift worth €80, while stocks last.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com