Following rumors, Sony has officially announced the waterproof Xperia ZR smartphone.
The phone is an enhanced version of the Sony Xperia Z. It has both IP55 and IP58 certification, meaning that it can be submerged up to about 4.9 feet for up to 30 minutes and can shoot HD video underwater.
"The Xperia ZR pushes the boundaries on where and how consumers can use the full potential of their smartphone," Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia marketing at Sony Mobile Communications, said. "By combining Sony's leading camera technology with the highest level of water-resistance, you will never miss another moment. Bringing together the best of Sony's leading technology, media applications and easy one-touch connectivity with the largest ever range of NFC-enabled accessories, the Xperia ZR delivers the unique smartphone experience that people can expect from Sony."
Specs for the Sony Xperia ZR include a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 8GB of Internal Storage expandable up to 32GB. The phone will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean along with Sony's custom user interface. It will have 4G LTE, NFC and DLNA compatibility, and come in silver, black, blue and pink.
As far as the camera for the Sony Xperia ZR, it's the same as the 13-megapixel for the Xperia Z and has high dynamic range (HDR) imaging and Sony's Exmor RS sensor. The screen is still at 720x1290 resolution, despite being downsized to 4.6 inches.
A release date and price for the Xperia ZR has not been set by Sony, but the company did state that the smartphone will become available in the second quarter.
