Sony had disposed its VAIO computer brand last year in a bid to focus more on mobile device and other various services. Under its new owners (Japan Industrial Partners), the VAIO brand has finally released a smart phone of its own and it looks like nothing from the current Sony Xperia line up. Instead of getting help from Sony, the VAIO phone is basically a rebadge of a Panasonic Eluga U2 smart phone.
On paper, the VAIO phone is quite a mid-range device with a 5″ HD 720p display and a 1.2GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB of RAM. There’s also 13MP + 5MP cameras and a decently sized 2,500mAh capacity battery. Out of the box, it runs on the latest Android 5.0 KitKat with a plain vanilla OS. Design wise, it does look like a Nexus 4 at first glance.
Like its current new laptops, the VIAO phone is only sold within Japan at 51,000 yen (about RM1,550). It will be released first on Japan telco b-Mobile on 20th March.