Sony Xperia J review

The Sony Xperia J is the smaller and cheaper brother to James Bond's Xperia T, but don't expect to find this handset mingling with scantily clad women - the Xperia J is far more reserved, less flamboyant, happier to stay out of the limelight and just get on with life without frenzied car chases through the French Riviera.

There's a less flamboyant price as well, with the Sony Xperia J setting you back a manageable £175 (around $275/AU$265) SIM-free, or you can have it for free on contracts starting at as little as £13 per month on a two year deal.

With that price the Xperia J is left fighting against the Orange San Diego, HTC Desire C, BlackBerry Curve 9320 and the slightly cheaper Sony Xperia Miro.

Looks wise the Sony Xperia J is very similar to the Xperia T, with both handsets taking design cues from the popular Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S.

The iconic arched back of the Xperia J is the strongest nod to the past Sony Ericsson handsets, and provides a unique design which we found pleasing to the eye.

This also means that the Sony Xperia J sits nicely in the palm, and at 124g we reckon it's pretty spot on in terms of weight, with a perfect balance in the hand and its slender 124.3 x 61.2 x 9.2 mm chassis is certainly not overbearing.

It's a sturdy handset, with a good build quality, and while the rear plastic case is a little on the thin side, it's easy enough to remove, unlike the one found on the Nokia Lumia 820.

On the front you're greeted by a 4-inch display which is relatively bright, but at 480x854 isn't too sharp, especially when you consider the San Diego has a 600x1024 offering.

That's not to say it's a poor screen and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich looks perfectly acceptable, with a single-core 1GHz processor and 512MB running the show.

Below the display is a bezel housing back, home and menu keys, with Sony not opting for on-screen controls, nor replacing the menu button with the multi-tasking function Google recommends.

There's also a front facing, VGA camera above the display while on the left there's a microUSB port for charging and connecting the Xperia J to a computer.

It's not a location we're fond of, as a charging port at the base of a handset makes it much easier to use when plugged in.

On the right there's a power/lock key at the top, with a volume rocker switch below. We found the power/lock key too small and difficult to press, making it a chore to do the simple task of locking the Xperia J, or waking the screen.

Up top there's just a centralised 3.5mm jack, which according to Nokia and its Lumia 920 makes it easier to slip a phone into your pocket when headphones are plugged in.

Round the back of the Xperia J, the curved rear cover sports a slightly rubberised finish, and while it's not quite as grippy as the Desire C, we didn't feel like we were prone to dropping the handset.

You get a 5MP rear camera flanked by a single LED flash in the top left corner, while at the base there's a speaker grill.

Hit the power/lock key and a ambient light will radiate out from the silver strip of bezel on the base of the Xperia J – these lighting touches are popular with Sony (and previously Sony Ericsson), and we can trace them all the way back to the w850i with its pulsating orange menu button.

The Sony Xperia J is an attractive, solid and well appointed handset set at a reasonable price which is sure to tempt some.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-j-1093684/review

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Affordable Sony Xperia J goes on sale

Less Bond, more budget

The Sony Xperia J was unveiled as an "affordable" smartphone at IFA 2012, playing second fiddle to the Xperia T – and it is now available to purchase.

Sony claimed the Xperia J would offer consumers "a stand-out screen size for consumers looking to combine great style with affordability" – and it certainly haven't let us down as far a price is concerned.

Three is offering the Sony Xperia J for free on two year contracts starting at just £13, while if you prefer a PAYG plan, you'll need to fork out £149.99 plus a top up – not bad at all.

Value for money

At that price the Xperia J is pretty feature-packed, with a 4-inch 480x854 display, 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 5MP rear camera, 1,750mAh battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board.

There's only 4GB of built in storage, but a with a microSD slot hidden behind the removable rear cover, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

We hope to get a handset in soon for our in-depth Sony Xperia J review, where we'll find out if it can take on the likes of the Orange San Diego and HTC One V.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/affordable-sony-xperia-j-goes-on-sale-1111349

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Is Sony’s Xperia TL the perfect phone for Bond?

