The most recent flagship handset to come out of the Japanese firm was the Sony Xperia Z at the beginning of this year and while it's only be around for eight months it's apparently time for a new model, the Xperia i1.
We're hearing the Sony Xperia i1 is lined up for a special launch at IFA 2013 in Berlin, and there's been a whole host of rumours, leaks and speculation surrounding the smartphone.
Originally touted under the codename Sony Honami, the chatter on the internet now surrounds the rather peculiar i1 moniker - a name we're not particularly impressed with.
We've cast an eye over all the various reports on the web surrounding the Honami/Xperia i1 and pulled the best bits together below to give you an overview of the handset.
Sony Xperia i1 release date and price
Initially the Sony Xperia i1 release date was pegged for July, but that has been and gone, so all eyes are now firmly on IFA 2013.
Apparently the Honami will make its way to market in at least one country before the year is out - with South Korea supposedly in line for some Xperia i1 loving.
The Xperia i1 release date now appears to be pretty much set for September 4, the date of Sony's press conference at IFA 2013 in Berlin, after a teaser was leaked online.
In terms of price the trail is pretty cold, but considering the Xperia i1 is set to be the next flagship device from Sony we'd expect it to carry a lavish price tag putting it up against the Galaxy S4, HTC One and Lumia 925.
Sony Xpeira i1 display
Early reports pointed towards the Xperia i1 sporting a 5-inch, full HD display, very much like the screen found on the Xperia Z.
The 5-inch display has been reported in a number of other leaks as well, adding more fuel to fire and in the screen department at least it doesn't appear that Sony is going to advance anything. We just hope it doesn't suffer from the same washed-out appearance of its predecessor - but given the Sony Xperia Z Ultra packed Triluminous technology to improve it's appearance, fingers crossed the same will happen here.
Sony Xperia i1 camera
With no big surprises in screen spec the major upgrade the Xperia i1 looks to be getting is in the camera department.
The Xperia Z currently sports a pretty decent 13.1MP snapper, but the Xperia i1 is rumoured to go one better and pack a meaty 20MP Cyber-shot camera on its rear.
- Read our Sony Xperia Z review
A Carl Zeiss 1/2.3-inch sensor G lens will also reportedly be thrown into the mix, and an image that appeared online apparently pegged the camera at 20.65MP with a resolution of 3936 x 5248.
It's not just photos which may well turn out to be huge on the i1, with leaked slides from a Sony presentation hinting at a 4K (4000 x 2000) video recording capability - something which may find its way onto the Xperia i1.
If this turns out to be true than the Honami would be the first smartphone to capture film in the 4K format - although the full HD screen wouldn't be able to do your recordings justice.
Various screenshots claiming to be from the Xperia i1 camera app have also made their way online and apparently reveal updated camera software.
Some clever folks over at XDA Developers reckon they've managed to port the camera app from the Honami handset to over Xperia smartphones, bringing a raft of new features with it.
New features, which have been confirmed in a second report, include AR-effect (an augmented reality mode), info-eye for visual search and Timeshift Burst which allows users to choose the best photo out of a series of shots - so very similar to mode found on BlackBerry 10.
- Check out our BlackBerry 10 review
Another feature which could worm its way onto the Xperia i1 is Social Live, giving you the ability to live stream video to Facebook. This sounds like a pretty massive gimmick, but if Sony can pull it off it will be a very interesting feature.
Sony Xperia i1 power and storage
The Sony Xperia i1 seems to be suitably equipped in the power department with early reports of a 2.3GHz quad-core processor apparently pretty close to the mark, with later leaks pointing towards a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip.
Either way it will be an improvement on the 1.5GHz quad-core chip in the Xperia Z, and it would also make the Xperia i1 more powerful than the Galaxy S4 and HTC One.
2GB looks pretty much nailed on to be accompanying the quad-core processor in the Xperia i1, while an Adreno 330 GPU should give the handset enough grunt for the more graphically intense games.
Internal storage is a little disappointing with a number of leaks stating 16GB, although what's actually available will be less as the operating system will take up a fair whack.
At least there's some comfort in reports pointing towards a microSD slot, which makes the internal storage less of an issue.
Sony Xperia i1 operating system, battery and more
Rather surprisingly very little has been said about the operating system which will adorn the Xperia i1, but perhaps that's because it's obviously going to be sporting a recent incarnation of Android.
While Android 4.3 is the latest version of Google's platform on the market it's currently limited to Nexus devices, so the sensible money would be on the Sony Xperia i1 arriving with Android 4.2.2 on board.
- The full low-down on Google's OS: Android Jelly Bean review
Sony is reportedly stuffing a decent battery into the Xperia i1, with two reports pointing towards a 3000mAh power pack. Hopefully that will see it last a whole day with decent usage.
Connectivity wise you can apparently expect to see Wi-Fi and Bluetooth line up alongside 4G and NFC, but it doesn't look like the Xperia i1 will share the same dust and water resistance as the Xperia Z. This seems unlikely given the 'rugged' tag is one Sony is keen to push, so we'd expect this to be perfectly happy when accidentally dropped in your washing up.
For the audiophiles among you there's good news as the Xperia i1 is touted as having a Walkman audio chip stuffed inside it to enhance your tunes, although it's still worth investing in a decent set of headphones.
Sony Xperia i1 looks
There have been a number of photo leaks claiming to show off the Xperia i1 in all its glory, and if they are accurate it will look pretty similar to the Xperia Z.
At first glance it's not really possible to tell the two handsets apart, with the device in the images below keeping to that strong Sony design which has been implemented on the Z and Z Ultra.
Pretty early on we saw an image which claimed to show the Xperia i1 inbetween the super sized Xperia Z Ultra and the (smaller than the Z) Xperia ZL.
Images showing the side of the Xperia i1 appear to reveal a metal band running around the side of the handset, and shows a dedicated shutter key alongside the oversized power/lock button and volume rocker.
The rear of the Xperia i1 in this photo seems to have a matt, plastic finish which looks a little cheap, so we're hoping this is just an early prototype and not the finished design.
In the photo below the Honami was apparently spied next to an iPhone 5 and the Sony Xperia Z, both of which are smaller than the i1.
Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-i1-honami-release-date-news-and-rumours-1174018
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