AT&T Confirms It Will Carry Sony’s Xperia TL, Keeps Mum On Pricing And Release Date

xperia-tl

Sony only outed its newest trio of Xperia smartphones just over a month ago in Berlin, and AT&T has just announced that it’s already grooming the device for a U.S. launch.

Oh, and in case you care, the phone will also appear on-screen as James Bond’s phone of choice in Skyfall. Then again, what else is new — Daniel Craig’s version of the iconic secret agent has been using Sony phones for his two previous forays on-screen.

Here’s a quick recap of the T/TL in case you really don’t feel like clicking that link — Sony’s new flagship sports a 4.6-inch Reality display running at 720p, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260-A processor (the same as the one seen in HTC’s slim One S), and a fast-booting 13-megapixel camera.

In terms of connectivity, the TL will play nice with AT&T’s LTE network, and there’s an NFC chipset tucked in there as well to help facilitate one-touch file sharing (and potentially Isis-powered mobile payments?). The whole shebang runs on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich for the time being, and while Sony confirmed that a Jelly Bean update would be pushed “following launch,” there’s no telling how long it’ll take an update like that to pass through AT&T’s testing and certification process.

Honestly though, AT&T’s announcement isn’t exactly news if you’ve been paying close attention these past few weeks. In the days leading up to Sony’s Xperia unveiling at IFA, it was revealed that Sony Mobile had filed a trademark application for “Xperia TL” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Even more tell was the fact that the Xperia T was spotted on a U.K. retailer’s website rocking AT&T’s familiar logo (see below) just a few days after Sony’s official announcement. The real meat here — when the TL will launch and how much it’ll cost when it does — is notably absent in AT&T’s release.


Sony Xperia TL joins AT&T’s 4G LTE lineup as official James Bond phone

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Strange, but true: it seems James Bond is an Android man and the Xperia TL, his phone of choice. Well, at least that’s the marketing tie-in made possible by Sony’s corporate synergy. Regardless, the company’s latest smartphone flagship has found a new stateside home on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. The 4.6-inch device, unveiled at IFA 2012, reps a 720p HD Reality display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, 13-megapixel rear module capable of “sleep to snap” fast capture and runs a skinned build of Ice Cream Sandwich atop a dual-core 1.5GHz S4 CPU. It also comes loaded up with three of the Japanese outfit’s media apps — Walkman, Movies and Album — a bevy of exclusive content (e.g. ringtones, wallpaper, etc.) from the next Bond film, Skyfall, and packs one SmartTag in the box for use with the handset’s NFC chip. There’s no official word on when this black beauty’s set to hit retail shelves — or pricing, for that matter. But if the imminent arrival of its galactic stablemates is any indication, expect to see it in “the coming weeks.” Official PR after the break.

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Sony Xperia TL joins AT&T’s 4G LTE lineup as official James Bond phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany week of August 27th, 2012

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, MetroPCS welcomed the Coolpad Quattro 4G into its stable and we also caught wind of a redesigned Huawei Mercury for Cricket. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of August 27th, 2012.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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