Sony Xperia Z Phone Specs And Release Date: Waterproof Smartphone Available On T-Mobile In Coming Weeks, No Price Announced

The Sony Xperia Z smartphone will see a U.S. release exclusively on wireless carrier T-Mobile this summer. While the carrier has not announced an official release date (a T-Mobile spokesperson said the phone will launch in “coming weeks”) for the Sony Xperia Z, a source has told International Business Times that the Xperia Z will likely release in mid-July

The Sony Xperia Z was announced back in February, and the phone has a 5-inch full 1080p HD screen developed by the Bravia television team. Launching following the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, Sony’s Xperia Z is waterproof up to 3 feet for 30 minutes and is dust-resistant, and Sony says the screen is both shatter-proof and scratch-resistant.

Sony’s release of the Xperia Z is the first smartphone launch for the company since last year’s release of the Xperia Ion, which failed to catch on in the U.S. The Xperia Z will run an older version of the Android operating system (version 4.1.2) on T-Mobile’s new LTE network, where it is available. The phone also includes up to 802.11n WiFi, not the newer 802.11ac standard, which is up to three times faster.

The Sony Xperia Z phone has a 13-megapixel main camera and a 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera and will launch in black in addition to a “limited time” purple variant. It has a micro-SD slot to upgrade the 16 GB of built-in memory, and has FM radio capabilities as well as TV-out with an accessory cable. It does not have the universal remote control (infrared) capabilities found in the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Sony claims that the Exmor RS mobile sensor in the Xperia Z’s main camera will allow users to take better shots of backlit subjects than its competitors. Here are the full specs at launch:

- Android version 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

- Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor

- 2GB RAM

- 16GB of internal memory, upgradeable to 64 GB via Micro-SD

- 5-inch 1920 x 1080 (16:9 1080p) capacitive touchscreen

- Adreno 320 GPU

- TV-Out & Stereo FM Radio

- NFC or Near Field Communication technology

- 5.47 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches (139 x 71 x 7.9 millimeters)