Monday, 1 July 2013

Sony C906 'Honami' system dump reveals new UI


Yesterday, we saw some leaked images of the upcoming Sony Xperia handset, known for now by the codename ‘Honami’. Now, a system dump of the device has surfaced, which reveals some details about the hardware and showcase some of the new UI changes.

For starters, the phone seemingly runs on a Snapdragon 800 processor, has a 20 megapixel sensor and can record 4K videos in 4000 x 2000 resolution. The last spec seems interesting even though the aspect ratio is unusual.
Other than that, there are several changes to the UI on the phone. You can see a new clock, calendar, calculator and contacts apps. You can now place multiple Small Apps on screen at once and there is a new keyboard as well. Sony also seems to have added a new augmented reality app.
You can find more screenshots in the link below.
Source: Xperiablog
Posted by Unknown
on Monday, July 01, 2013
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Friday, 28 June 2013

Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs Sony Xperia Z


Is the Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet a better alternative to the Xperia Z?

Sony’s Xperia Z re-defined the company’s design style and even introduced a new interface overlay for Android. It’s a 5-inch smartphone with a Full HD 1080p display, quad-core processor and a waterproof chassis.
The Xperia Z Ultra build on the Xperia Z with a larger form factor, a bigger display packed with new technology and a high-end Snapdragon 800 chip.

Sony Xperia Z: Key specs and features

The Xperia Z was the first phone to introduce a new design ethos at Sony. Not only does it feature a highly angular shape with some interestingly detailing and premium finish materials, but it’s also IP57 certified for water and dust resistance and is waterproof up to a depth of one metre.
The exterior design is rewarding to look at thanks to the Dragontrail glass front and back – which also offers extreme durability – sharply contoured corners, silver trim, matte finish polycarbonates and panelled detailing along the neatly shaped edges.

Picking up the phone is no less pleasing an experience, everything fits together nicely with a solid feel and materials which are suitably premium to the touch. It’s thin at 7.9mm and reasonably lightweight at 146g.
The Xperia Z is a very nippy device in terms of speed and performance thanks to a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor chip clocked at 1.5GHz with an Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU) and 2GB of RAM. Android 4.2 is well-optimised here and the Sony UI works smoothly. You’ll get no lag while transitioning between screens and you can rest assured even the most demanding content on Google Play will run well with a wealth of choice from Google’s ecosystem too.
Sony continues to impress with its display technology. The 5-inch touchscreen packs a 1920x1080 pixel Full HD resolution at a super-sharp 440 pixels-per-inch (ppi) pixel density and is also powered by Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine 2 for enhanced colour, contrast and clarity. It’s a phenomenal screen to behold with a highly cinematic almost 3D-like experience, making it ideal for watching feature length films, TV shows, YouTube clips in HD quality and flashy 3D games.
For connectivity the Xperia Z is well-stacked with 4G LTE, NFC, MHL TV-out, Wi-FiBluetooth, DLNA and GPS. A microSD slot allows storage to be expanded by up to 64GB.
The onboard camera is a very competitive setup as it uses a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS sensor with an LED flash, HDR, panoramic capture, digitals stabilisation and 1080p video capture. A 2.2-megapixel secondary also provides decent self portraits and 1080p video calls.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra: Key specs and features

The Xperia Z Ultra is bigger than the Xperia Z in every sense of the word. While the form factor has been enlarged to accommodate a 6.44-inch display there’s very little about the exterior that’s changed. But, this is a very good thing, as mentioned above the Xperia Z’s styling, build and design are all top notch and combine to form a very slick product. The panelled detailing, glass front and back, silver trim and angular, thin shape all make a welcome return here. So too does the IP certification for dust and water resistance and waterproofing, this time bumped up to IP58 and without the need for fiddly port covers, though it’s still only good for up to a metre of water.

The larger 6.44-inch display sports the same 1920x1080 pixel resolution, which results in a slightly lower pixel density of around 342ppi, but this is still incredibly impressive for a screen of this size and you’d probably find it difficult to tell the difference.
It also benefits from some additional enhancements. All of the Xperia Z’s positives are here – enhanced colour, contrast, brightness, white purity and clarity, but they’re boosted even further by Sony’s advancement of these technologies. Instead of the Mobile Bravia Engine 2, Sony has tweaked things to look even better with what it’s now calling the X-Reality Engine. Equally as significant is the use of Triluminos display technology which creates more natural colours.
As well as a display upgrade the Xperia Z Ultra also packs a significantly boosted processor setup and it’s the first handset to be launched packing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at a staggering 2.2GHz with an Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. At present you won’t find a faster smartphone anywhere else.
Also of note is the fact that the Xperia Z Ultra supports stylus input. It does not come with a stylus, but supports third party pokey sticks and even will allow the use of a pencil, pen or other similar implement. This means it doesn’t use a digitiser and therefore can’t do things like adjust line thickness based on pressure, but for basic note taking and diagrams this is no real issue.
Lastly, the Xperia Z Ultra has a very large battery pack rated at 3,050mAh, ensuring that you should be able to go for at least a day and a bit on one charge.

