Earlier this year, Japanese tech mammoth Sony Corp. (SNE, Financial) unveiled the Xperia M2 which aroused a storm among the premium smartphone buyers, enticing several. Now, the company plans to bring a newer version of the handset – Xperia M2 Aqua – to the mid range smartphone market, boasting features from the company’s much-touted “waterproof technology.”
Let’s check out what Sony brings to the market with this new smartphone, which the company refers to as “the smartphone for everyone,” and how it could aid in coping with the intense competition in the space.
The Xperia M2 Aqua arrives
A few days back Sony announced the Xperia M2 Aqua, the first smartphone to bring Sony’s waterproof technology to the mid-range price point. Indeed, the vast appreciation received after the Xperia M2 launch has inspired the company to take this approach for creating a foothold in the mid-range smartphone arena. It’s a device that would let customers take the best of Sony’s technology and entertainment with them wherever they go, in "rain or shine."
Company officials have confirmed that the smartphone will feature Sony’s signature OmniBalance design, a fantastic 8MP camera, and would also offer improvement on the basic waterproof technology. Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile said,
“ Xperia M2 Aqua is a significant milestone in our product portfolio as we bring yet another of our signature technologies to a new category of smartphones.”
This mid-range smartphone offers the highest waterproof rating – the IP65/68 certification and Sony will boast on the certification when the version is released to the market. This certification means the phone is dust resistant and can survive even at a depth of 1.5 meters under water for up to 30 minutes. In terms of other specs, it would also sport a 4.8 inch display with qHD resolution, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory expandable through microSD card and be 4G LTE enabled. Being 4G enabled is an additional plus factor in a mid-range handset.
How the device stands up to its immediate rival
The Sony’s new mid-range entrant stands comparable to the Samsung (SSNLF, Financial) Galaxy S5 mini released last month. Though both the phones have water proof features, the former has IP 68 certification while the latter is IP 67 certified. The IP certification is a double digit figure with the first digit denoting dust resistance which has a scale of 0-6 and the second digit denotes resistance to immersion having a scale of 0-9. As the Sony’s new smartphone, yet to be released in the market, has a better rating in terms of water resistance, it makes it more appealing to the youth who want to carry the smartphone to the pool and click pictures without the fear of the handset getting damaged.
Next, coming to battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini holds a 2,100 mAH battery that powers the device for around 72 hours of continued work with a single charge. On the contrary, the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua would host a 2300 mAH battery which enhances the battery life further – thus making it more lucrative. Though the price of the Sony’s model has not been much talked upon, the model’s specs suggest that the price tag could be an affordable one. The company will need to keep the price tag reasonable so that it can compete with the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini.
Last word
Sony has brought several smartphones to the market earlier and knows very well how to tap the pulse of the buyers. The Xperia M2 Aqua handset will compete well with other waterproof smartphones, and could turn out be Sony’s flagship offering in the mid-range smartphone segment.
