Sony Xperia Z Release Date Confirmed for February 28 in U.K.

In the United Kingdom, the Three network has confirmed that it will launch the Xperia Z on February 28.

Earlier rumors were reported that the Xperia Z was being quietly stocked in Japanese tech stores and found on a Polish pre-order page online, but this is the first confirmed release date we have. And it puts the release of the Xperia Z on the last day of the Mobile World Congress this year.

"We're extremely pleased to offer the Xperia Z for pre-order from the 1st February," said Silvia Chind, head of devices at Three, according to TechDigest.

Without contract, the Xperia Z will cost 449.99 pounds, giving us an idea in the United States what to expect as far as price range.

Also, today it looks like HTC will be making their M7 flagship available on March 8, also earlier than expected, so the next-generation smartphone wars are certainly heating up. The Xperia Z looks to be Sony's first serious competitor in the high-end smartphone market in a long time.

It'll boast a 5-inch touchscreen, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with 2GB RAM, a 13 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean installed, with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean likely to be updated soon after launch.

There are other aspects of the Xperia Z that make it a stand-out smartphone in the field this year, including the fact that it's waterproof, will charge off of the Xperia tablet Z, and looks like it will have a really nice, versatile camera, capable of taking clear true-color shots, even in bad lighting conditions. Check out my previous post about those features.

And keep checking in with us as we learn more about the upcoming Sony Xperia Z.