2014 Sony Xperia Android Smartphones and Tablet Line-Up Price and Release Date, Officially Announced in the Philippines!

At the formal unveiling of Sony Philippines' 2014 Android handsets and tablet line-up held at Fairmont Hotel in Makati City yesterday - March 12, 2014 - representatives from the company disclosed that the brand's mobile business was able to mount a great comeback last year and even managed to get a more than decent share in the local market.

2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Yasushi Asaoka, Mark Milan Macanas
With Mr. Yasushi Asaoka, President of Sony Philippines, and our flagship Xperia smartphones.

Looking at Sony's 2013 product catalogue, which included the best-selling Sony Xperia Z, Sony Xperia Z1, and Sony Xperia Z Ultra, I think that the company did well because of the great design and build of its products as well as their svelte and smooth user interface, powerhouse innards and great imaging capabilities.

This year, as reflected by the design and technical specifications of the new devices which were launched during the event, it's clear that the legendary Japanese company will continue to employ the same strong selling points in attracting even more mobile consumers. Let's get to know Sony's 2014 Android devices one by one:

Sony Xperia Z2 Philippines, Sony Xperia Z2, 2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia Z2
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 33,990
Availability: May 2014

Officially superseding the very popular and 2013 TechPinas Badge of Excellence Awardee Sony Xperia Z1, Sony Xperia Z2 is the company's 2014 flagship smartphone. Compared to its predecessor, the fresh release dons a larger, brighter, and more vibrant 5.2 inches 1080 x 1920 pixels Triluminos IPS LCD, a faster Quad Core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU based Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801, more RAM, a larger 3,200 mAh battery pack, and a more powerful 4K video recorder. The two handsets nonetheless share the same water-proof construction and Omnibalance glass-metal-glass-sandwich design identity with Z2 having the "exposed" or bare aluminum accent in the inner part of the metal rim versus the outer part on the Z1.

Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Philippines, Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, 2014 Sony Xperia Tablet, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 33,190
Availability: May 2014

Measuring only 6.4 mm at its thickest point and weighing just 426 grams, Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is literally lighter than Air - the Apple iPad Air - and is the world’s slimmest and lightest waterproof tablet! Having the same design language and build as Sony Xperia Z2, this slate flaunts a 10.1-inch Full HD Triluminos Display for mobile with Live Colour LED powered by X-Reality for mobile engine delivering a superb viewing experience. As for the innards, Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet runs on the world's fastest processor in a tablet currently, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor combined with Sony’s leading battery performance.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Philippines, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, 2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 25,490
Availability: March 2014

As its very name suggests, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact - with 4.3 inch HD Triluminos TFT display - is the condensed version of the 2013 Sony Xperia Z1 flagship. Apart from the latter's larger display, the former features all the key features of last year's top-of-the-line release including the 20.7 MegaPixel autofocus camera with LED flash and the award-winning G-Lens, 2 MP front cam, 16 GB of internal storage expandable via microSD card slot, Full HD 30fps video recorder, IP55 and IP58 certification for being dust-and-water-proof, and LTE connectivity support. Sony Xperia Z1 Mini has a smaller non-removable 2,300 mAh Li-Ion battery pack versus 3,000 mAh on the flagship release but it's been reported that the former actually delivers longer uptime because of its less power-hungry display. Even the innards - comprised of the Quad Core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU based Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset and 2GB of RAM - are the same as that of Z1. Nonetheless, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is more pocket-friendly both in terms of its price as well as its size.

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Philippines, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra, 2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 18,990
Availability: April 2014

Although not as large nor as powerful as the Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet from last year, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra has its own charms. With thickness of just 7.7 millimeters and weighing only 171.7 grams, upper midrange release Sony Xperia T2 Ultra could very well be the thinnest and lightest 6-inch Android phablet available anywhere in the world. The phone's stunning 6-inch HD TRILUMINOS display extends to within 2.5 mm of the device's edges. This means that it has a screen to phone size ratio of 73.6%, both making the most of the space available and ensuring that the phone is no wider than a standard credit card. As for the innards, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system skinned by the company's very own Xperia UI with a Quad Core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex A7 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU based Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400 chipset. T2 Ultra efficiently handles multitasking with 1 GB of RAM and sports 8 GB of internal storage that you can instantly and easily expand through the phone's microSD card slot that supports up to 32 GB. But the real highlight of this release: Its powerful 13.1 MegaPixel autofocus camera with LED flash and Exmor RS sensor for improved low-light performance.

Sony Xperia M2 Philippines, Sony Xperia M2, 2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia M2
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 14,990
Availability: May 2014

Flaunting the same gorgeous Omnibalance design language as its far more expensive siblings, Sony Xperia M2 sports a crisp and brilliant 4.8 inch qHD TFT display, a Full HD 1080p video recorder, and a 0.3 MegaPixel front facing cam. The handset runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system skinned by Xperia UI with its Quad Core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A7 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU based Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 chipset, handles multitasking with 1 GB of RAM, and has 8 GB of internal storage, which users can easily expand via microSD card slot supporting up to 32 GB. Sony Xperia M2 is powered by a Non-removable Li-Ion 2,300 mAh battery pack with Sony's STAMINA Mode 3.0, which is said to be capable of delivering 633 Hours of Standby, 14 Hours 36 Minutes of Talk Time, and 58 Hours 25 Minutes of Music Play.

Sony Xperia E1 Philippines, Sony Xperia E1, 2014 Sony Xperia Smartphones, Sony Xperia Philippines

Sony Xperia E1
Price in the Philippines Upon Launch: Php 6,590
Availability: March 2014

As I've earlier shared on TechPinas, Sony's audio heritage as a legendary music and multimedia company can be clearly heard in Sony Xperia E1 as key technologies come together with the 100Db (with 100Db on the Sony Xperia E1, even a motorcycle won’t interrupt your music) speaker to produce a louder, cleaner sound that can hold its own in any environment. With ClearAudio+ mode, instantly enhance your listening experience and optimize the balance of frequencies while xLOUD ensures that your tracks sound as good as they should - loud and crystal clear. If you love playing your favorite tracks out loud on your smartphone, you will definitely fall in love with Sony Xperia E1. Sure, this release doesn't have the powerhouse innards and imaging capabilities of more expensive Xperia handsets but I think Sony fans who are on a tight budget will greatly appreciate it as it allows them to experience what the legendary Japanese company has to offer in this product category for a very pocket-friendly price.

There you have it, TP Friends! Let me know which of these Xperia devices you are most keen on checking out in stores and purchasing this year. Share your thoughts about Sony's 2014 Android smartphones and tablet line-up in the comments section below.