Sony is adding two smartphones to its growing stable of devices. Meet the Xperia T2 Ultra and the Xperia E1 — both substantial updates to Sony’s 2013 models. Best yet, both are offered in dual-sim variants.
These latest phones join the Z1S and Z1 announced last week at CES. However, it seems Sony held these close to its chest, as they’re somewhat mundane and not destined for the U.S. market. And, as Sony found out from years of experience, to “win” CES requires focused and streamlined announcements and not a proverbial conveyor belt of press releases.
Sony is up front about the T2 Ultra’s destination: This phone is for emerging markets like China, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific rim, touts the press release. But this phone isn’t lacking in any substantial way. It’s packed to the gills with the best Sony has to offer, including a near edgeless design with a 6-inch screen and a 13MP camera. The major downside of the phone comes in the way of a quad-core 1.4 GHz Snapdragon of an unannounced pedigree. However, the battery life is likely stellar thanks to this slower SoC and 3000 mAh battery.
The E1 is the budget phone in the mix. It leans on Sony’s audio brand and sports a speaker capable of hitting 100Db in case you want to share your love of Neil Young with co-workers in a different office building. Up front is a 4-inch screen, up from 3.2-inches found in the Xperia E released in early 2013.
There is no word on pricing or release dates, though. Sony is likely holding that information until Mobile World Congress in February.
With these latest models, Sony is continuing down the course of offering a simplified device lineup. The company is putting a lot of emphasis on just a few devices in each market unlike in the past when it would flood the scene with countless SKUs.
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