Sony Announces New Xperia E Smartphone With Single & Dual-SIM Options For Early 2013

Sony unveiled its latest Xperia smartphone today, and it’s sure to grab the attention of those juggling two devices for business and personal use. It’s called the Xperia E, and its special feature is that it’s available with a dual-SIM slot, allowing you to use two SIM cards and two different numbers at the touch of a button.

The Xperia E also boasts a 3.5-inch HVGA display (320×480), a 1GHz processor, and a 1,500 mAh battery. It’ll run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box “for the latest Android user experience,” and it offers Sony’s HD Voice and Walkman xLOUD technologies for optimal sound quality. It also offers DLNA wireless media streaming.

Although you can get a single-SIM version, there’s also an Xperia Edual model that sports a dual-SIM slot. That means you can stick in a personal SIM and a business SIM and switch between the two as you see fit. Sony says it’ll help you “stay on top of your data” usage by allowing you to “stay on the most cost effective plan” by switching between carriers.

The downside is, you need to push a button to switch between the two SIMs, and you can only use one at a time. Some other dual-SIM smartphones allow you to use both SIM cards and both numbers simultaneously.

The Xperia E will launch during the first quarter of 2013, Sony says. You can check out the handset’s promo video below.