After appearing in two separate leaks in recent weeks, both Sony's Xperia Z1 f and Samsung's Galaxy J have been made officially official by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo.
The Xperia Z1 f is Sony's take on the shrunken flagship smartphone trend that we've seen quite a bit of lately, offering many of the same looks and specs as the 5-inch Xperia Z1 in a smaller package. Much like the Xperia Z1, the new Xperia Z1 f includes a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2-megapixel front camera, 20.7-megapixel rear shooter and extra camera goodies like an Exmor RS for mobile image sensor and BIONZ image processing engine.
The big difference between the Xperia Z1 f and Xperia Z1 is screen size. While the original Z1 sports a 5-inch 1080p display, the Xperia Z1 f has a 4.3-inch 720p screen that makes it easier to use one-handed. Unsurprisingly, cramming the Z1's specs into a smaller package also makes the Z1 f a tad thicker than its big sibling, with the Z1 measuring 8.5mm thick and the Z1 f coming in at 9.4mm thick. Rounding out the Z1 f's spec list is 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, a microSD card slot, a 2300mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Also announced today by NTT DoCoMo is the Samsung Galaxy J, a new Android 4.3 handset that looks a bit like a mashup of the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy J features a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, just like the Galaxy S 4, and is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. Also included is a pair of cameras, with a 13.2-megapixel camera on the back and 2.1-megapixel shooter on the front, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and a microSD card slot. A 2600mAh battery provides juice to the keep the Galaxy J running.
As far as availability goes, the Xperia Z1 f will be offered in black, white, lime and pink when it launches in late Dec. 2013, while the Galaxy J will be available in Satin White, Coral Pink and Lapis Blue starting in late Oct. 2013. There's no word on when or if either model will see the light of stores outside of Japan.
Both of these new devices look like respectable Android offerings: The Xperia Z1 f packs flagship specs like a Snapdragon 800 and 20.7-megapixel camera into a one-hand-friendly package, while the Galaxy J appears to combine some of the best aspects of the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 3 into a single device. While we wait for more availability info with fingers crossed and breath held, you can find official announcements for the Xperia Z1 f and Galaxy J at the links below.
Via NTT DoCoMo, Sony, Samsung