Sony introduces water resistant Xperia go and Xperia acro S

Sony today has just unveiled the Xperia go and Xperia acro S that are both water resistant and designed for rugged use. According to Sony, the introduction of these new models is based on recent consumer demands for a durable and water resistant device. According to some study in Japan, water resistant is one of the top 3 features for smart phone buyers. Read on for the full details of each model.

Xperia Go

The Xperia Go is the smaller device among the two, that comes with a scratch resistant 3.5″ Display that pushes 480×320 pixels resolution. Powering the device is a dual-core 1GHz Novathor U8500 processor that’s also running on the Xperia P, U & Sola. It comes with 512MB of RAM with 8GB internal storage which fortunately is also expandable with microSD up to 32GB. Over at the back, there’s 5MP camera with assisted flash. Unlike the recent Xperia models, there’s no dedicated camera button but it still claims Fast Capture from the Unlock screen which can be seen in the demo video below.

Being a rugged and wet usage device, it also features wet finger tracking, a feature that’s introduced on the earlier Xperia active which allows usability even with wet fingers. The water and dust resistant levels of the Xperia go is rated at IP67, which similar to its previous Xperia active. The Xperia go is powered by a built-in 1,305mAh battery and is available in 3 colours – Black, White & Yellow. In the US, the Xperia go is marketed as Xperia advanced. Just like the current Xperia line up, it will be launched with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is upgradable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

You can check out the full whitepaper here. More details of the Xperia go here.

Xperia acro S

The Xperia acro S is a higher end water resistant smart phone that features Xperia S-like specification. It features the same a 4.3″ 1280×720 HD display but enhanced with wet finger tracking. Other similarities include a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 12MP camera with 1080p support and 1GB of RAM. On board there’s 16GB only 2GB of storage but it is also expandable with microSD up to 32GB. Over at the front, there’s a 1.3MP camera that supports 720p recording. In terms of OS, it will be launched with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board.

The Xperia acro S is 11.9mm thick and weighs 147 grams. As comparison the Xperia S is 10.6mm thick and weighs 144grams. In terms of water and dust resistance, the Xperia acro S is rated at IP55/IP57, which is lower than the Xperia go. Powering the device is a generous 1,910mAh battery based on the specs written in their whitepaper. It comes in Black, White and Pink. Head over to the Xperia acro S page for more info.

So far no details on local availability of both devices. Usually rugged devices with waterproof capabilities are often in low-mid range hardware. However with the Xperia acro S, this might be a rugged device that would appeal for power users.

Product Photo/Video

Xperia go

Xperia acro s