Direct spec comparison: Shootout

DeviceSony Xperia ZSony Xperia Z Ultra
Dimensions139x71x7.9mm, 146g179.4x92.2x6.5mm, 212g 
Display5-inch LCD,1920x1080 pixels,440ppi6.44-inch Triluminos LCD,1920x1080 pixels,342ppi, X-Reality Engine 
Camera13-megapixel Exmor RS,LED flash,1080p video8-megapixel Exmor RS,LED flash,1080p video
Storage16GB,microSD up to 64GB16GB,microSD up to 64GB
Processor, RAM, Graphics1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4,2GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800,2GB RAM,Adreno 330 GPU
Operating System,Android 4.2 Jelly BeanAndroid 4.2 Jelly Bean
UISony UISony UI
ConnectivitymicroUSB,Bluetooth,NFC,Wi-Fi,Wi-Fi Direct,Wi-Fi Hotspot,DLNA,4G,GPS,MHLmicroUSB,Bluetooth,NFC,Wi-Fi,Wi-Fi Direct,Wi-Fi Hotspot,DLNA,4G,GPS,MHL
Battery2,330mAh3,050mAh


Points to consider: Practical use

The Xperia Z is a big phone, but 5-inches seems to have become an acceptable standard for flagships and it’s nowhere near the enormous size of the Xperia Z Ultra’s 6.44-inches. Although the Xperia Z Ultra is offering much more lovely screen real-estate to tantalise the eyeballs and make stuff like web browsing very enjoyable it may have crossed a threshold in terms of what’s a convenient scale for a phone.
Naturally in terms of build quality and design both handsets are on a par here as Sony has implemented the same ethos throughout. Likewise, both are equally well-equipped for connectivity options and both internal storage (16GB all round) and expansion via microSD cards.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor nestling inside the Xperia Z Ultra does tip the balance somewhat as it’s considerably more powerful than what the Xperia Z uses. But, with that said, you’ll find that both setups are packing more power than you currently need to run Android Jelly Bean, the Sony UI and any apps on Google Play with fast and fluid performance. The Xperia Z Ultra will remain competitive for longer though if future-proofing is a priority for you.
Battery life is very important when looking at these two devices. The Xperia Z does not have particularly good battery life as the excellent display and fast processor do take their toll on the 2,330mAh unit.
It remains to be seen how well the Xperia Z Ultra’s 3,050mAh setup fares, it should do better in theory, but we note that the Xperia Z Ultra has a larger display with more complex technology layers while the processor is more fearsome too. Potentially the processor could be more efficient, but I can’t say for sure just yet and if the increased spec in these areas really does impact on things significantly then the increase battery power might be nullified somewhat.
The display is a tough one to call. The Xperia Z has one of the best smartphone displays I’ve ever seen and the Xperia Z Ultra provides a larger touchscreen with enhanced iterations of the same technology which makes it so amazing, but at a loss of about 100ppi. Both are still well over the 300ppi threshold which makes things look nice and sharp though. In all honesty I think in this bracket quibbling over the pixel density and resultant sharpness is probably a moot point, but what remains unclear is if the use of the X-Reality Engine and Triluminos tech makes that much of a difference.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is more up-to-date in terms of processor and display hardware, but aside from future-proofing it’s difficult to see what the advantages really are. If you’re after a huge display then of course you’ll do well with the Xperia Z Ultra but it will be more unwieldy in the hand. The main appeal for me is the increased battery size as the only thing putting me off the Xperia Z when it released was the poor battery life. But while the battery might be improved and the Xperia Z Ultra carries more clout in the engine bay I’m still not entirely onboard with a phone of this size when 5-inch screens serve perfectly well. Personally, I’m waiting to see what the Xperia i1 Honami is like as it sounds like it’ll introduce all the same boosts to hardware at the 5-inch scale.
Posted by Unknown
on Friday, June 28, 2013
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Xperia C gets posted at Sony Mobile: dual SIM 5-incher with MediaTek processor


Sony flaunted the Xperia C during its grand unveiling of the Z Ultra phablet in Shanghai, but now we have the dual-SIM handset pictured officially on the Sony Mobile website, too.

It's to be released in China, and lets you use two SIM cards at once, making it one of the handful of brand-name Android handsets with such capabilities. Dual SIM phones are never spec demons, and the Xperia C doesn't stray away from that trend.

It sports a 5" 540x960 pixels display, a quad-core MediaTek chipset, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of storage and microSD slot, and has an 8 MP Exmor RS sensor on the back. Still not too shabby, and the handset is due to arrive in white, black and purple at China Unicom as exclusive for now, but will be available in other markets further down the road, says Sony.

