Sony launches Xperia Sola phone

13 March 2012

3.7-inch Android packs dual-core processor and some interesting tech

Not content with the Xperia S, U and P, Sony has launched the Xperia Sola, a dinky new 3.7-inch Android smartphone that packs in a dual-core processor and the SmartTags functionality of the Xperia S. It also introduces the new 'Floating Touch' tech, which encourages you to keep your dirty hands off the shiny screen.

Launching initially on Android Gingerbread 2.3 - upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich in the summer - the Xperia Sola has Sony's usual Xperia overlay, and of course our great friend Timescape. It weighs just 107g, is 9.9mm thick, and comes in black, white or red.

The Xperia Sola rocks a 3.7-inch TFT Reality Display with 854x480-pixel resolution, so movies and photos should look razor sharp. A five-megapixel camera featuring auto-focus, LED flash and 720p video recording should shoot bright, colourful photos if the quality of previous Xperia snappers is upheld. A dual-core 1GHz CPU provides power.

You get 8GB of internal storage, 5GB of which can be used for your media and apps. A microSD slot will expand this up to a top limit of 37GB. Sony are claiming six hours talktime or video playback between charges, not amazing but not a bad effort for a dual-core mobile this size.

Sony is also boasting of its ‘Floating Touch' web browsing, which allows you to scroll through webpages without touching the screen by hovering a finger over the display. Good if your mits are damp, but we're struggling to think of other uses for it.

Apparently, Floating Touch will evolve with future updates, so it'll be interesting to see what direction it takes (if any).

You also get two SmartTags to use with the Xperia Sola. Check out our video review of the Xperia S SmartTags for an idea of what to expect.

The Sony Xperia Sola will be available in Q2, pricing is yet to be decided. We'll have a full review soon.