Sony Xperia Z3v launches at Verizon

For a well-known and longstanding smartphone manufacturer, Sony has an unusual strategy in the US. Its presence is limited, and few of its devices make it in the country officially. And when they do, they are about to be superseded. Proof is Xperia Z2. Unveiled at CES 2014 in January, it went on sale shortly after, but only made it to the US in late-July. Its successor, Xperia Z3, was announced at IFA 2014, early last month, and went on sale just weeks later.

However, Xperia Z3 must be the smartphone that breaks the pattern for Sony, and finally show us that the Japanese maker can get its US strategy right, as it will soon be available at two of the largest mobile operators in the country. Yes, while it is still a hot device! After T-Mobile, Verizon was just revealed to also carry Xperia Z3, albeit in a slightly tweaked version called Xperia Z3v. Here are the details.

Xperia Z3v will be available at Verizon two weeks from now, starting October 23. It will be sold through both the mobile operator's online and brick and mortar stores, for a price of $199.99 on a two-year contract. Basically, it will cost as much as rival flagships like Apple iPhone 6, HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5, at Verizon.

To sweeten the deal, those who purchase Xperia Z3v "can also get $200 off a Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet". The off-contract price of the slate at Verizon is $599.99, while on a two-year contract it costs $499.99. Post-discount, it would run you $399.99 or $299.99, respectively. It is a good deal, if you are also set on getting Xperia Z2 Tablet from Verizon, but do not mind that the smaller Xperia Z3 Tablet is already on its way.

Alongside Xperia Z3v, Verizon will carry a bunch of accessories that are designed to play well with the device: SmartWatch 3 (Android Wear-based smartwatch which costs $249.99), CPW5 Wireless Portable Power Supply (Qi-based portable charger which costs $59.99), DualShock 4 Wireless Controller, and GCM10 Game Control Mount (the last two are meant to turn Xperia Z3v into a PlayStation 4 remote controller; they cost $59.99 and $39.99, respectively).

On top of what the standard model offers, Xperia Z3v adds Qi wireless charging and more internal storage (32 GB instead of 16 GB). It retains the microSD card slot. For the other hardware specifications, read our coverage of Xperia Z3.