Sony developing Android-based iPhone 5 rival

PanARMENIAN.Net - Sony is developing a smartphone that will rival the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3, Digital Spy said.

Sony Mobile marketing chief Dennis van Schie revealed that the flagship handset will run the Android operating system and could be unveiled at the CES trade show in January 2013.

Rumours of a new flagship mobile device from Sony have been in circulation for some time. A device dubbed Yuga, sporting a 5-inch display, was leaked online earlier this month, but it is not known whether it is the same product referred to by van Schie.

Also known as the Sony C6603, the handset has been touted as a competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, with equally powerful specs and a similar screen size.

The executive went on to say that Sony is closely monitoring the development of Windows Phone 8 with a view to potentially adopting it. "If it succeeds, we will not be caught off-guard," he told Financial Times Deutschland.

CES 2013 takes place between January 8 and January 11.