Source: SonyMobile via phonearena
Posted by Unknown
on Friday, June 28, 2013
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Thursday, 27 June 2013

Sony Xperia ion finally gets its serving of Jelly Beans


The Xperia ion is the latest Sony smartphone to get its serving of Jelly Beans as part of the new firmware, version 6.2.B.0.211.
The device will get all of the benefits this version of Android packs, including Project Butter enhancements that would make things run faster, Google Now and actionable notifications. In addition, I would assume some of Sony’s own apps would also get few tweaks here and there to further improve the experience.
If you own the Xperia ion, head over to “Settings” -> “About phone” and find your way to the update menu from there. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and that you’re connected to a fast Wi-Fi network to make this a seamless process.
Source: XperiaBlog via Intomobile
Posted by Unknown
on Thursday, June 27, 2013
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Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Sony Rolls out Android 4.2.2 Upgrades for Xperia Z


Sony Mobile has finally kicked off the deployment of the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system update for the owners of Xperia Z devices out there, recent reports suggest. 

The new software release arrives on smartphones as firmware version 10.3.A.0.423, the same as it did only last week on the Xperia ZL handsets. 

At the moment, the update is available for the unlocked Xperia Z (C6603) model in Hong Kong, Spain, and Ukraine, as well as for carrier-branded devices in Austria, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.




According to XperiaBlog, the new software release can also be downloaded and installed on the HSPA+ version (C6602) of the device in Taiwan. 

Users interested in downloading and installing the new OS upgrade will be able to do so via the Sony PC Companion software, which means that they will need a Windows PC for the operation. 

Some of the changes packed inside the new platform release include updated Sony media applications, complemented by the addition of a remote phone location app. 

Furthermore, there is a new Functionalities widget for the lock screen and homescreen, along with support for microSD memory cards that offer 64GB of storage space.

At the same time, the update is said to bring along a new customizable navigation bar with quick settings, as a recent post on Android Policenotes. 

The Android 4.2.2 builds for the Xperia Z models mentioned above are already available for download online, it seems, and those who would like to grab them should head over to XperiaGuide for that. 

Sony hasn’t provided specific info on the new OS upgrade for the time being, but it should announce it in the near future. Furthermore, it is expected to start pushing it out to all unlocked Xperia Z units later this week or the next, so keep an eye on this space to learn more on the matter.
Posted by Unknown
on Wednesday, June 26, 2013
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Monday, 24 June 2013

Alleged picture of the Sony Xperia ZU phablet leaks before announcement





























If you have been wondering how Sony's first phablet and the phone with the largest screen ever will look like, you don't have to wait until tomorrow, as what claims to be photo of it leaked out. 

The pics show a pretty large bezel top and bottom, which, if the phone is indeed with a 6.44" screen, would be a big hurdle to portability and manageability, explaining why it appeared serving as a kitten holder recently. Also, in line with the rumor that it will sport a screen tech that allows you to doodle with a regular pen or pencilon it, instead of a dedicated stylus, the hand in the picture seems to be drawing on a Post-it note stuck to the display, instead of on the actual screen.

The other leaked handset in the pictures that Sony is supposed to unveil tomorrow, is said to be the Xperia SP for China, with quad-core MediaTek processor and dual SIM capabilities. Sony is also said to unveil a smartwatch of its own, so tune in tomorrow when all mysteries will be cleared.

Source: eprice
Posted by Unknown
on Monday, June 24, 2013
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Friday, 21 June 2013

Sony Xperia ZL Beats Xperia Z to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean



The Sony Xperia ZL Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update is rolling out now, making it Sony’s first Android 4.2 Jelly Bean roll out and meaning the Sony Xperia ZL has beaten the Sony Xperia Z  to an Android 4.2 update.
Earlier this year, Sony promised that it would roll out Android 4.2 Jelly Bean for the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean powered Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL shortly after launch. Both devices arrived back in February and unfortunately, until today, the updates hadn’t seen the light of day. In the case of the Xperia Z, that remains the case though for Xperia ZL owners, there is good news afoot.

The Sony Xperia ZL Android 4.2 update has begun rolling out to owners in Europe, something that has been confirmed by XperiaBlog. The update is available for both the LTE and HSPA+ versions of the device which means that owners of both of those devices, including the C650X, C6503 and C6502 variants and owners appear to be able to update manually through the Sony PC Companion should they choose to.
The update not only brings the goodies that come along with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean but it also brings some enhancements that should have Xperia ZL owners excited.
Sony has included a new myXperia application that should improve security on the device while also adding support for 64GB microSD cards, something that wasn’t supported prior to the update it seems.
While this is great news for Xperia ZL owners, it’s partially bad news for Xperia Z owners who have been beaten to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean by their non-glass sibling. Partially, because it means that an Xperia Z update is likely coming sometime soon.
Australian carrier Telstra says that it expects to deliver the update next month which means that a roll out to unbranded Xperia Z handsets is likely in the cards for the near future.
So while the Xperia Z did not get Android 4.2 Jelly Bean today, it will likely be joining the Xperia ZL at some point in the near future.
source: Gottabemobile
Posted by Unknown
on Friday, June 21, 2013
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