New Delhi, 6th March, 2013: Continuing its strong focus on India, Sony India today announces its feature packed flagship Smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z, in India at MRP Rs 38,990/-. The Smartphone, also referred to as the World’s First Superphone by some reviewers, packs the best of Sony technologies into one device. The Sony Xperia Z was launched by newly appointed brand ambassador and long-time Sony fan - Katrina Kaif, in the presence of Mr. Dennis van Schie, Corporate Vice President, Head of Sales & Marketing, Sony Mobile Communications and Mr. Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India.Sony Xperia Z currently operates on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean platform, and is packed with a host of exciting features and hi-end technology, including a 5” Full HD 1080p BRAVIA 2 Reality Display, Snapdragon™ S4 Pro quad-core processor, 13 megapixel fast-capture Cyber-Shot camera and 4G LTE. In addition, the Xperia Z features Sony’s legendary Walkman technology for amazing audio playback, a battery stamina mode than can help increase battery back-up up to 50%.
Water and dust resistance is another unique and interesting feature that Sony Xperia Z offers, which are very relevant to customers in India. To amplify wireless connectivity between different devices via use of NFC feature available on Sony Xperia Z; the company has a slew of NFC-enabled devices, including speakers, headphones and TVs. Sony is committed to driving NFC technology forward to enhance the user experience.
According to Mr. Dennis Van Schie, Corporate Vice President, Head of Sales & Marketing, Sony Mobile Communications, “2013 will be a breakthrough year for Sony in the mobile sector. We are delivering on our objective to combine the best of Sony for an outstanding user experience.” Detailing about the Indian market, he said, “India is a high focus and high-growth market for Sony. The smartphone market in India hold very strong mid-term growth potential, with smartphone sales projected to be approximately 33 million units by FY13 in India. Our ultimate objective is to position Xperia amongst the Top 3 Smartphone brands in India”.
According to Mr. Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India, “Sony India has established market leadership in BRAVIA and Cyber-Shot, and we aim to replicate the same success with the Xperia range. The launch of Sony Xperia Z today, is the start of our journey to triple the Xperia sales in India, to Rs. 3,500 crore in FY 13. The company has taken several steps towards this direction, including tripling the Xperia marketing budget to Rs. 300 crore for FY13, more than doubling the sales channel counters to 8,000 and increasing the service touch points to 200 by FY13.”
“In addition to an exciting and extensive print and electronic advertising campaign with Xperia Brand Ambassador - Katrina Kaif, Sony India will also launch outdoor campaign, enhance shop-front display and have roadshows in Malls on a pan India basis. Cinema and digital platforms will also play a key role in the marketing campaign”, Mr. Hibi added.
Talking about her association with Sony, Brand Ambassador, Katrina Kaif, said, “I have personally been a user and fan of Sony products since many years. It’s a natural extension for me to associate with the brand professionally. The Sony Xperia Z has a host of features that are very important to me in a phone, including the Full HD Screen for watching movie playback, a great camera, long battery life, and the unique water and dust resistance feature”.
Sony has collaborated with its group business companies to design unique applications for its customers.
Sony Music: Sony is all set to give its consumers an unparalleled & faster entertainment experience by offering 6 months free Unlimited streaming & music download of over 15 lakh songs such as International, Bollywood & Regional songs from Sony Music library
Sony LIV: Sony will also have a unique video streaming app called Sony Liv. With this app, consumers can enjoy catch-up TV of SAB, Sony Entertainment and Max. Not only this, Xperia users will have exclusive access to special moments of KBC & Indian Idol. They can even watch over 77 programs and over 4500 hours of videos of their favorite programs.
Sony will also offer its customers with the best proposition to fully enjoy this amazing content from Sony Liv & Sony Music. Sony has tied-up with Vodafone to offer 8 GB free data download for the first two months of product purchase.
The Sony Xperia Z comes in white, black and purple colour. It will be available across National retail chain stores, Sony Center brand shops, muliti-brand outlets and distributors across India from 12th March onwards.
In addition to Xperia Z Smartphone, the Xperia Tablet Z will be available by May, ’13 in India. It is world’s slimmest LTE tablet and featuring a vivid 10.1” HD Reality Display, powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 that is both water-and dust resistant for the best ever viewing experience, it is matched with S-Force Front Surround 3D, and Clear Audio＋. The Xperia Tablet Z has superior camera capability with “Exmor R for mobile”, One-touch function, battery STAMINA mode, and Sony’s media applications for photo, music, and movies on the go. The price has not yet been announced.
