Sony is looking to increase its share in the smartphone market by unveiling low-end smartphones – the Sony Xperia miro and Sony Xperia tipo – running on the latest Android mobile operating system., Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).

No details about the pricing of the Sony Xperia miro and Sony Xperia tipo have been revealed yet but given that they are low-end ICS smartphones, we’re betting they will be “competitively priced”.

“Xperia miro and Xperia tipo are for consumers looking for entertainment experiences and functionality traditionally associated with high-end Android smartphones,” said Sony’s Calum MacDougall in a statement.

“Xperia miro is for those who want an integrated social media and a great music experience while Xperia tipo is for consumers who want to realise the benefits of a smartphone for the first time as they migrate from a feature phone,” the Sony Mobile Communications Xperia Marketing director added.

Sony Xperia miro

The Sony Xperia miro is being marketed by Sony as a slim, stylish smartphone with Facebook social experiences and a great music experience.

It features a single-core 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 Cortex-A9 processor with an Adreno 200 graphics processing unit on a Qualcomm MSM7225A chipset.

The Sony Xperia miro will be equipped with a 3.5-inch LED-backlit LCD screen with a resolution of 320×480 pixels. This means that its pixel density is just 165 pixels per inch so it is a low-end phone.

Furthermore, the screen is multi-touch but it only recognizes up to only two touches. However, the screen does have Sony Mobile Bravia Engine and an anti-reflective coating.

In addition, the Sony Xperia miro is equipped with Android 4.0 ICS so it brings a significant improvement in terms of operating system compared to phones which still run on previous versions of Android.

The Sony Xperia miro is also equipped with a 5MP rear snapper which can record VGA video at 30 frames per second with continuous autofocus, video light and stabilizer.

Needless to say, the camera of the Sony Xperia miro has autofocus and LED flash along with features like touch focus, face and smile detection and geo-tagging. It even has 3D sweep panorama. The smartphone also has a VGA front camera for video chatting and self-portraits or for when you need a mirror.

Internal memory of the Sony Xperia miro stans at 4GB with only 2.2GB available to users but that can be supplemented by a microSD card as the smartphone has a slot which accommodates up to 32GB in external memory. RAM is at 512MB.

As for wireless connectivity, the Sony Xperia miro is has Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), and the capability to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The Sony Xperia miro also features Sony’s xLOUD audio technology which gives it a crisp and loud sound. It also features Sony Walkman player, a manual equalizer, PlayNow service and TrackID music recognition.

Other features include FM Radio with Radio Data System (RDS), a browser which can render HTML5 and Adobe Flash, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Assisted GPS (A-GPS), and voice command.

Its battery is another selling point as Sony says that the phone can last up to more than 24hrs while being used. The Sony Xperia miro will be available in black, black/pink, white and white/gold colors when it is released which is expected to be during the third quarter of the year.
 
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Sony Xperia tipo

The Sony Xperia tipo is the lower-end smartphone among the two devices just announced by Sony. According to the Japanese tech company, the Sony Xperia tipo is geared towards people who are buying their first smartphone.

It features a simple smartphone experience and also a dedicated set-up guide built into the phone. Furthermore, another nifty feature of the Sony Xperia tipo is that it has a dedicated built-in app which monitors data usage of the user.

Like the Sony Xperia miro, the Sony Xperia tipo features a single-core 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 Cortex-A9 processor with an Adreno 200 graphics processing unit but its chipset is a Qualcomm MSM7227A chipset. Also like its big brother, the tipo runs on Android ICS.

The smartphone features a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive screen with the same resolution as its bigger brother. That means its pixel density is 180ppi. It also is multi-touch but it can just detect up to two fingers.

The Sony Xperia tipo does not, however, have Sony Mobile Bravia Engine but it does have Sony xLOUD technology. The tipo only has a music player but it isn’t its bigger brother’s Walkman player. Nonetheless, it also has TrackID music recognition and PlayNow service.

The screen also doesn’t have an anti-reflective coating but the glass protecting the screen is scratch-resistant glass.

Memory of the Sony Xperia tipo is at 2.9GB with 2.5GB available to the user. However, the phone can accommodate up to 32GB in microSD storage. It has 512MB of RAM.

The rear camera of the Sony Xperia tipo is a 3.15MP unit. It doesn’t have the complicated features of the camera of the miro but it does have geo-tagging and can record VGA video. The Sony Xperia tipo does not have a front camera.

The Sony Xperia tipo has the same radio module as the Sony Xperia miro. It has HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps. The tipo also has Wi-Fi b/g/n with Wi-Fi hotspot capability but it does not have Wi-Fi Direct or DLNA.

The tipo also has Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP as well as FM radio with RDS. It’s browser is basic, however, as it only renders HTML. It’s battery is the same as the miro which is 1,500mAh for up to more than 24 hours of usage.

When available, the Sony Xperia tipo will be in red, white, blue and black. The Sony Xperia tipo will also have a dual-SIM version.

Pricing for the two phones has not yet been announced but the launch of the phones, which is expected to be during the third quarter of 2012, is not that far off. The miro and tipo joins a revamped Sony Xperia line after Sony bought out Ericsson in the Sony Ericsson venture.

About Solon Harmony Dolor

A passion for technology and journalism makes this upcoming writer very interested in social media and technology news. Fresh from finishing an English and Journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, he aims to bring interesting news to our readers .