Can Sony Grow Its Market Share With the Xperia miro and Xperia tipo?
Sony has just unveiled the Sony Xperia miro and Sony Xperia tipo, two low-end smartphones targeting the first-time smartphone buyer market. These two smartphones offer a decent lineup of specifications and they come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box.
Can these two smartphones spark the growth in market share Sony is wishing to have? We think they have the potential too. After all, other manufacturers – notably Samsung – isn’t just winning in the smartphone race because of their high-end flagship smartphones.
Samsung’s market share is not just dominated by the Galaxy S line (Galaxy S, Galaxy S Advanced, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III). It’s also a combination with low-end smartphones like the lesser-endowed Galaxy line. Furthermore, even though Apple sells a ton of its flagship smartphone, the Apple iPhone 4S, its smartphone sales still have a significant part taken by the iPhone 4 and even the iPhone 3GS.
As we’ve said, the Sony Xperia miro and Sony Xperia tipo offer a decent lineup of specifications. Here they are so take a look.
| Xperia miro | Xperia tipo | |
| Colours | Black
Black pink White White gold
|
Classic black
Classic white Deep red Navy blue |
| Facts | Size: 113 x 59.4 x 9.9 mm
Weight: 110 grams
Operating system: Google Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Processor: 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7225A
|
Size: 103 x 57 x 13 mm
Weight: 99.4 grams
Operating system: Google Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Processor: 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ MSM7225AA |
| Camera | 5 megapixel camera
4x digital zoom Auto focus Flash/Photo flash Flash/Photo light Front-facing camera (VGA) Geotagging Self-timer Send to web Touch capture Video light Video recording
|
3.2 megapixel camera
4x digital zoom Geotagging Self-timer Send to web Touch capture Video recording
|
| Music | Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP) Manual equalizer Walkman™ player PlayNow™ service TrackID™ music recognition xLoud™ Experience
|
Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP) PlayNow™ service Music Player TrackID™ music recognition application xLoud™ Experience |
| Internet | Bookmarks
Google Play™ Google™ search Google Voice™ Search Google Maps™ for Mobile with Street view and Latitude™ NeoReader™ barcode scanner Web browser (WebKit™)
|
Bookmarks
Google Play™ Google™ search Google Voice™ Search Google Maps™ for mobile with Street View and Latitude™ NeoReader™ barcode scanner Pan & zoom Web browser (WebKit™)
|
| Communication
|
Call list
Conference calls Facebook™ application Xperia™ with Facebook™ Friends application Google Talk™ application Google Talk™ video chat Multiple IM Speakerphone Twitter™ (Timescape™ integration) Video chat ready Xperia™ Timescape™
|
Call list
Conference calls Facebook™ application Google Talk™ Speakerphone |
| Messaging
|
Conversations
Gmail™ Handwriting recognition Instant messaging Multimedia messaging (MMS) Predictive text input Text messaging (SMS)
|
Conversations
Gmail™ Handwriting recognition Instant messaging Picture messaging (MMS) Predictive text input Text messaging (SMS) |
| Design
|
Auto rotation
Gesture input On-screen 12-key keyboard On-screen QWERTY keyboard Picture wallpaper Touch screen Wallpaper animation
|
Auto rotate
Keyboard (on-screen, 12 key) Keyboard (on-screen, QWERTY) Picture wallpaper Touch screen Wallpaper animation |
| Entertainment
|
3D games
Media browser Motion gaming Radio (FM radio with RDS) Sony Entertainment Network Video streaming YouTube™
|
3D games
Media browser Motion gaming Radio (FM radio with RDS) Sony Entertainment Network Video streaming YouTube™ |
| Organiser
|
Airplane mode
Alarm clock Calculator Calendar Contacts Document readers eCompass™ E-Manual Infinite button Notes Tasks Setup Wizard
|
Alarm clock
Airplane mode Calculator Calendar Contacts E-Manual Infinite button Setup Wizard |
| Connectivity
|
3.5 mm audio jack (CTIA)
