Last year was the year that finally saw Android phones achieve booming growth all over the world, including here in Japan. But thus far, Japanese manufacturers have yet to crack the top tier of smartphone makers, as South Korea's Samsung and the Taiwanese HTC have led the charge thus far. But at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, both Sony and Fujitsu were trumpeting new handsets, and we're going to see new offerings from both companies for the Japanese market as well.

Sony, fresh from picking up Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericcson this past October, announced four new phones at CES: two for the U.S. market, the Xperia Ion and Xperia S, and two for the Japanese market on the Docomo network, the Xperia acro HD and the Xperia NX. The phones have much in common as far as hardware specs are concerned, being powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. As well, they both sport a 12-megapixel camera, and 4.3-inch, 720 x 1,280 LCD display. The Xperia acro HD looks to be the more full-featured of the two Japanese offerings, with capabilities the local market tends to like, such as water-resistance, one-seg TV, and NFC digital wallet functionality. Sony tells The Japan Times that the Xperia NX is expected to launch in Japan in February, with the Xperia acro HD to follow in March.

In the announcement at CES, Bert Nordberg, the CEO for Sony Ericsson, noted that new offerings are a part of its multi-screen strategy: "CES marks an important milestone for both Sony Ericsson and Sony, with the introduction of the first smartphones from Sony. As the market continues to evolve into a world where we consume content and entertainment across multiple screens, the Xperia portfolio will deliver a mobile experience that is an important cornerstone of Sony's strategy to provide seamless connectivity and networked entertainment across smartphones, TV, laptops and tablets."