We first heard about Sony Ericsson’s mid-range XPERIA ray way back in June, and it looks like U.S. Android fans with an aversion to contracts can pick one up now. Online electronics megastore NewEgg has the Android smartphone available for $379.99, running on AT&T’s 3G mobile bands. T-Mobile customers can get in on the action as well, but according to the product listing they’ll be limited to 2G data speeds.
The XPERIA ray is a decidedly mid-range phone with a 3.3-inch display running at a respectable 854 x 480 resolution. There’s a speedy 1GHz Scorpion processor crammed into its .4-inch frame, with an impressive 8 megapixel rear camera to boot, including an LED flash and 720p video recording. The ray runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread (huzzah!) with some of Sony’s software customizations included. If you’ve had a chance to play around with the XPERIA X10 you know what to expect – the XPERIA ray is basically a smaller cousin.
The phone is marked at $449.99 retail, but is currently discounted by NewEgg by $70. No word on any subsidized carrier agreements yet, but it’s certainly possible that AT&T might be readying a version soon, since they’re already selling the XPERIA Play and XPERIA X10. If that happens, expect the XPERIA ray to have a smaller price tag, probably less than $100 on-contract.
[via Engadget]
