In just over two days time, Sony will be holding their annual press conference at MWC 2012 in Barcelona. We’re expecting to see at least a couple of new mid-range Xperia handsets including the Xperia P, Xperia U and maybe even the Xperia MT27i ‘Pepper’. What these handsets are likely to have in common is a new SoC from ST-Ericsson and a first move away from Qualcomm. These new Xperia handsets are believed to use a chipset from the NovaThor family.
Now that Sony has formally completed its full acquisition of Sony Ericsson, we are also expecting to hear further details on the company’s strategy in the smartphone space during 2012. We have continually heard about the four-screen strategy (smartphone, PC, TV, tablet) but so far there’s been little detail. MWC 2012 will be a great platform for Sony to tout how it plans to leverage both its own content (Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services will be key here) as well as its own technology (expect to hear more on WhiteMagic display technology and TransferJet).
Xperia fans won’t need to miss a thing as the conference will be streamed live on Sony’s blog and Facebook page. It will take place at 18.00 GMT (19.00 CET) on Sunday 26 February, so mark the date/time in your diaries if you want to catch the conference live. If not we’ll also be posting the key developments from the evening including the new handsets as well as any new information on Sony’s smartphone strategy.
Rumoured Sony Xperia smartphones to be announced at MWC 2012
Sony Xperia P (LT22i)
Codename: Nypon
SoC: ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500
Processor: 1.0 GHz Dual-Core
RAM: 1GB
ROM: 16GB
OS: Android Gingerbread (2.3.7)
Display: 4.0-inch (540 x 960 resolution) WhiteMagic display
Camera: 8.1MP (1080p video recording) Exmor R back-illuminated sensor + LED Flash
Bluetooth: 2.1+EDR
Wireless: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
Network: GSM, W-CDMA
Sony MT27i
Codename: Pepper
SoC: ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500
Processor: 1.0 GHz Dual-Core
RAM: ?
ROM: ?
OS: Android Gingerbread (2.3.7)
Display: 3.7-inch FWVGA (480 x 854 resolution) Reality Display
Camera: 5MP (720p HD video recording ) camera sensor
Bluetooth: 2.1+EDR
Wireless: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
Network: GSM, W-CDMA
Sony Xperia U (ST25i)
Codename: Kumquat
SoC: ?
Processor: 1GHz Dual-Core
RAM: ?
ROM: ?
OS: Android Gingerbread (2.3.7)
Display: 3.5-inch FWVGA (480 x 854 resolution) Reality Display + BRAVIA Engine
Camera: 5MP (720p HD video recording) camera sensor
Bluetooth: 2.1+EDR
Wireless: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
Network: GSM, W-CDMA
