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Sony unveils an alphabet soup of Android phones at IFA

At IFA in Berlin, Sony shows off new Xperia T, Xperia V, and Xperia J smart phones.

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LAPTOP Mag
Sony chief Kazuo Hirai introduces the new Xperia lineup.
  • By Kenneth Butler LAPTOP Mag

Sony's on a roll at the IFA 2012 tech conference in Berlin today. In addition to a new Android 4.0 tablet with a Surface-style keyboard dock, the company also showcased three new Xperia Android smartphones.

Not much about the three devices was discussed during Sony's presentation, but the company was sure to mention that the Xperia T will have a 4.6-inch HD screen. The Sony rep also dished on the phone's 13-megapixel camera which has the added punch of capturing 1080p HD video. The last feature teased was the T's "sleep to snap" camera shutter feature, which helps take pictures faster even if the phone is in rest mode. 

After the event, the company launched  product pages that divulged more specifics about each device. In addition to that 1080p back-facing camera, the Xperia T will also sport a 720HD front-facing camera, which is sure to give video calls a much needed bump in visual quality.

The slightly smaller Xperia V packs a 4.3-inch display and the same back-facing camera as its larger sibling, the Xperia T. Sony bills this device as "the ultimate LTE smartphone experience", so expect to the phone to land on AT&T or Verizon networks when it comes to the United States. 

Bringing up the rear in features and size is the 4-inch Xperia J. Because of its 5-MP camera and slim 9.2mm design, we expect this device to be a budget-minded offering in Sony's lineup. 

On the software side of things, Sony says the Xperia T and V will initially ship with Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich, but that the phones will also be upgraded to Jelly Bean sometime following launch.  Sony reps also used the Xperia T to promote new NFC tools that will be included in its upcoming devices. The first was a bump-to-share feature similar to Samsung's Galaxy S Beam tool. Xperia owners can take their phone and bump it with another Sony products to launch actions such as sharing video to a television or sending music to an audio system. 

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