Dubai: Competition in the smartphone race has reached new heights with the launch of Sony’s Xperia Z1 in the UAE on Wednesday evening.
Four new smartphones — Apple iPhone 5S, 5C, Samsung Note 3 and LG G2 — were launched in the market last week and Sony does not want to be left behind.
The five-inch Full HD device has the same OmniBalance design as other Xperia mobiles with scratch-resistant glass back and front, along with single piece aluminium sides.
“The Xperia Z1 is a premium phone that is well on its way to change the rules of the game forever. Our strategy is to become one of the top three credible manufacturers globally,” Ruediger Odenbach, vice-president for Middle East and Africa at Sony Mobile Communications, told Gulf News after the launch event.
He said Sony has no intention of launching feature (non-smart) phones and the focus will only be on smartphones. But in the smartphone category, we will have different price ranges.
Z1 is powered by 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory. It can be expanded up to 64GB using microSD slot. The Triluminos LCD screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is priced at Dh2,649 and will be available next week.
“The Z1 has a wide array of strengths that Sony has imported from almost every business in the company. The camera technology is sourced from its Digital Imaging group; the display technology is imported from the Bravia TV group and of course the bundled content comes from the PlayStation, Sony Music and Sony Pictures lines. As such the hardware of the device is second to none in the Android market,” Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst at IHS Electronics & Media, told Gulf News.
The device has a 20.7 mega pixel camera with 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 27mm f/2.0 lens on the back of the device.
“Most of the users are taking photos on their smartphones so why can’t they take advantage of the technology,” Odenbach said.
Izzat Kittaneh, business director at Sony Mobile Communications Middle East and Africa, said that most entry level smartphones use 1/4-inch sensor and in Xperia Z Sony used a 1/3-inch sensor. Sony is now using a bigger sensor for better picture quality.
As mobile phone manufacturers are boosting the camera specs to raise the bar, Gleeson said that megapixels are a very useful marketing tool for smartphone companies as people are used to associating more megapixels with better quality. This is far easier to communicate to consumers than the other features that enhance picture quality such as optical image stabilisation, dual LED flash, or going with larger pixels as opposed to more pixels such as Apple has done with the iPhone 5S and HTC did with the One.
There are “more and more consumers now looking for excellent photography” on their smartphones as they wish to replace their cameras altogether with a smartphone.
As wearable technologies are gaining traction, Sony will be launching its second SmartWatch in October and will be priced at Dh799.
“Sony is the proud leader in the smartwatch market, since introducing our first Bluetooth watch in 2007,” said Kittaneh.
“The future of wearable devices is incredibly bright with analyst research predicting 41 million smartwatches will be sold by 2016,” he said.
