Sony announces unlocked Xperia ZL destined for US

Sony has confirmed that its Xperia ZL smartphone, similar to its Xperia Z, will be available in the United States. Even better, the 5-inch handset will be unlocked, and can be used with both T-Mobile and AT&T. The Xperia ZL will be available in three colors – red, white, and black – and could be priced as high as $760.

The price hasn't been officially specified, however, nor has a release date for when the handset will hit shelves Stateside, with the Xperia Store simply listing it as "coming soon." For those willing to wait, what they're get is a high-end Sony flagship handset that offers excellent hardware, a sleek body, and the benefits of not being tied to a carrier.

The Xperia ZL is officially in the phablet category with a 5-inch full high-definition 1080p display. Inside, users will find a Qualcomm quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, as well as 2GB of RAM. There's a 13.1-megapixel camera around back, and the handset runs Android Jelly Bean. Although the phone doesn't support Verizon, users can use it with both AT&T and T-Mobile's 4G LTE networks.

While the Xperia ZL is unlocked, it isn't a dual-SIM handset. It comes pre-loaded with Google Talk, YouTube, and Facebook. Connectivity includes NFC, Bluetooth, a microUSB port, and wifi. Battery life is excellent, with up to 40 hours of music playback, 500 hours of standby (460 LTE), up to 10 hours of talk time, and up to 5.5 hours of video playback.

[via Android Community]