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Sony’s Xperia S has been flying the flag for the new Xperia NXT range of smartphones in the UK for over a month now, and now it’s finally going to be joined by one of its smaller siblings, the Xperia U.
Earlier this year Sony revealed three new smartphones; the Xperia S, Xperia U and Xperia P. Stacked up together, a pattern emerges when you look from the S down to the P, with the U sitting in the middle: the phones become gradually smaller and cheaper.
The Xperia U launches in the UK today via Three, and it’s the smallest and cheapest of the three. It features the same signature design as the other two handsets in the series, with the flat front, curved back and clear strip running beneath the screen. On the inside though, as you might expect with the lower price, the specifications are a drop from the Xperia S.
With a 3.5-inch LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen, the Xperia U is roughly the same size as Apple’s iPhone 4S in general, and has the same screen size. It features a capable Dual-Core 1GHz processor running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), which Sony plans to upgrade to the latest – Ice Cream Sandwich – later in the year.
There’s a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash on the back, capable of taking 3D sweep panoramic photos as the Xperia S can, and recording HD video in 720p quality. There’s 4GB of internal storage compared to the Xperia S’s 32GB, and unfortunately no card slot, so no room for expansion.
The Xperia U has all the usual sensors and connectivity aspects that you’d expect from a modern smartphone, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G, an accelerometer and a digital compass.
Designed to be a little funkier and more fun than its bigger brother the Xperia S, the Xperia U is available in a variety of different bright colours, albeit with only the section below the clear bar being coloured. There are pink, yellow and lime green, black and white versions available.
Most retailers are expecting the phone to be available from May 25th, but Three UK are offering it online right now and in stores from tomorrow (May 22nd). For those on pay as you go, the Xperia U will cost £169 outright. If you’re happy to get into a 2 year contract with Three, you can get the phone for free, paying £20 per month for 5000 texts, 500 minutes and 250MB of data. Will you be getting one?
Check out our hands on with the Xperia P and Xperia U here.
You can also check out our “Compare Phone Prices” tool for the best Contract, Pay As You Go and SIM free deals on Sony’s new smartphone by clicking the tab above.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
Via: Three
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