Sony reveals Xperia Acro S and Go, ruggedized smartphones
updated 07:20 am EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Sony delivers its 2012-era ruggedized Xperia smartphones
Sony has given the ruggedized treatment to its latest Xperia smartphones for 2012. Both the Xperia Acro S and the Xperia Go offer dust and water resistance for users who enjoy outdoor activities. As the videos embedded below demonstrate, the phones can also respond to touch even when wet.
The Xperia Acro S is very similar in appearance and performance to the current Sony flagship handset, the Xperia S, although its design has been modified to help take rougher treatment, including water resistant covers for its microUSB port and headphone jack. It is powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, incorporates a 12-megapixel rear camera and centers on Sony’s 4.3-inch 720p Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine. Its dust and water resistance rating are IP55 and IP57 respectively.
The Xperia Go (or Advance as it will be called when it goes on sale in the US) is in essence a ruggedized version of the Xperia U. It centers on the same 3.5-inch Reality Display with a 480x854 resolution and is powered by a NovaThor dual-core processor. On its rear is a five-megapixel camera while carries the highest dust and water resistance rating of IP67.
Both handsets will be available in the third quarter, which means they could arrive anytime in July onwards. The only downside is that the devices will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), although Sony promises to upgrade them them to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) in due course.
