Sony launches dual-SIM Xperia C smartphone

Sony has introduced its first-ever Xperia smartphone powered by the affordable Mediatek processor clubbed with dual-SIM support. The company launched its Xperia C smartphone at the Mobile Asia Expo yesterday.

This launch signals a major shift in the strategy from the Japan-based brand, which has till date preached the philosophy of premium. Mediatek processors are fairly common among the budget smartphone segment, which offers quad-core products at affordable pricing starting from Rs 8,500. The likes of Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Xolo and Samsung among others are some of the brands that have entered this highly competitive space and with Sony's entry; things get a lot more interesting.

Xperia C sports a 5-inch qHD 960x540 pixels display and is based on Android 4.1 OS. The phone packs a 1.2 GHz Mediatek chipset and offers dual-SIM support as well. It gets a 1 GB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, which is expandable with microSD card slot. It comes with an 8 MP rear camera and a VGA front camera for video calling. For connectivity the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and microUSB.

The company has announced that the Xperia C will be available in global markets later this year and it will be interesting to see how the phone is priced in India.