Sony has unveiled several new smartphones at the Ifa trade show in Berlin, as well as two new smartwatches. All of the products are expected to launch this autumn in time for the holiday season.
For the high end of the market, the company launched the Xperia Z3 series, available in the flagship 5.3-inch model, a compact 4.6-inch version or as an 8-inch tablet. The Z3 phones comes with a 20.7 megapixel camera with new 25mm wide-angle lens and the first ISO 12800 sensitivity in a smartphone, as well as 4K video. The phones feature a rounded aluminium frame and tempered glass panels and will be available in white, black, copper or silver green, with a dual-Sim version in some markets.
The Z3 devices also feature PS4 Remote Play, so users can log into a PlayStation 4 over a home wireless network and continue playing games on the phone or tablet, or watch friends play. The tablet will sell for EUR 399 with 16GB storage and EUR 449 with 32GB or EUR 499 for the LTE version. The Xperia Z3 is priced at EUR 649, and the Z3 Compact will sell for EUR 499.
For the mid-range market, Sony offers the Xperia E3, a LTE smartphone with 4.5-inch screen and 5 megapixel camera, available in a choice of four colours. It comes with a 30-day trial of Sony Music Unlimited and three films from Sony. It will be available in the autumn at a recommend price of EUR 199.
In the wearables market, Sony introduced the SmartBand Talk and the SmartWatch 3. The SmartBand is designed with a short call function, allowing users to receive calls from their connected smartphone. It includes voice controls and support for HD voice, with a 1.4-inch e-paper display. With a built-in accelerometer and altimeter sensor technology, it can also be used to track daily activity. The Smartwatch 3 is Sony's first smartwatch to run Google's Android Wear. It features a built-in microphone, accelerometer, compass, gyro and GPS sensor as well as a 1.6-inch LCD screen and 4GB storage.
The smartband will be available in white or black for EUR 159.99, while the smartwatch is priced at EUR 229.99 and has a black or lime green frame, with a choice of pick or white wristbands launching later. Both the devices work with Sony's Lifelog app to manage functions and will have access to a new web portal to store personal data from the app. Sony said also it will release the API for Lifelog so other developers can integrate services with the devices.
