Sony fires compact phone salvo

Sony has announced a mini version of its critically acclaimed Z1 - with pretty much the same specifications as the larger handset.

It's a refreshing departure from the rest of the industry, as many manufacturers are in favour of large-screened flagship phones, the mini devices being mid-range handsets.

The Xperia Z1 Compact features a smaller 4.3-inch 720p display, as opposed to the 5-inch full HD screen, as well as a smaller 2300mAh battery.

However, everything else is virtually identical, such as the powerful Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2Ghz, 2GBs of RAM and waterproof design.

Sony's new device also features the same 20.7-megapixel camera seen on the Xperia Z1, capable of oversampled photos and with preinstalled augmented reality software.

Sony South Africa has confirmed that the phone will hit South Africa in February 2014.

iAfrica