CES 2013: Sony unveils the Xperia Z smartphone

Sony held one of the more interesting press events of CES 2013 thus far. A few hours ago, the company held an event in their press booth where they unveiled various initiatives pertaining to their TV and mobile business lines. As it pertains to mobile, Sony unveiled the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, a 5″ full 1080p smartphone which measures just 7.8mm thin. The Xperia Z feels amazingly sturdy in the hand, and has all the feel of a premium device while maintaining the svelte chassis currently en vogue.

Should you find yourself without a suitable camera, the Xperia Z’s 13 megapixel Fast Capture camera with Exmor RS for mobile will fill in with crisp, beautiful photos ready to share with friends and loved ones. Better yet, the camera performs extremely well in most conditions, so whether in direct sunlight or at night, you’ll always have pretty much what you need in your front pocket.

On the stranger side is the device’s uniquely-placed home button. Instead of the traditional placement in the bottom row of the front side of the device, the home button on the Xperia Z is on the side of the device, specifically in the middle of the right hand side. This should prove useful for one-handed navigation, but it took us a while to get used to it and stopped reaching for the familiar location.

While not much on the actual device was left on the table at the unveiling, what we don’t yet know is when, or where, the Xperia Z will be available. Sony did provide a Q1 global launch timeframe for the Xperia Z, so expect to see the device at a retailer near you in the next 3 months. We’ll also have a hands on video up over the next few days (it was frankly a bit too loud to get anything worthwhile after the event).

Sony, sony xperia z, the real bond phone, xperia z