Sony has revealed its first branded smartphone, the Xperia S, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. It has a 1.5GHz dual core processor, a HD resolution display and NFC capabilities.
Late last year, Sony said it would buy out Ericsson’s stake in the Sony Ericsson joint venture, letting Sony integrate smartphones with its current range of consumer electronics devices, such as video games consoles, tablets, televisions and PCs.
The Sony Xperia S has a 4.3-inch reality display with the Mobile BRAVIA Engine with a HD (1,280 x 720) resolution screen.
It has a front-facing camera which can record 720p footage and a 12-megapixel, rear-facing camera which can record 1080p video. The back camera also has a feature called fast capture, which can take shots in 1.5 seconds from standby mode.
It includes near field communications, which will allow for support for mobile payments, NFC-enabled apps and Xperia SmartTags. These small, round tags launch profiles on the phone once the device is touched off the tag. For example, a tag can be placed beside the user’s bed, which will activate an alarm clock when the phone is touched against it.
The smartphone also includes DLNA for sharing media wirelessly between devices and a HMDI port for connecting the phone into a TV. It is also PlayStation Certified, giving users the ability to play PlayStation games.
The Xperia S will be available globally from the first quarter of 2012. It will initially run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, before upgrading to Android 4.0 in the second quarter of 2012.
