Sony launches water resistant Xperia Acro S
2012-05-31 10:37
Cape Town - Sony Mobile Communications on Wednesday launched the latest editions of the NXT range of Xperia devices as the company, now a wholly-owned Sony subsidiary, looks to gain market share over Samsung, which leads the Android smartphone market.
Mobile phones manufactures are targeting South Africa and developing countries as more consumers are expected to switch to smartphones in the medium term.
The Xperia go and the Xperia Acro S are additions to the range, including the Xperia S, P and U.
The new devices highlight the battle for market share and it is widely expected that Samsung will launch its Galaxy SIII in SA within days.
The higher end Acro S has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a high definition 11cm scratch-proof display. The device also boasts a 12 megapixel main and 1.3 megapixel secondary camera with red eye reduction.
Both devices run Google's Android (Gingerbread) operating system and the Acro S has 16GB of internal memory as well as support for a micro-SD card.
Waterproof
To differentiate the brand in the increasingly crowded Android market, the new Sony smartphones are dust and water resistant. The company says that this feature in particular has made it a popular seller in Japan.
"[The] Xperia acro HD, which has the same durability and water resistance features as Xperia acro S, has been the best selling smartphone in Japan since its launch in March [2012], further demonstrating the appeal of durability and water resistance," Sony Mobile told News24.
Both devices are equipped with the Sony Entertainment Network, potentially giving users access to a wide range of audio and video content from the entertainment giant, but it is unclear when South Africans will be admitted to the network.
Estimates suggest that there are around nine million smartphones in SA, but most of those (65%) are BlackBerry devices because in part, users are offered an unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service with the Research In Motion phone.
There is no clarity yet on the South African prices for the smartphones, but it is likely to be on the upper end of the pricing scale for premium devices.
The smartphones are available in black, white and yellow.
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