Xperia Ray and Active officially launch in India for about 20K

Big news! Sony Ericsson have made the Xperia Ray and Xperia Active official in India. Both the Ray and Active will go on sale for approximately Rs 20,000. The Xperia Ray is a smaller and cheaper alternative to the Arc (whatever happened to the Xperia Neo, we wonder), whereas the Active, as the name suggests, is a sporty phone designed for people with an active lifestyle. Both phones will feature Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 and are powered by 1GHz processors.

Not the 'ray' of hope we were expecting

The Xperia Ray is a slim and stylish phone measuring just 9.4mm and will have an aluminium frame. The phone will feature Sony Ericsson’s ‘Reality Display’ with Mobile BRAVIA Engine along with a scratch resistant screen. Below are some of the highlights of the phone

• 3.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a BRAVIA screen and 854 x 480 pixels resolution

• 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi

• EDGE/GPRS

• Bluetooth 2.1

• 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and backlit Exmor R sensor

• Secondary camera

• Memory expandable to 32 GB, 1GB internal

• 3.5 mm audio jack

For the budding explorer

The Xperia Active is a dust-proof, water resistant Android handset very similar to the Motorola Defy. Along with similar features found in the Ray, it will also have a Barometer, Compass, heart rate and pulse monitoring functions and iMapMyFitness app to keep a track of your day to day performance. In the box, you’ll find an extra back cover, detachable ear hooks for the hands-free, wrist strap, an arm case for use during workouts and a 2GB memory card. Below are some of the highlights of the phone.

• 3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels

• 3G, GPS with A-GPS support, Wi-Fi, DLNA

• EDGE/GPRS

• Bluetooth 2.1

• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash

• Stereo FM Radio with RDS

• 3.5 mm audio jack

• Memory expandable to 32 GB, 1GB internal

I personally feel 20K is a bit of a stretch for both the phones. The only thing the Ray has going for it is the higher resolution screen compared to other 4-inch Android phones that sport a lower resolution. Phones like the Optimus Black and the Galaxy S are going to blow this out of the water even before it hits the shelves if it launches at this price point. The Active suffers an even worse fate as it’s targeted at a very niche audience and is nowhere cheap. Considering you can have the Motorola Defy for about 15K now, and with the Defy + on its way, it will be a tough sell. I hope Sony Ericsson revise their pricing soon for their own sake.