Published: 1 May, 2012
According to the website ePrice Hong Kong has been given the privilege of getting the Xperia Sola ahead of schedule as the handset is apparently now on sale there. It's not only the world that it's getting the phone before but the rest of China as well and while it's not the most impressively spec'd device out there it's a decent mid-range addition to the Xperia range. The report says that the handset is on sale there for a price of HK $2,998 which is converts to around $386.
Underneath an attractive exterior with a 3.7" display the Sola is packing a dual-core 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. In addition to this it has a rear-facing 5mp camera as well as NFC connectivity and though it ships with Android 2.3 installed an update to 4.0 is promised for the summer.
One unique feature it offers is "floating touch" navigation meaning users can navigate using a cursor and without touching the display. How useful this will prove to be remains to be seen but at least it shows Sony offering some innovation in addition to some decent hardware.
While it has been confirmed for Europe there's no official word on when it's going to reach the US though it was spotted passing through the FCC back in April. The filing showed it had been given the green light for connectivity on AT&T's 850 and 1900MHz 3G bands which could indicate a future launch at the US carrier or possibly Bell, Rogers or Telus in the US. For anyone in Europe lusting after this device who isn't tempted by the Xperia S the handset is due to launch there in Q2.
The launch of the Sola in Hong Kong isn't the first Xperia related news to come out of China recently as the upcoming Xperia LT29i Hayabusa was spotted in the wild there.