Sony XPERIA S (Video)

In addition to announcing the XPERIA Ion for AT&T, Sony had also shown off the XPERIA S. Both phones share very similar traits, though the XPERIA S has a smaller screen at 4.3-inch with the same 720p HD display as its larger brother.

The XPERIA S is a GSM 3G/HSPA phone that will be sold internationally while the Ion will also pack in a 4G LTE radio that’s compatible with AT&T’s network here in the U.S.

Like the Ion, the XPERIA S will also support NFC. NFC on both the Ion and S will be used to quickly change the settings of the phone once tagged. Sony will sell quick NFC tags that you can place in your home, car, and office, so that you can rapidly change the ringer, volumes, toggle WiFi and GPS, and other settings as you leave and enter your home, car, office, or other locations.

While the Ion will have a metal back, the XPERIA S will have a polycarbonate shell.

The handset will also have a 12-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording as well as a front-facing camera for video chat. Like the Ion, the XPERIA S will have a rapid-fire camera along with a hardware camera button. What this means is that you can quickly capture a focused image in less than two seconds even when the screen is off. Just press and hold the camera button and the phone will automatically focus and capture your image.

Perhaps the coolest thing about the XPERIA S is in its hardware design. The Android navigation keys–three of them–are packed in a glowing strip of light that sits below the LCD Bravia display of the phone. It’s a design aesthetic that’s found in some TVs and gives the phone a modern, clean look.