aGPS Bluetooth™ wireless technology DLNA Certified® Media Transfer Protocol support Micro USB support Native USB tethering Media Go™ PC Companion Synchronisation via Facebook™ Synchronisation via SyncML™ Synchronisation via Google™ Synchronisation with computer Synchronisation via Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® USB High speed 2.0 support USB mass storage Wi-Fi® Wi-Fi® Hotspot functionality
|
3.5 mm audio jack (CTIA)
aGPS Bluetooth™ wireless technology Media Transfer Protocol support Micro USB support Native USB tethering Synchronisation via Facebook™ Synchronisation via Google™ Sync Synchronisation via Exchange ActiveSync® USB High speed 2.0 support USB mass storage Wi-Fi® Wi-Fi® Hotspot functionality |
| Display
|
3.5”
320 x 480 pixels 16,777,216 colour TFT Scratch-resistant glass
|
3.2”
320 x 480 pixels 262,000 colour TFT Scratch-resistant mineral glass |
| Memory | Internal phone storage: 4 GB (up to 2.2 GB user-accessible memory)*
Expansion slot: microSD™, up to 32 GB
|
Internal phone storage: 2.9 GB (up to 2.5 GB user-accessible memory)*
Expansion slot: microSD™, up to 32 GB |
| Networks | UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS HSPA 850 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I) GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS HSPA 850 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I) GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
| Battery life | 1500 mAh typical, 1460 mAh minium
Talk time GSM: Up to 5 hrs** Standby time GSM: Up to 470 hrs**
Talk time UMTS: Up to 6 hrs** Standby time UMTS: Up to 545 hrs**
Music listening time: Up to 36 hrs 30 min Video playback time: Up to 8 hrs
|
Battery: 1500 mAh Typical, 1460 mAh Minium
Talk time GSM: Up to 5 hrs** Standby time GSM: Up to 470 hrs**
Talk time UMTS: Up to 4.5 hrs** Standby time UMTS: Up to 545 hrs**
Music listening time: Up to 30 hrs Video playback time: Up to 3 hrs |
| In the kit | Xperia™ miro, battery, charger, micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer, and user documentation.
|
Xperia™ tipo, battery, charger, micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer, and user documentation. |
The Sony Xperia miro is the higher-end smartphone of the two devices announced by Sony. It has social networking, specifically Facebook, integrated and also has Sony’s focus on music. The Sony Xperia tipo is the lower-end of the two devices. Nonetheless, it shares the same processor as its bigger sibling, although it does not feature all the technologies the miro has.
“Xperia miro and Xperia tipo are for consumers looking for entertainment experiences and functionality traditionally associated with high-end Android smartphones,” said Sony Mobile Communications Xperia Marketing Director Calum MacDougall.
“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 realize the benefits of a smartphone for the first time as they migrate from a feature phone,” the Sony executive added.
According to Sony, the key features of the Sony Xperia miro are:
- 3.5” display for great browsing and entertainment experiences
- Launching on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- 5MP camera and brilliant quality video recording at 30fps
- Sony’s xLOUD audio technology gives crisp and loud sound
- Deep Facebook integration with contacts, gallery and the music player for sharing and discovery
- Customisable illuminations for incoming messages and social updates
- Front-facing camera for video chat between smartphones, tablets and PCs
- Contactless DLNA connectivity to easily view content like photos and videos on a TV, tablet and PC
- Powerful battery with >24hrs usage time
As for the Sony Xperia tipo:
- 3.2” scratch-resistant mineral glass display
- Launching on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- 3.2MP camera
- Dedicated set-up guide
- Data management solution to identify data usage
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi™ for easy content sharing and web access
- Powerful battery, 1500 maH, with >24hrs usage time
The Xperia tipo also has a dedicated app that monitors data usage.
Can these smartphones grow Sony’s market share? Tell us what you think using the comments below.
[cb]Sony[/cb]
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Tagged With:market share, Smartphones, Sony Mobile, Sony Xperia miro, Sony Xperia tipo
