"We want to be in big league. We plan to be in top three (mobile phone maker in smartphone category)," Sony India, Mobile Division, Head Sales and Marketing, Sachin Thapar told to the media, when he was asked about the target of the company for the year 2013. according to the statistics of the company, it currently has a market share of nine percentage. He added that the company is targeting on gaining a 16 percent of the market share by the year 2015-2016.
"In the coming weeks we will be launching our E series range of mobile phones offering both single and dual sim. The price will be around Rs. 10,000 onwards", he added, when he was asked about the next devices from Sony. When he was asked about the increase in excise duty of six per cent in the recent budget, Sachin Thapar said that the company does not have any plans for the time being to increase the price of the Xperia phones. He added that he wanted the customers to benefit it.
Definitely, Sony is succeeding its journey with its Xperia Range of Smartphones. Lets analyse what brought the Xperias to this much success. Here is an analysis of the Xperia phones released in the year 2013 so far. There are four smartphones released till March 2013. they are, Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia SP and Xperia L.
Xperia Z:
This has been the rightly called flagship smartphone of Sony. It had been announced in the CES of 2013, January. The device got released world wide in 2013 February. At a sky high price of 40,000/- Rupees, Xperia Z has already proved that the feature rich spectacular phone is worth the money.
With a screen display of 5.0 inches and 1080×1920 pixel resolution, Xperia Z fights shoulder to shoulder with Galaxy S4, the 441 ppi pixel density makes the pixels literally invisible. Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU gives an excellent performance level, making Dual cores old fashioned. Though it has Android OS v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) for the time being, it is upgradable to v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). Which means that an improved Operating System will be coming soon to make you raise your eyebrows in appreciation.
Camera is were the Xperia Z pushes all the other smartphones aside. It has a primary camera of 13.1 MP, which is the biggest among the smartphones currently available in the market. With a resolution of 4128×3096, Autofocus and LED flash, you are just going to be in love with the camera. In addition to that, there is a 2.2 MP front camera, which will provide you an unexceptionally good clarity than any other smartphones in the market.
The only negative point that could be pointed out is its battery. Being non removable, it makes a very slight wave of disappointment in the mind of the fans.
Xperia ZL:
Xperia ZL can be called a twin of Xperia Z, but a little scaled down. Xperia ZL was released simultaneously along with Xperia Z, but as in the case of any sibling of a popular one, it went dim under the lime light of Xperia Z. At a price of 30,000/- Rupees, Xperia ZL gives us the experience almost near to that of Xperia Z.
Xperia ZL has the same display of Xperia Z. 1080×1920 pixels, 5.0 inches and 441 ppi pixel density makes it a copy of Xperia Z. It has the same OS and CPU as Xperia Z. Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), planned upgrade to v4.2 (Jelly Bean) and Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait supports the phone, just like that of Xperia Z.
There only a very slight difference in the camera. Xperia ZL has a rear camera of 13MP, whereas Xperia Z has a Rear camera of 13.1MP. The resolution is same for both the phones, 4128×3096 pixels. The front camera of Xperia ZL is also similar to Xperia Z, only that it has 2MP camera, where the Xperia Z has a 2.2 MP camera.
The disappointing fact is that the device will not be making its entry to European or Asian markets. So far, it is exclusively for the American tech freaks.
Xperia SP:
Xperia SP is Sony's mid ranged smartphone, which was announced in 2013 March. The only concerning part about Xperia Z is its sky high price tag. Here is the solution for it- a mid ranged Xperia SP. Of course it is a scaled down version, but the company assures you that you will not be disappointed about the feature richness. Though the company remains zip mouthed about the price tag of the smartphone, we are daring a wild guess that it will be in and around 25,000/-. keeping in mind the price tag of Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, the chances are high for our prediction.
As we mentioned earlier, it is a cut down version. The scale down is evident right from the display. It has a screen size of 4.6 inches with 720×1280 pixels resolution, which is obviously lesser than Xperia Z or ZL. But of course, far better than other smartphones of this (expected) price range. It has an Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) and Dual-core 1.7 GHz CPU. Comparing with the Quad core, it is not that perfect, but it is an essential cut down, keeping in mind the expected price.
In camera, we can see a major cut down. Xperia SP has a rear camera of 8 MP with 3264×2448 pixels, which is far below the Xperia Z and ZL. In the case of secondary camera too, Xperia SP is different from its feature rich siblings. The device has a VGA camera for its secondary function.
Though these features makes it different from the big brothers, considering the expected price it will be having, these will not be that mush an issue. Xperia SP, when released, will be a pet of those who does not want to spend a huge amount of money on a smartphone.
Xperia L:
Xperia L is Sony's yet another smartphone of mid range, announced along with Xperia SP, in March 2013. Though the company has officially announced the price of the device, it is expected to have a price tag of 19,000/- Rupees. At this price, Xperia L can give you the best performance and features than any other smartphone of this range.
Xperia L has a screen Display of 4.3 inches with a resolution of 480×854 pixels. It has Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) and Dual-core 1 GHz CPU, just like Xperia SP. As the price of the phone will be that lesser, there is no point in comparing it with the high end and high features Xperia Z or Xperia ZL.
As any smartphones of the decade, Xperia L also has twin cameras. A rear one and a front camera for video calling and self- snaps. Sony has given much importance to the camera features of Xperia L. It has a primary rear camera of 8MP, with the support of an LED flash. The camera has HDR and panorama modes. The 3264×2448 pixels camera has auto focusing function too. Xperia L also has a front VGA camera. But, as in any other smartphones, it is the primary camera that shines.
The releasing date of the Xperia L has not been decided, yet it is already opened for pre booking. That shows how much it is gonna grab the hearts of the tech freaks.
These smartphones from Sony under the Xperia Range, which were announced till 2013 March. While analysing the features, you might have noticed that Sony's Xperias have got a strong reason to gain momentum in the smartphone market - its high features. You can check out the major features of all the above mentioned phones in the table given below:
| Features | Xperia Z | Xperia ZL | Xperia SP | Xperia L |
| Dimensions | 139.7×71×7.9 mm | 131.6× 69.3× 9.8 mm | 130.6× 67.1× 10 mm | 128.7× 65× 9.7 mm |
| Display | 5 inches 1080×1920 pixels | 5.0 inches 1080×1920 pixels | 4.6 inches 720×1280 pixels | 4.3 inches 480×854 pixels |
OS | Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) | Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), planned upgrade to v4.2 (Jelly Bean) | Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) | Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chip | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait | Dual-core 1.7 GHz | Dual-core 1 GHz |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Internal Memory | 16GB | 16 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Expandable Memory | up to 32 GB | up to 64 GB | up to 32 GB | up to 32 GB |
| Primary Camera | 13 MP 4128×3096 pixels | 13 MP 4128×3096 pixels | 8 MP 3264×2448 pixels | 8 MP 3264×2448 pixels |
| Secondary Camera | 2.2MP | 2 MP | VGA | VGA |
| Battery | Non- removable Li-Ion 2330 mAh battery | Non- removable Li-Ion 2370 mAh battery | Li-Ion 2370 mAh battery | Li-Ion 1750 mAh battery |
| Price Approx | 40,000/- | 34,000/- | 25,000/- | 19,000/- |
