Sony takes on iPhone

The unstated strategy behind the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, launched in South Africa earlier this week and due in stores this month, appears to be that it is designed to take on Apple’s iPhone 5S.

Sony takes on iPhone

The unstated strategy behind the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, launched in South Africa earlier this week and due in stores this month, appears to be that it is designed to take on Apple’s iPhone 5S.

The unspoken strategy in the launch of the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month and in Johannesburg yesterday, is to be a real competitor to the iPhone.

Apple’s dogged insistence on keeping the iPhone screen to 4″, and the heavy sales it has still been able to maintain – 32-million units in the last quarter of 2013 – has sent a signal to other smartphone manufacturers that a sizeable proportion of the market does not want a large-screen smartphone.

The problem with smaller displays on other brands, however, has been that they tend to be low-specced devices that are not close to being viable alternatives to the iPhone. This, to a large extent, is the underlying foundation for the loyalty the iPhone continues to generate.

Enter the Xperia Z1 Compact. Rather than being a stripped down, de-specced version of the Z1 and its 5″” display, it is simply a smaller version, with a 4.3″” screen. The rationale? While consumers do want ever more powerful, brighter and lighter phones, they don’t always want bigger screen

The answer is a phone that, aside from the display, has almost the exact same specs in terms of processor, battery, camera and other technology built into the Z1. In other words, it is a premium handset, aimed at high-end users who want something that fits more easily into the hand or pocket.

‚””Xperia Z1 Compact is a welcome addition to our expanding range of premium Z series smartphones.‚”” said Kunimasa Suzuki, President and CEO, Sony Mobile Communications. ‚””Xperia Z1 is a no-compromise feature-packed smartphone with a beautiful yetdurable design. With Xperia Z1 Compact, we bring all of these premium features and performance, into a smaller size to give you the ultimate compact smartphone.‚””

It also features Sony’s proven camera technologies to deliver the same level of performance and quality that you would find in aconventional compact digital camera. The 20.7 megapixel camera phone is matched with 1/2.3-type CMOS image sensor Exmor RS for mobile, Sony’s G Lens and intelligent BIONZ for mobile image processing engine.

High shutter speeds and 3x clear image zoom prevent shots from being blurred while allowing capture from a distance. Superior Auto and intelligent scene recognition technology add to the image settings. I’s also both waterproof and dust-resistant.

Sony provided the following details:

The Xperia Z1 Compact NFC phone comes pre-loaded with a suite of innovative Xperia Camera Apps to take your photography experience to a new level:

· Timeshift burst: Captures an impressive 61 frames in just two seconds so you get the perfect shot first time, every time.

· Info-eye: An innovative visual search using your camera to provide information on landmarks, books and wine amongst others.

¬∑ Social live: Broadcast your videos live via Facebook and get your friends’ comments right on your screen for the ultimate interactive sharing experience.

· AR effect: Have some creative fun with your pictures with SmartAR augmented reality animations

In addition to these great pre-installed social camera apps, there’s a whole range of extra apps for you to enjoy including Wikitude Places, Evernote, VI Sports and more. Simply go into your camera viewfinder, turn on Superior Auto and then click on ‚’+Apps’ to see all the latest apps to enhance your smartphone experience.

Xperia Z1 Compact includes all of the features of the acclaimed Xperia Z1, but offered in perfectly palm-sized proportions. Featuring Sony’s stunning OmniBalance design, this dust-resistant and waterproof (IP55 & IP58) beauty is both sleek and durable from every angle. And with the dedicated camera button, you can even take photos or videos underwater. The Xperia Z1 Compact takes the style stakes a step further offering a choice of vibrant colour finishes including white, black, lime and pink to suit your individual taste. A clever design refinement is the new Glove Mode4 that lets you use your Xperia Z1 Compact even while wearing gloves, making it even easier to use your phone, no matter what the weather.

Xperia Z1 Compact offers ultra-fast performance and breathtaking graphics, thanks to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU and 4G LTE for amazing speed. The Xperia Z1 Compact also includes a 2300 mAh battery which provides outstanding, class-leading battery performance, despite its compact size.

Sony’s Battery Stamina Mode helps you stay connected for longer, as it automatically turns off functions to save power when you don’t need them and restarts them when you do. So now you can leave the charger at home and never have to worry running out of power when you need it most the Z1 Compact takes everyday demands in its stride.

Built with Sony’s latest Bravia TV technologies optimized for mobile, the Xperia Z1 Compact incorporates a 4.3‚”” TRILUMINOS HD Display for mobile, for a wider palette of rich, natural colours. Sony’s exclusive X-Realit for mobile is an intelligent super resolution technology that finds and reproduces any lacking pixels, so you’ll always be able to enjoy the clearest and sharpest videos.

Xperia Z1 Compact offers seamless access to both online and offline entertainment with these integrated Sony’s media apps:

¬∑ PlayMemories Online – a cloud-based image and video service that is integrated into the Album application. A new ‚’All Sync’ feature enables users to instantly auto-upload all of their photos without storage limitation7.

· Xperia Privilege Movies a unique Sony offering coming soon to South Africa which will enable consumers to download and enjoy a selection of box office hit movies like Elysium on your smartphone.8

Xperia Transfer Mobile makes it easier than ever to switch from your existing Android or iOS handset to Xperia. It’s the simple and easy way to seamlessly transfer your contacts, photos, bookmarks, apps, messages and much more from your old smartphone, swiftly and securely. And better still, no PC is required – simply transfer directly from phone-to-phone using NFC or the supplied cable. [Note: For those users switching from Blackberry or Microsoft Windows Phone Operating systems, PC or Mac based Xperia‚Ñ¢ Transfer is also available to simplify the transfer of contacts and content.

The Xperia Z1 Compact will launch in South Africa from February 2014.

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