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Sony Mobile announced the availability of two new Xperia-branded handsets in Sydney today, partnering with Telstra for the launch of the Xperia P, and with Crazy John’s for the youth-focused Xperia U.
(Credit: Sony)
Telstra will range the Xperia P on plans starting from AU$49 per month on a two-year contract, while Crazy John’s positions the lower-spec Xperia U at AU$15 per month. Both handsets will be available for outright purchase through Dick Smith’s and Sony Centre stores for AU$449 and AU$299, respectively.
The handsets are the second and third Xperia phones released in Australia so far this year, and represent the middle- and lower-end tiers of Sony’s smartphone strategy for the year. The Xperia P is almost identical to the flagship model Xperia S, released earlier through Optus and Vodafone, but with a smaller, lower-resolution 4.3-inch display. It features the same media-streaming and sharing features, though, with Sony’s Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited services pre-installed. It is also NFC capable, and comes with two Sony SmartTags in the box. When purchased through Telstra, the Xperia P also comes with a micro-HDMI cable, for connecting the phone to any compatible flat-panel TV or monitor.
The Xperia U swaps some of these features for a little more style. NFC is out, and the screen is smaller again, at 3.5 inches diagonally, but it does come with interchangeable coloured caps to personalise the look of the handset.
Both handsets feature 1GHz dual-core processors, and are released on the Gingerbread version of the Android OS. Sony intends to have both handsets updated to Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in July.
