Two new devices are being added to the Xperia family today in the form of the Xperia E1 and Xperia T2 Ultra. These phones sit below flagship devices like the Z1 and Z1 Ultra, but they still have that slick Sony design and the OEM's custom build of Android 4.3.

The Xperia E1 (seen above) is a device with modest specs, but a great big speaker. The rear-facing mono speaker can output a whopping 100dB – in the common vernacular, we refer to that as "mega loud." Music is the differentiating factor for the E1, which also has a physical Walkman button on the side and shake-to-skip functionality. Here are the rest of the specs:

Sony Xperia E1 4-inch WVGA (800x480) LCD

Dual-core Snapdragon 200 (MSM8210), 1.4GHz

512MB RAM

Cat 14 HSPA+ (bands vary by market)

3 MP rear-facing camera

4GB storage with microSD

Optional dual-SIM

1700 mAh removable battery

Size: 118 x 62.4 x 12 mm, 121g

Available in white, black, and purple

https://youtu.be/rxt3Lvumvkc

The Snapdragon 200 is definitely a budget chip, but it should be enough for general use. Sony is marketing this phone as "the best smartphone in its class." That's probably true, considering it's going up against devices that cost under $240 unlocked (175 Euros).

The Xperia T2 Ultra is a bit more beefy than its little sibling. This device has a big 6-inch screen, but the screen is only 720p. Certainly no match for the Z Ultra, but an improvement over the E1. Here are the full specs:

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 6-inch 720p LCD

Quad-core Snapdragon 400 (MSM8928), 1.4GHz

1GB RAM

8GB storage with microSD

Cat 14 HSPA+, LTE (bands vary by market)

13 MP camera

Optional dual-SIM

NFC

3000 mAh battery

Size: 165.2 x 83.8 x 7.65 mm, 171g

Available in white, black, and purple

Sony is making a big deal out of the high ratio of screen to not-screen on the face of this phone – it's 73.6% screen, by the way. Mid-range devices often have chunkier bezels, so this is actually a nice design choice for the T2 Ultra. Although at 720p, the screen is "only" 244 pixels per inch.

Pricing and release dates will vary by market, but the cost should be reasonable. The only number Sony gave was under 175 Euros for the Xperia E1, which was only referenced to clarify what "class" Sony was talking about. With the dual-SIM variants on the menu, an international launch is probably happening first. If these phones come to the US, it'll probably be a while.

[Sony Mobile: E1, T2 Ultra – Sony Developer Blog: E1, T2 Ultra]