Marketing gimmick or not, Sony's Xperia TL actually has a few spy-worthy features that make it fit 007 like a Tom Ford suit. Just don't take it any more seriously than the films.

Back in Connery’s days, Bond was lucky to have a giant phone in his car, but these days, he’s using a different kind of mobile phone. In the new film, Skyfall, Bond will again be touting a Sony smartphone: the Xperia TL. However, for the first time, the things he does with it might not appear so out of character. The TL is as fast and capable as almost any spy could hope for these days, and with a nearly limitless number of crazy apps that can be installed, Bond’s only limit is Q’s imagination … and programming skills. We haven’t yet written a full review of the Xperia TL, but we did get the chance to spend some time with it. Here’s how we think it might benefit Bond in his 23rd adventure.

Good thing Bond waited for Skyfall

Skyfall may have been released years ago if not for the troubles at MGM. But Bond benefits from the holdup. The Xperia TL solves a lot of the problems of its predecessors. Many had high hopes for the Xperia Ion when it came to AT&T earlier this year. It was the first handset to lose the “Sony Ericsson” branding and be released as a true Sony product, and one of Sony’s first to get a decent push from a major U.S. carrier in some time. Sony has struggled to get the attention of wireless carriers in the U.S. since the days of feature phones and Walkman-branded handsets. With a $100 price on AT&T, it appeared that the carrier was finally giving a top Sony smartphone a real push. Unfortunately, like some ions, it was ultimately unstable. The Ion was running an old version of Android (2.3 Gingerbread), had some construction issues, ran on an older processor, and didn’t produce the quality photos its 12-megapixel camera promised. Fortunately, Sony has addressed these issues with the Xperia TL. Good thing, too. I don’t think Bond would be happy if his phone had trouble focusing or locked up when he needed to call M.

Comfortable for Daniel Craig’s man hands

James Bond is all about business, but he’s also about style and comfort. Those fancy suits don’t press themselves. With the Xperia TL, he’s got a top-notch Android smartphone, but also one that’s pretty comfortable to hold. To me, the Xperia TL felt more comfortable than previous Sony handsets by a good margin. Sony has replaced the sharp edges on previous Xperia phones with a smooth, curved edge that just fits better in the hand. Whether you’re a secret agent or a twenty-something phone reviewer choking down a cocktail that’s shaken, not stirred, your hands will thank Sony for smoothing out its edges. The 4.55-inch screen is large, but still manageable for even the most petite of spy hands. Bond likes his phones big.

Instagram those super secret photos

Thanks to the 13-megapixel camera on the TL, 007 can now take some detailed shots of all the ladies and locales in Skyfall. Though we imagine Bond already has Instagram (I mean, why not?), he doesn’t really need it. The Xperia TL’s built-in photo app has a myriad of crazy filters, letting you ruin all of your favorite photos in more ways than ever. If James Bond is feeling a little Connery,  he could make all his photos black and white, like the Cold War days. Or he could get modern and turn his shots of evil Javier Bardem into hipster gold, with washed-out, Polaroid-style filters abound. He could even take a picture of Goldfinger and color it yellow. Snap a picture of each Bond girl on his Facebook page and remove red eye? Easy to do on a TL.

Calculate while you spy

If you’re an international secret agent, you don’t have the luxury of performing just one task at a time. That’s why Bond was likely super stoked when Q told him that the Xperia TL has a modified Recent Apps menu. Like all Android 4.0 and higher handsets, you can quickly re-enter recently used apps, but Sony has now added the concept of mini apps. Now, you or Mr. Bond can open up something like a miniature calculator and drag it around the screen, crunching numbers while you furiously browse Google News for signs of international peril. Maybe Bond needs to calculate a tip for one of his expensive lunches? It can now be done while he checks his Twitter feed. This is the freedom he’s always fought to defend. Any widget installed on the TL can also be used as a mini app.

