The latest flagship smartphone from Sony, the Xperia Z1, is already available for pre-order in certain European markets, but it comes with a price to match.

Sony has just unveiled its much-anticipated Xperia Z1 smartphone (previously referred to as 'Honami') at the IFA 2013 trade show in Berlin. The Xperia Z1 comes as a high-end, waterproof smartphone ready to take on top-tier rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and the upcoming iPhone 5S.

The Sony Xperia Z1 sports a 5-inch 1080p Triluminos display, the company's latest X-Reality technology, 4G support and more. Under the hood, the handset packs the latest quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage capacity, expandable to an additional 64GB via microSD. The Xperia Z1 has a large 3,300 mAh battery and ships with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on board.

The new Sony flagship is already up for pre-order in various European markets, either directly from the Sony online store or from local carriers and retailers, and some interesting offers are on the table. In the UK, for instance, some retailers are throwing in free content, as well as a free Sony SmartWatch 2 or a free QX lens.

The Sony Xperia Z1 unlocked will set you back €699 in France, €679 in Germany, €699 in Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, 5,995kr in Sweden and £599 in the UK. Interested customers in the UK, however, can also get the handset at a subsidized price if they are willing to commit to a two-year contract.

Carphone Warehouse offers the Sony Xperia Z1 for £69 on contracts of £33 per month and gives away a free QX lens with each pre-order. The Cybershot QX10 lens normally retails for £150. It is also offering £45 worth of content for free, broken down into £65 worth of "content including top 5 movies, an exclusive movie access pass, and 60 days of free music streaming.")

EE, meanwhile, has its own Xperia Z1 pre-order offer, bundling a free Sony Smartwatch 2 with every pre-order of the new smartphone. Purchased separately, the Smartwatch 2 will set you back £149. The price is available with a two-year contract with EE and may vary depending on operator (Orange or T-Mobile) and monthly fee.

Sony said that deliveries of its latest Xperia Z1 flagship should start by the end of the month, but offered no exact launch dates.