Sony Officially Unveils The Xperia P And Xperia U At MWC

While the idea of skipping Sony’s event to watch a beautiful Barcelona sunset was strangely appealing, we nevertheless come to you from Sony’s press event where the recently divorced company has just (officially) revealed two new handsets, the Xperia P and the Xperia U.

As new members of the Xperia NXT series of smartphones that began with the Xperia S, the P and U share more than a few aesthetic touches. The transparent element that threw us for a bit of a loop as CES can be found on both new handsets, and the (rather handsome) minimalist design language has been carried over as well. The end result is a spate of handsome hardware, not exactly a stretch for the style mavens at Sony.

While the Xperia S clearly occupies the top rung of the Xperia NXT hierarchy, the P instead goes for some mid-range appeal. It sports a striking aluminum unibody design, and a 4-inch Reality Display with White Magic screen tech that allows for great readability in bright daylight. Also onboard is an 8-megapixel camera with Sony’s Fast Capture technology that just so happens to record 1080p video.

Really, the Xperia P feels like a scaled-down version of the Xperia S — smaller display aside, it sports a slightly slower 1.0GHz dual-core chipset. It also plays nice with Sony’s NFC SmartTags, which allows for (among other things) the ability to swap series of settings for use in different situations. Expect it to start shipping in Q2 of this year.

Meanwhile, the pint-sized Xperia U comes as less of a surprise, considering the candid shots of it we’ve seen in weeks past. While it sports a Reality Display much like its bigger brothers, its 3.5-inch screen size may leave some users wanting for more. It also features the same processor as seen in the Xperia P. What it lacks in raw horsepower it tries to make up for with style, as its slated to be available in “two base colors” with the option to swap chins to add another dash of color. Like its big brother, the Xperia U will launch in Q2 2012, though Sony Mobile remains tight-lipped when it comes to pricing.