Sony Xperia S, U, P phones available in the U.S. via unlocked sales

July 16, 2012 | by Andrew Kameka

Sony Mobile is finally bringing its Xperia NXT series of Android phones to the United States. None of the devices are launching with a carrier partner, meaning customers will have to pay full price if they want to own any of Sony’s 2012 leading phones.

The Sony Xperia P, Xperia S, and Xperia X are now available at Sony stores across the U.S. The phones are also for sale at sony.com/NXT and Newegg.com, making it both easier and cheaper to order one of the phones for use in the states. All phones are available unlocked and should work with AT&T or T-Mobile. All three phones operate on the following bands: UMTS HSPA 850, 900, 1900, 2100; GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900.

Previously, the Sony Xperia Ion was the only option for a solid Sony Android phone in the U.S. Unlike the Ion, which was released for AT&T, none of the NXT phones are compatible with LTE. The phones excel in other hardware areas and design, which might make them more attractive to some U.S. Sony fans. However, they won’t impress anyone who has had their eye on the latest from HTC or Samsung.

Here are the prices for the phones, as well as specs below.

Xperia S – MSRP $559.99, unlocked, in black or white
Xperia P – MSRP $479.99, unlocked, in silver, red or black
Xperia U – MSRP $299.99, unlocked, in black or white

Xperia S specifications

Size: 5.0 x 2.5 x 0.4 in

Weight: 5.07 ounces

Screen: 4.3″ HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, 16 million colors TFT,1280×720 pixels, capacitive touchscreen (multi-touch), scratch-resistant shatter-proof sheet

Camera: 12MP primary camera, Exmor R™ for mobile, Fast Capture, Aperture f/2.4, 16x digital zoom, LED Flash and autofocus, 1080p HD video recording, 720p HD video chat

Phone Memory: Up to 1 GB RAM, up to 32 GB internal memory

Operating System: Android™ 2.3, upgradeable to ICS

Processor: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 Dual Core

Connectivity” 3.5 mm audio jack, aGPS, Bluetooth™, HDMI™ with BRAVIA Sync, DLNA® Certified, Wi-Fi®, USB Host, NFC

Xperia P specifications

Size: 4.8 x 2.3 x 0.4 in

Weight: 4.23 ounces

Screen: 4″ qHD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, WhiteMagic™ screen technology,16 million color display, 960 x 540 pixels, capacitive touchscreen (multi-touch), scratch-resistant shatter-proof sheet

Camera: 8MP autofocus primary camera, Exmor R™ for mobile, Fast Capture, 8x digital zoom, LED flash, 1080p HD video recording, Front-facing camera

Phone Memory: 1 GB RAM, up to 16 GB internal memory

Operating System: Android™ 2.3, upgradeable to ICS

Processor: 1 GHz STE U8500 Dual core

Connectivity: 3.5 mm audio jack, aGPS, Bluetooth™, HDMI™ with BRAVIA Sync, DLNA® Certified, Wi-Fi®, USB host, NFC

Xperia U specifications

Size: 4.5 x 2.0 x 0.5 in

Weight: 3.88 ounces

Screen: 3.5″ Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, 16 million color display, 854 x 480 pixels, capacitive touchscreen (multi-touch), scratch-resistant anti-reflection coating on mineral glass

Camera: 5MP autofocus primary camera, Fast Capture, 16x digital zoom, LED flash,720p HD video recording, Front-facing camera

Phone Memory: Up to 512 MB RAM, up to 8GB internal memory

Operating System: Android™ 2.3, upgradeable to ICS

Processor: 1 GHz STE U8500 Dual Core

Connectivity: 3.5 mm audio jack aGPS, Bluetooth™, DLNA® Certified, USB Host, Wi-Fi®