Sony has finally revealed the Xperia Z1, formerly known as the Honami, at the IFA event in Berlin.
The Japanese smartphone maker has already launched a few top-end smartphones this year including the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL and the Xperia Z Ultra. With the launch of the high-end Xperia Z1, Sony will try to attract customer looking to buy a handset with top-notch imaging capabilities.
Rumors of the Xperia Z1 have been circling the smartphone space for a few months and have pointed towards the hardware specifications of the handset. Now Sony has finally taken the curtains off the handset and confirmed full hardware specifications of the device.
"Xperia Z1 represents a significant milestone for Sony in our continued efforts to deliver unforgettable experiences to our consumers," said Kunimasa Suzuki, President and CEO, Sony Mobile Communications. "Not only by bringing the power of Sony to the smartphone and through close collaboration with our partners but by setting a new standard in premium smartphones."
The latest Xperia Z1 sports a 5-inch TFT display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 441 pixels per inch (ppi).
"Xperia Z1 features Sony's unique TRILUMINOS Display for mobile, creating a wider palette of rich natural colours for an immersive viewing experience," per Sony.
A powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 processor powers the handset, paired with 2GB of RAM. Currently, the Snapdragon 800 processor is found only in a handful of smartphones, including the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
The Xperia Z1 touts a 20.7-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing one. The handset has a camera sensor size of 1/2.3-inch, which is bigger than what is found on a normal smartphone. However, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom has a sensor size of 1/2.33-inch.
The latest Sony handset also uses a wide angle 27mm f/2.0 G Lens, and the company claims that the Bionz image processor in the handset has been tweaked to minimize noise in low-light environments.
The Xperia Z1 is dust-proof and water-resistant with IP55 and IP58 certifications. A 3,000mAh battery powers the handset and it includes 16GB of internal memory, which can be expanded using a microSD card to up to 64GB. The handset comes pre-loaded with the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. With the recent launch of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, many customers would have hoped that the handset came pre-loaded with the latest Jelly Bean flavor.
The smartphone measures 5.67 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches and weighs 6 ounces. Sony confirmed that the Xperia Z1 will be available in black, white and purple color options.
The company announced that the handset will hit shelves globally in September; however, individual countries and carriers will announce their own release date. Pricing details are not available at this point.
