Japanese smartphone manufacturer Japan Communications Inc. has just announced that it will unveil a new VAIO smartphone a week after the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 in Barcelona, Spain, from March 2 to 5. The company said that it was deliberately avoiding the stiff competition expected at the upcoming trade show.

Christian Today quotes the Japanese company as stating that investors of the VAIO brand will release their maiden smartphone on March 12. Japan Communications Inc. will market the new smartphone. Earlier, Nikkei Asian Review had reported that third party companies will manufacture the new smartphone device and will be available via Japan Communications and various retailers.

According to Blog of Mobile, a Japanese website, rumors regarding VAIO working on a new smartphone first surfaced at the end of 2014. The new device is expected to come with a 5-inch screen panel rendering an average 720p display resolution. According to the report, the smartphone will be powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 clocked at 1.2 GHz and paired with 2 GB of RAM. The device will run with the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS, and will feature a 13-megapixel primary rear camera and a 4-megapixel secondary front-facing shooter.

While neither Japan Communications Inc. nor the manufacturers have revealed the price of the new smartphone, considering the specs and features of the device, the VAIO smartphone is likely to target the mid-range smartphone market. In addition, the VAIO smartphone will be unlocked and SIM free.

VAIO was the brand name of laptops manufactured by Sony. However, the Japanese tech titan decided to pull the plug terminate the brand when it sold most of its shares following declining sales of its laptops. Meanwhile, the group of investors that purchased the brand name not only decided to continue with the brand, but also plans to expand the business further.

Since VAIO will be launching its first smartphone soon, it is expected that the device will compete with Sony's own line of devices. It is reported that the VAIO smartphone is aimed at business professionals.