Sony Announces Xperia Z1 with 20MP Camera, Attachable Cameras for Android and iOS Devices

Sony took the wraps of its latest products at IFA today. Here is a run down of some of the most important announcements.

QX100 & QX10 – Attachable Smartphone Cameras

Sony finally unveiled the much leaked camera lens modules. The devices will be part of the CyberShot line and carry the names DSC-QX100 and DSC-QX10. It will pair with a smartphone via NFC and WiFi. The lenses will be compatible with both Android and iOS devices.

The QX100 will be the higher priced model with a ZEISS Vario-Sonar T* lens with F/ 1.8–4.9 aperture and 3.6x optical zoom, an Exmor R sensor. It will have 20.2 effective megapixels.

The QX10 will come with an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor with 10x zoom and an f/3.5-3.9 lens.

Both modules will have on/off buttons on them along with a zoom control and a shutter key. The modules will also work without being attached to a smartphone.

The lenses are quite expensive with the QX100 costing $500 and the QX10 priced at $250. We really wonder if there will be too many takers for a niche product like this.

Sony Xperia Z1

 The company also unveiled its latest flagship smartsphone, the Sony Xperia Z1. The Sony Xperia Z1 will feature a 5-inch 1080 x 1980 pixel resolution TFT display. Similar to the Xperia Z Ultra it comes with a TRILUMINOS display and X-Reality for mobile. Like most of Sony’s high end products the phone will be water resistant. It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 chipset which includes a 2.2GHz quad-core processor and Adreno 330 graphics. It will come with 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a microSD memory card slot and a 3,000mAh battery capacity.

The highlight of the smartphone will be the camera which will have a 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS CMOS image sensor. It will also have up to 3x “Clear Image Zoom” which Sony says will have zero loss of image quality.

The phone will have an app called Social Live Direct which will allow users to livestream to Facebook. Another software Info-eye will get you get information on anything you photograph, similar to Google Googles. The Timeshift burst mode will take 61 images within two seconds so that you can capture the perfect frame. From the looks of it this could be the best camera on an Android phone till date.

The Xperia Z1 has dimensions of 144 x 74 x 8.5mm and weighs 170 grams. The handset will launch with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean in three colours – black, purple and white.

The phone will come with Sony’s G Lens and BIONZ for mobile image processing. It also includes apps like Info-eye (visual search), AR effect, Timeshift burst and Social live.

The phone is expected to go on sale globally this month itself.