Sony officially launches Xperia S, P, U in the Philippines

Sony Philippines has officially launched their NXT (Xperia) product line that features 4 new handsets to suit every consumer’s smartphone needs and budget at an event held at the Mind Museum BGC. The event showcased the 3, almost identically designed smartphones, the Xperia S, P and U.

Noticeably missing was the 4th smartphone in their line up which is the Xperia Sola. Nevertheless, Sola’s main selling feature, the floating touch technology, was still discussed during the launch. With all the hype for the phones, it can easily be disregarded that this event also marks as the launch of the first Sony smartphones after the Sony-Ericsson partnership.

In all honesty, I can’t differentiate which phone is which by just merely looking at them at a distance. As mentioned earlier, the three handsets that were present during the presentation looks exactly the same with each other.

The undeniable difference is with the size, as the Xperia S dwarfs its mid-range and entry level sibling with its 4.3″ Reality Display with Sony BRAVIA Engine. This handset is NFC enabled and will come with two Xperia SmartTags that users can program to simplify smartphone tasks by bumping your Xperia S to it. In addition to its stunning 1270×720 HD display, the Sony Xperia S also sports a very snappy shooter that is ready to capture pictures at 1.5second. You can check out more about the Xperia S on our full review here.

Next in line was the Xperia P that features a full aluminum unibody that houses the 4″ screen which has the same technology as its high-end brethren. But this Xperia has a trick up it’s sleeves as its screen utilizes Sony’s WhiteMagic technology that delivers the brightest viewing experience regardless of lighting condition. Colors are also more crisp and clearer than other smartphones as shown on their side-by-side demonstration.

The Xperia U, the entry level smartphone of the NXT line up refuse to be left behind as it has the same screen technology used in its midrange and high-end counterparts with only a smaller 3.5″ screen.

The phone features an interchangeable chin that suits your personality. The transparent lining just above the chin changes in color as it change color to suit the current color in your screen. This small but feature-packed smartphone is also equipped with xLoud and Sony 3D audio technology that delivers a decent listening experience to users.

Lastly, the Xperia Sola (which was not present during the event) with a entry level to mid-range specs and deviate a bit from the three aforementioned in terms of design.

Although you may find some similarities like the screen technology, audio software and processor speed, what really sets this unit apart from its siblings is Sony’s Floating Touch Technology that turns its users’ finger into a cursor making web-browsing a lot easier. And the cool part is that users can do this without your finger touching the phone’s screen! The downside is that this feature is still limited to the browser app, but still a great feature nevertheless and something that we can look forward to from Sony.

Here’s a quick rundown of the smartphones’ specs and their respective prices:

Sony Xperia S
4.3” HD Reality Display @ 1280×720 pixels @ 342ppi
1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon S3
Adreno 220 GPU
1GB RAM
32GB internal storage
HSPA up to 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with WiFi hotspot
NFC
Bluetooth 2.1
12MP rear, 1.3MP front-facing camera
1080p @ 30fps
GPS w/ aGPS support
Li-ion 1750mAh battery
Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 (upgradeable to ICS)
128 x 64 x 10.6 mm
Price: Php27,990

Sony Xperia P
4.0” Reality Display @ 960×540 pixels @ 275ppi
1GHz dual-core NovaThor U8500
DB8500 GPU
1GB RAM
16GB (non-expandable)
HSPA up to 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with WiFi hotspot
NFC
Bluetooth 2.1
8MP rear, VGA front-facing camera
1080p @ 30fps
GPS w/ aGPS support
Li-Ion 1305mAh battery
Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 (upgradeable to ICS)
122 x 59.5 x 10.5 mm
Price: Php22,990

Sony Xperia U
3.5” Reality Display @ 480×854 pixels @ 280ppi
1GHz dual-core STE U8500
DB8500 GPU
512MB RAM
8GB internal storage (non-expandable)
HSPA up to 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with WiFi hotspot
NFC
Bluetooth 2.1
5MP rear, VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
Li-Ion 1320mAh battery
Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 (upgradeable to ICS)
112 x 54 x 12 mm
Price: Php13,990

Sony Xperia Sola
3.7” LCD display @ 480×854 pixels @ 265ppi
1GHz dual-core STE U8500
DB8500 GPU
512MB RAM
8GB (expandable up to 32GB)
HSPA up to 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with WiFi hotspot
NFC
Bluetooth 2.1
5MP rear, VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
Li-Ion 1320mAh battery
Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 (upgradeable to ICS)
Price: Php16,990

We also reported earlier that Ice Cream Sandwich is being rolled out to a number of 2011 Xperia handsets last week so we are hoping ICS will also arrive on these new NXT models soon.

Disclosure: The contributor won an Xperia handset in a raffle done during the launch event. Yuga was also given a free unit used for the early review of the Xperia S.