Sony India launches Xperia SP for INR 27,490

Sony has announced the launch of Xperia SP mid-range Android phone in the Indian market. The phone will join company’s high-end Xperia Z and ZL phones that were released in the country last month. Company has priced Sony Xperia SP at INR 27,490, which is a decent price, but will have a lot of competition from phones like Galaxy S III and HTC One X as they have got price-cuts recently.

In my view, more aggressive pricing would have been great, as company pursued with Xperia Z and Xperia ZL phones, both of which are currently selling for INR 37,990 and INR 35,990 respectively.

Sony Xperia SP was originally announced last month and packs decent mid-range specs. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and would likely be updated to 4.2.2 and next Android version, but nothing has been officially announced till now.

On the imaging front, Sony Xperia SP comes with 8MP rear camera with LED flash, and VGA front camera. In addition, the phone features 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, and microSD card slot that support up to 32GB.

The phone sports a 4.6-inch 720p HD display and is powered by 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus dual-core processor with the Adreno 320 GPU.  Among other features, Sony has included NFC, GPS with Glonass, and the usual connectivity options.

According to a press release issued by the company, Sony Xperia SP will come pre-loaded with ‘Sony Music’ music-streaming app with six months of free unlimited music streaming, as well as ‘Sony LIV’ video streaming app.

Availability:

Sony Xperia SP will be available in Sony stores as well as major retail stores beginning mid-April in Black and White colours.

Full press release below:

Sony Xperia SP, latest entrant in the best of Sony portfolio

The latest Xperia smartphone comes packed with unique Sony features and precision crafted co-moulded aluminium frame
Xperia SP offers a high quality HD experience with Super-bright 4.6” 720p HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2
One-touch functions with NFC to display content on your TV or to share music and photos between devices
8MP fast-capture camera with “Exmor RS for mobile”, HDR and Superior Auto for the best photos, even at night or against a strong backlight
Battery STAMINA Mode for optimum battery life
New Delhi, 10th April, 2013: Sony Xperia SP joins its existing members to deliver exceptional viewing experience, with a razor sharp HD screen housed in a beautiful design.

The latest smartphone from Sony offers the best of Sony with stunning premium design and a range of technologies including a high quality screen for the ultimate viewing experience; the latest camera features for impressive pictures and videos; NFC connectivity for One-touch function; Battery STAMINA Mode for extended battery life; and Sony’s signature media apps for enjoying photos, music, movies and games on the go.

Xperia SP – High Definition brilliance in a premium design

The Xperia SP utilizes expertise from Sony’s BRAVIA® TV engineers to create its stunning 4.6” HD Reality Display for razor sharp pictures and superior brightness. The latest Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 delivers an even better viewing experience by analyzing your content type and adjusting the image automatically, making it one of the most intelligent smartphone screens around. The engine will make the adjustment by adding new real-time contrast optimization to the sharpness enhancement, high-quality colour management and noise reduction.

As well as delivering brilliant experiences, the Xperia SP looks beautiful too with a precision-crafted co-moulded aluminium frame, for a seamless look that is both sleek and solid. Adding to the unique design innovation is the colour-changing ‘transparent element’ with customized illuminations which you can personalise to alert you of incoming calls and text messages. And you can even set the illuminations to pulse to the beat of your favourite music.

Exclusive apps

Sony Music: Sony is all set to give its consumers an unparalleled & faster entertainment experience by offering 6 months free Unlimited streaming & music download of over 15 lakh songs such as International, Bollywood & Regional songs from Sony Music library
Sony LIV: Sony will also have a unique video streaming app called Sony Liv. With this app, consumers can enjoy catch-up TV of SAB, Sony Entertainment and Max. Not only this, Xperia users will have exclusive access to special moments of KBC & Indian Idol. They can even watch over 77 programs and over 4500 hours of videos of their favorite programs
One-touch functions for easy content sharing

Also featured on Xperia SP is Sony’s One-touch functions, allowing you to easily and instantly enjoy music and photos across an array of devices, such as Sony’s SRS-BTV5 speaker and latest range of NFC-enabled BRAVIA TVs, with just a single touch. It’s sharing made easy with no wires, cables, or fiddling with settings necessary.

The newly launched Xperia SP will be available in all Sony Centers and leading mobile stores across India.

Also, with a purchase of Xperia SP customers will get a free premium case worth Rs. 1,990.

Model: Xperia SP

MRP: Rs. 27,490

Availability: Mid April’13

Colours: Black and White