After being unveiled at CES 2013, the Sony Xperia ZL — along with its twin brother Xperia Z — became two of the most-talked-about high-end handsets. Although there are only rumors and speculation at this point regarding the U.S. release date for the Sony Xperia ZL, it has been popping up in places such as India and now Australia.
The Sony Xperia ZL — which, in the end, is basically a water-/dust- non-resistant iteration of the Sony Xperia Z, let's be honest — has gone on sale in Australia for $699, according to a price listing by MobiCity.
As a reminder, the Sony Xperia ZL features are:
- 5-inch Full HD scratch-resistant
- TFT display with 1920 x 1080p resolution
- Powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor
- 2 GB of RAM with 16 GB internal memory.
- 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
- 2-megapixel secondary camera
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Runs on 2370mAh battery
Although GSM Arena, which mentions both the Oz release and price, stated on Thursday, March 7 that the Sony Xperia ZL is currently only available in black, with "no confirmation on the availability of other shades," Phones Review wrote two days earlier that there is a "red option" allegedly in the works. At least in the U.S.
"[I]f you're stateside it will be available in white, black and red color options and we have to say that in images the red variety looks pretty hot," Phones Review says.
Phones Review also hinted at a "confirmed" release of the Sony Xperia ZL in Europe and Canada.
"The Xperia ZL (C6506) will be available in the U.S. unlocked and will apparently hit the shelves within the next month," Phones Reviews says.
Because the Sony Xperia ZL's LTE is supported by bands 1, 2, 4, 5 and 17, it will be "suitable" for T-Mobile and AT&T but not Verizon.
The original pricing rumored for the Sony Xperia ZL was $759.99, so depending on where you live in the world and how much you're willing to pay for shipping, Australia's hundred-dollar-cheaper price point might be your best bet (especially if you want it now and are not currently living in India).
With Sony having gained a great deal of the smartphone market in India (as of Q4 2012, it's now third in the country for smartphone shipments with a 9.8 percent market share), it's ready to hedge its bets on higher-end phones there and in other developing economies.
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