By now, we all know the score when it comes to the Xperia Z, it’s a waterproof and dust proof flagship from Sony that’ll resist the elements somewhat. For Sony though, that doesn’t seem enough and they’ve announced today the Xperia ZR, a new, more waterproof version of the Xperia Z. Instead of the IP55/IP57 ratings for the Xperia Z, the ZR changes it up with IP55/IP58 ratings which makes for a smartphone that can be submerged at 1.5 Meters (which is 5 feet) for around 30 minutes, allowing you to take video and photos underwater without having to worry about the phone – but don’t go too far down, of course.
Let’s take a look at some of the key specs shall we:
- 4.6-inch OptiContrast OLED at 1280 x 720
- 1.5 Ghz Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Pro
- 2GB of RAM
- 13MP rear-facing camera with dedicated camera key and 15 fps burst rate
- NFC and LTE Support
There’s no word on battery size just yet but, Sony will be shipping their battery stamina technology that debuted with the Xperia Z. The dedicated camera button allows you to take photos even when the phone is locked, which is a handy little feature. Sony are also claiming that the sensor inside the Xperia ZR is designed for shooting things underwater but, for all intents and purposes it looks like it’s the same version used in the Xperia Z.
This isn’t the first time that Sony have gone after this segment, they’ve had a number of smartphones that can hold up to the elements and take a little bit of a beating but, the ZR seems to the best one yet. Allowing the user to take photos for 30 minutes at a depth of 5 feet is pretty impressive. Sure, that’s not even as tall as I am but, this is still a phone.
Sony say that the Xperia ZR will be available sometime in Q2 (in a variety of colors as you’ll note above) and Xperia-Blog have uncovered that the ZR is in fact the international version of the Xperia A we’ve been hearing about. There’s no word on pricing but, hopefully the unfortunate drop in pixels will relate to a drop in price as well. Below are a couple more videos from Sony to ogle over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1a7KjdUqmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDuYUlHc1r4
[Source: Engadget]