Sony took centre-stage at the Reef Hotel in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning, bringing a slice of Mobile World Congress (MWC) proceedings to South African press teams as the conglomerate showcased a flurry of newly-announced devices: The Xperia Z4 tablet, the entry level E4 and E4g, as well as the mid-range M4 Aqua.
Sony kicked off the event, with introductory speaker Mark Fenzel, the Communication Sales Director of Sony Middle East and Africa, recapping Sony’s statement of direction the company presented at MWC.
Fenzel re-iterated that Sony has committed itself to producing mobile devices following three directives – extensive battery life, exceptional camera technology, and a great user experience.
Fenzel introduced speaker Andrew Fraser, the marketing manager of Sony Africa, who introduced Sony’s latest range of devices produced under these directives through a whirlwind tour.
First off, Fraser introduced the Z4 tablet to the South African audience, demoing the versatility of the tablet in a variety of conditions – highlighting the device’s IP68 certification, which defines resistance against dust and water up to a 1.5m depth.
The Z4 tablet comes armed with 3GB RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU, and 32GB of internal storage – expandable up to 128GB. With an 8.1 primary snapper and a 5.1 front-facing cam, the Z4 tablet is designed for media use with a display containing 299 pixels per square inch.
The Z4 also launches alongside a Sony produced detachable keyboard and trackpad, which clips together via a rear socket on the keyboard. The Z4 tablet can additionally be closed shut with the keyboard – combined, the two are an attractive combination which has the potential to lure enterprise users away from the iPad.
Overall, the Z4 has an attractive build in-hand, with an attractive glass finish on the main screen. The overall design, not at all dissimilar from the Z3, retains the same slim form factor which consistently turns heads. The accompanying keyboard, however, feels far less premium in nature when compared to the effort Sony has put into developing the Z4 tab, and features a sculpted plastic frame and keys which detracts from the overall quality of the tablet.
Moving onward to Sony’s newly announced mobile phone models, the company were quick to announce their transition from a 6 month product cycle to a longer 12 month product cycle, claiming their desire for a longer gestation period to produce greater quality products. While this might indeed be a relevant move by the company, it does however suggest that Sony Mobile may just be feeling the pinch from their recent management woes.
Fraser continued onwards to premier the M4 Aqua, a mid-range contender aimed at bringing the best qualities of the company’s former flagship, the Xperia Z3, to a far less premium model and market. As is Sony’s prerogative, the M4 also possesses an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.
Cased in a 5 inch form factor, the M4 Aqua carries 2GBs worth of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, and provides for either 8GB or 16GB worth of internal storage. Storage is expandable up to 32GB.
In hand, the M4 Aqua bears a rather premium quality for a distinct mid-range smartphone, sporting a fine exemplification of Sony’s thin and angular omni-balance design language. The device sits comfortably in hand, despite its angular profile, and is fully reminiscent of the design approach Sony adopted with the Z3.
Despite accommodating only an 8.1 megapixel primary snapper, the Z3 delivered pleasing, well-defined results results in contrast to the bleary cameras that commonly plague mid-range devices.
Lastly, Sony debuted the budget level Xperia E4 and E4g, aimed at entry-level consumers. Despite the somewhat ubiqitous nature of entry level mobile devices, the E4 and E4g represented the most enticing budget-level devices I’ve encountered in recent memory, which I could foresee competing successfully in the South African market-space.
The E4g – living up to the the final two letters at the tail end of its name – is capable of accessing 4G networks; an impressive feat for a budget model which Sony reluctantly speculated will be priced below the R2000 mark.
Arriving sporting Android 4.4.4 KitKat, as opposed to Lollipop – which the Z4 tablet and M4 Aqua carry – the E4g bears 1 GB of RAM, 8GBs of internal storage, and a 1.5Ghz CPU. The E4g bears a 5 megapixel primary snapper and a 2 megapixel front facing camera.
Despite these limitations, the E4g truly was one of the most excellent budget device’s I’ve had the opportunity to have hands-on time with. The device in no way smacks of cheap quality, and even the sculpted plastic back – designed to be adorned by colourful Sony manufactured cases – is pleasant in grip. While the device doesn’t bear an angular profile by any means of the imagination, Sony’s omnibalance design complements the overall feel of the device.
For all intents and purposes, the Xperia E4 model represents a lower-model E4g incapable of 4G connectivity, yet the two are nearly indistinguishable in appearance. If anything, however, these two models represent a strong contender in a South African market-space geared towards affordable and reasonably-specced phones.
Sony put special mention into the E4 and E4g’s STAMINA mode capabilities – switched on at the most extreme setting, the E4 models are capable of reaching a week’s worth of battery life while retaining only call and SMS facilities.
Sony concluded the event by stating all models should be available for purchase by approximately April this year. While it remains to be seen whether any of the models debuted today will see greater success, Sony appears to be taking careful steps to re-assessing their business strategy at the premium end of the market spectrum – releasing carefully crafted models aimed at a mid-range audience, while retaining an attractive form factor and feature functionality.
Only time will tell, but despite the rumours of an imminent sale, it seems Sony Mobile has found itself a new path to success.
Follow Bryan on Twitter: @bryansmith138
