We’ve been hearing rumors about a VAIO-branded smartphone for a while now. As you probably already know, VAIO is not a part of Sony any longer, and the company’s smartphone has been mentioned several times in the last couple of weeks months. The VP of Japan Communications at VAIO showcased the box of the phone itself back in January. This seemed like a really odd move because, well, who showcases a box of a device? It seems like VAIO does, and the company has now announced their handset in collaboration with b-mobile, one of the smaller carriers in Japan. The handset will be available for purchase on March 20 through the aforementioned carrier, and is simply called the ‘VAIO Phone’.
Does this device look familiar to you? Well, it should, this is the rebranded Panasonic Eluga U2. The two devices even sport the same specifications on the inside, it seems like Panasonic provided the device for VAIO, and the Japan-based company just decided to re-brand it. Anyhow, let’s check out its specifications, shall we. The VAIO Phone features a 5-inch 720p (1280 x 720) IPS LCD display along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card up to 64GB). This handset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410, the company’s 64-bit quad-core processor which comes with an Adreno 306 GPU for graphics. 13-megapixel camera is located on the back of this device, and a 5-megapixel shooter is available up front. 2,500mAh battery is also a part of the package here, and Android 5.0 Lollipop comes pre-installed on this device. This handset offers 4G LTE connectivity, measures 141.5 x 71.3 — 7.95mm and weighs about 130 grams.
As you can see, the design of this device is rather industrial, it features plastic sides and a glossy back, I guess you can say it’s understated. The company says that the device is “simple and stylish”. The VAIO Phone will be available through b-mobile on March 20th in Black color only, and will cost 51,000 yen ($420), which is significantly more than what Panasonic Eluga U2 costs ($254). What are your thoughts here? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear what you think.
