Sony Xperia Z to launch on US carrier in ‘coming weeks’

Sony’s selling an unlocked version of its Xperia ZL in the United States, but it hasn’t yet gotten a carrier deal for the flagship phones it launched at CES. That’s about to change, Sony’s Kaz Hirai and Phil Molyneux told reporters today at the D11 conference. “We will make an announcement about the Xperia Z with a carrier very shortly,” said Hirai, with Molyneux later saying it would be within the coming weeks. Neither would reveal which carrier, but Sony has a long history with AT&T and the ZL already works on AT&T’s LTE network, so that would be a natural fit.

Asked how Sony would differentiate the glass-backed waterproof Z in the hypercompetitive US market, Hirai conceded that the company has “more work to do,” to stand out, but noted that the Z was the bestselling smartphone for six weeks in a row in Japan. “We were able to do that — it’s above and beyond Sony technology. It’s the Sony brand. Think about the marketing prowess we bring.” We’ll see how Sony manages to set the Z apart in the next few weeks.