14 DAY TRIAL // As we have been anticipating, VAIO’s first smartphone ever is making a grand debut today.
For those unfamiliar with the brand, we’re taking the opportunity to remind you that in 2014 Sony sold its VAIO laptop brand to a Japanese company, in order to be able to better focus on its smartphone business.
Since then, VAIO has rolled out a bunch of laptop/tablet hybrids including the VAIO Z and VAIO Z Canvas Ultrabooks, which are some of the first products to arrive to the market with a Broadwell-U chipset on the inside.
VAIO launches its first smartphone only in Japan
Anyway, VAIO also appears to have taken an interest in the smartphone market, with the first VAIO Phone launching today in Japan. It doesn’t seem too likely that the handset will roll out in other markets for the time being, but who can predict the future.
As expected, the new smartphone seems to be a mid-ranger, making a debut into the wild with average specifications.
The phone arrives with a 5-inch display with an impressive 720p resolution and draws power from a quad-core 1.2GHz chipset (we’re not being told its exact origin, but the previous rumors claimed it was the Snapdragon 410 MSM8916) fitted with 2GB of RAM.
There’s a 13MP camera lying up in front and Android 5.0 Lollipop is the default operating system. Interestingly enough, VAIO hasn’t plastered its own skin on top of the phone, so the device enjoys a near-stock Android experience.
The VAIO Phone is pretty expensive
So judging by the specs we outlined above, you’d think the VAIO smartphone will be quite affordable, right? That's where you are wrong.
VAIO is selling the handset for a pretty consistent $420 / €392 price tag in Japan, but given the fact that the country is famous for selling electronics at very high rates, we shouldn’t be so surprised. In the eventuality that the handset arrives on the international market, VAIO will probably have to lower its standards.
The good news is that the phone runs near-stock Android, something very uncommon for most smartphones on the market. Users wanting a clean experience have to turn to either Google’s Nexus family or Android One. But now, the VAIO Phone is also a viable option.
