Sony Xperia Z1 hits China Mobile with some changes

With rumors rampant that China Mobile is about to offer the Apple iPhone 5s and Apple iPhone 5c on December 18th, the world's largest carrier has already snagged a heavyweight in the Sony Xperia Z1. The flagship Android model for the Japanese OEM offers a 5 inch screen with 1080 x 1920 resolution, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 20.7MP rear snapper.

But the model being offered on China Mobile (L39t) does have some changes. Instead of the 16GB of native storage on the international version of the phone, the China Mobile model comes with 32GB. That is because this variant of the phone does not offer a microSD slot. In addition, the frame around the outside of the device is plastic, not metal. This would make it similar to the Sony Xperia Z and Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Looking like the doppleganger of the version of the Xperia Z1 allegedly heading to T-Mobile, the China Mobile variant of the phone has a centered earphone jack and the front-facing camera is now on the left-side of the Sony logo instead of being on the right side as seen with the global unit. If this is the version of the handset heading to T-Mobile, it could be marketed in the states as the Sony Xperia Z1s. That model number was originally thought to be a mini version of the Xperia Z1, but that phone has been released in Japan as an exclusive for Docomo as the Sony Xperia Z1 f.

The Sony Xperia Z1 is offered by China Mobile in black and purple for 4499 Yuan ($741 USD).


source: ePrice (translated), XperiaBlog via AndroidCentral