Sony announces Xperia T2 Ultra, Xperia E1 smartphones

Sony has announced two new smartphones ahead of the Mobile World Congress event next month; the 6in Xperia T2 Ultra phablet and Walkman-inspired Xperia E1.

First up, the Xperia T2 Ultra. Aimed exclusively at emerging markets including China, the Middle East, Africa and the Asian Pacific rim, with no UK release confirmed, the T2 Ultra has a 6in, 720p resolution display with Sony’s Triluminos display, Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology and tiny 2.mm bezels. At 7.6mm thick and weighing just 173g, it’s incredibly light and compact for a phablet. It might share design elements with the Xperia Z1 but unfortunately the T2 Ultra isn’t water resistant.

Power comes from a quad-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM, paired with 8GB of integrated storage and a microSD card slot for up to 32gb of extra capacity. A 3,000mAh battery should provide plenty of juice for all-day battery life.

A 13-megapixel camera on the rear uses Sony’s Exmor RS sensor, while the front-facing webcam has a 1.1-megapixel Exmor R sensor. Sony has included a number of filters and picture modes, including a 31-shot Timeshift burst mode, sweep panorama, background defocus and portrait retouch.

Unsurprisingly for a handset aimed at emerging markets, the Xperia T2 Ultra will be sold in single- and dual-SIM variants.

The Xperia E1, meanwhile, has a 100-decibel speaker which may be perfect for music fans but equally infuriating for anyone sat next to them on the bus. Perhaps thankfully this too will be initially aimed at emerging markets.

The successor to the Xperia E has a 4in, 800×480 display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It too will support dual SIM cards and includes a dedicated Walkman button for easy music control.

Neither handset has a confirmed release date or official price, but we expect to learn more at next month’s MWC event in Barcelona.