TOKYO: South Africa is doing well for Sony Mobile in practically all major mobile segments (low-end, high-end).
A week after it unveiled the Z4 Tablet and the M4 Aqua smartphone at Mobile World Congress, Sony Mobile brought the devices to South Africa as part of a press event.
The company also shed more light on its plans for the country and answered inevitable questions about rumours that Sony could spin off its mobile unit.
Devices
The star of the show was undoubtedly the Z4 Tablet, Sony’s 10-inch slate with a 2560×1600 display, powerful Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GBs of RAM.
The device is set to include an optional keyboard case (complete with trackpad), with Sony Mobile SA showing off a tentative design at the event. Attendees were also allowed to go hands on with both the tablet and case, and I must say that typing on the keyboard was pretty satisfying. But the only downside was that the power button was located right next to the delete button – so accidental screen locks are inevitable.
Still, the Z4 Tablet looks like a real winner, with a super thin, super light design, 17 hours of claimed battery life when playing videos (Sony Mobile SA’s Andrew Fraser claimed it would outlast a flight to New York), powerful innards, High-Res Audio support and waterproof design. In terms of the latter, Sony has also ditched the waterproof seal for the microUSB port, as it did with the earphone jack.
Sony Mobile SA also showed off the M4 Aqua, a cheaper handset at the top of the mid-range price bracket.
A waterproof handset with a Snapdragon 615 processor, Android 5.0, 2GBs of RAM, 13MP main camera and 5MP front-facing camera, the M4 Aqua is another device to keep an eye on. Sony also touted a two day battery life for this handset with “normal usage”, packing in a 2400mAh battery.
The M4 Aqua seemed like a really solid mid-range buy during our brief time with the handset, featuring a 5-inch 720p screen and brisk performance. Of course, we’ll need more than a few fleeting moments with the device to figure out whether it’s indeed worth buying. But if you’re looking for a mid-range waterproof handset, you don’t really have a choice (although it does seem like a great device nonetheless).
Sony also touted two more handsets in the form of the Xperia E4 and Xperia E4g; both being aimed at sub-R2000 price points.
The devices share the same camera setup (5MP main/2MP front), a quad-core MediaTek processor and 1GB of RAM. But the E4 has a slightly larger 5-inch screen and 3G while the E4g has a 4.7-inch display and LTE.
As for price tags, Sony Mobile SA was hesitant to divulge recommended prices due to exchange rate fluctuations and other factors. But Country Manager Mark Fenzel said the M4 Aqua would be in the R4000 price range. Fenzel was also hesitant to put a firm price on the Z4 Tablet, but said that it would likely be at around the R10 000 marks, with a June launch window.
The Xperia E4g would tentatively be at the R2000 price mark while the Xperia E4 would be coming in at around R1500.
“The Z3 and Z3 Compact are moving nicely, we are really doing very well,” Fenzel explained.
“When it comes to the mid-range segment… the M2 Aqua has been or is still the big seller, it seems like we’re hitting the nerve of the South African consumer,” he added, pointing to the waterproof design, specs and the price.
As for low-end devices, Fenzel pointed to the Xperia E4 and E4g smartphones, but what about sub-R1000 phone?
Fenzel said that Sony was a premium brand and wouldn’t do a sub-R1000 phone for the sake of it, citing Sony’s build quality and feature-set.
The company is also facing stiff competition in the tablet arena, with low-cost devices from MTN, Vodacom, Huawei, Alcatel OneTouch and others. Does that mean the premium tablet is a niche product then?
“It’s not a niche product, but… it’s very tough,” Fenzel said, citing fierce competition from Apple and Samsung, in addition to the low-cost tablet makers.
“I still believe that people are actually going into the store and asking for a Sony tablet.”
What about the Z4 smartphone?
A curious absence at Mobile World Congress was the Z4 smartphone, signalling a break from Sony’s recent strategy of six-month product cycles.
