VAIO Phone Goes Official – But Only In Japan

The smartphone market is set to welcome back one of its old friends following the reveal of a new device from Sony’s former brand VAIO.

After speculation in recent weeks, the imaginatively-named VAIO phone (otherwise known as the VA-10J) has now been officially announced by Japanese MVNO B-Mobile, which will offer the device at around £22 a month from March 20.

Although it’s unlikely to see a release outside of Japan, the device, which will run Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, looks set to compete with some of the big names on the mid-range smartphone market.

Branching out

Inside, there’s a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 2,500mAh battery. The device, which features a 5in 720p display and 13MP rear camera, weighs just 130g thanks to its plastic build, which is just 7.95mm thick.

The VAIO brand was sold by Sony to a Japanese investment firm in February 2014, making it into a separate company. The first new laptops from the new company appeared last month, with the Windows-powered Vaio Z featuring a hinged lid alongside the Z Canvas, which came with a detachable keyboard that allowed a quick change in form factor.

Its smartphone will now go up against Sony’s already well-established smartphone business, thanks to its Xperia product line, the latest edition of which, the Xperia Z4, is set to be released later this year, accompanying a similarly-titled tablet device unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this month.

What do you remember about the smartphones of 2014? Try our quiz!