The smartphone is expected to arrive in Europe on February 18

Jan 11, 2013 00:31 GMT  ·  By

Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Mobile is reportedly getting ready for the launch of its new Xperia Z flagship handset in China in late February, after making it official at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this week.

Featuring a large 5-inch full HD touchscreen display, the Xperia Z is Sony’s new flagship Android-based handset, expected in various markets around the world during the first quarter of this year.

The handset has been recently spotted in Taiwan with a Chinese interface, which suggests that the company is considering the launch of fully localized versions in various markets around the world.

Rumor has it that this Xperia Z model might land on shelves in Taiwan as well, in addition to being launched in China and Hong Kong.

Furthermore, the smartphone is said to be en route to shelves in Europe starting with February 18, and that it might land in Asian markets around the same time, or a bit later.

In addition to the large 1080p screen, the smartphone packs a 1.5GHz quad-core processor inside, along with 2GB of RAM to ensure increased performance capabilities.

Moreover, it sports 16GB of internal memory, along with a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 64GB of external storage space.

The Xperia Z smartphone sports a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with support for full HD video recording and complemented by a front camera for video chatting.

The handset was also announced with support for 4G LTE connectivity, as well as with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, built-in GPS receiver, and the usual set of sensors.

Currently running under Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, the smartphone was said to be slated for an upgrade to Android 4.2 in the near future, most probably before arriving on shelves. Keep an eye on this space for additional details.