Snappy specs

With the TL, James Bond isn’t using the most powerful phone on the market, which is a shame, but it’s up there. A 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor puts his phone on par with most top-notch phones like the Galaxy S3, as does the 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, expandable microSD slot, and 1280 x 720 pixel LCD screen. But I hope Bond has a secret Micro USB cable hidden in his watch, because the 1,850mAh battery on the TL may leave him needing a recharge before a heavy day of spying is up, especially if he downloads or streams a lot of his own theme songs.

Fit for a secret agent?

We’re looking forward to spending more time with the Xperia TL. Is it fit for a secret agent? We can imagine some cooler phones, but the Xperia TL is one of the best Android phones available on AT&T this holiday season. And the $100 price probably helps with government budget cuts around the world. At the very least, it’s a lot nicer than the Sony Ericsson JB988 flip phone that Pierce Brosnan used in Tomorrow Never Dies or even Daniel Craig’s Sony Ericsson K800i from Casino Royale. For the first time, Bond is on Android. Hopefully Q labs has some cool apps in development.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sony-xperia-tl-perfect-phone-for-a-bond/

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Sony takes over the Xperia S AOSP project, previews it

Sony announced that it has taken the lead on the Android Open Source Project for its popular Xperia S smartphone. The exercise began back in August when Jean Baptiste Queru, Google’s Technical Lead of the AOSP announced it. The current progress on the Sony Xperia S has been demonstrated in a video, which appeared in the Sony developer’s blog. See it below.

Sony has taken the lead because from Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on, the Xperia S will not remain as the target handset of the main AOSP branch. However, the current progress on the Xperia S will not go to naught – Sony will maintain the AOSP for the device at GitHub, where developers are encouraged to step in and help.

Stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has worked out quite well for the Sony Xperia S with most of the hardware functioning properly, including the SD card, Wi-Fi, and all sensors. The audio and modem are also working, but Sony won’t release its binaries right now for proprietary reasons. The next planned step is to bring Android 4.2 to the smartphone.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_takes_the_lead_on_the_xperia_s_aosp_project_shows_it_off-news-5059.php

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Sony reportedly targeting 50 million Xperia smartphone sales in '13

Sony to use the usual ODM suspects: Foxconn, Arima and Compal

Sony Mobile is expected to ship 50 million Xperia smartphones next year, and pull off that ambitious growth by turning to Taiwan-based original device manufacturers, according to a DigiTimes source.

"[Foxconn] is currently the largest ODM for Sony Mobile, followed by Arima and Compal," an industry source told the Taiwanese site.

"The three ODMs may receive up to 20 million smartphone [of the 50 million] orders from Sony Mobile in 2013."

The source was unnamed, but the statements back up a previous report that indicated Sony is expecting 50 percent year on year growth for its Xperia line.

Forecast for the current year

Sony Mobile will ship 35 million smartphones by the end of this year, estimated the same source.

This would represent a 50 percent increase from last year, but that might not be enough to leave the company in the black.

"[Sony] is still unlikely to swing back to profitability in the year," according to the industry talker.

This may be due in part to the additional scale and high fixed costs that Sony had to incur after it acquired Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson.

Outsourcing almost half of its Xperia line to Taiwan could reverse that trend, and Sony has already put the plan into motion.

Foxconn began making low-cost Xperia smartphones in the third quarter of this year, and Arima and Compal will take on similar duties by the second half of 2013, according to DigiTimes.

The 50 million smartphone question

How Sony Mobile is able to create enough demand to warrant shipping 50 million smartphones is the big question.

The company's Xperia S and Xperia T were well reviewed, and T (and the U.S. variant, the Xperia TL) has some star power behind it.

Both the Xperia T and the TL are featured in the new Bond flick, Skyfall, ensuring that it'll peak the interest of 007-wannabes everywhere.

It also doesn't hurt that both the Xperia T and the TX models are receiving feature upgrades this week.

But the real question mark lies with the long-rumored Sony Odin and its just-as-unconfirmed 5-inch WhiteMagic display. That may be the key to Sony's 50 million smartphone target.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-reportedly-targeting-50-million-xperia-smartphone-sales-in-13-1110962

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Report: Sony Mobile aims to ship 50 million XPERIA smartphones in 2013

Sony to use the usual ODM suspects: Foxconn, Arima and Compal

Sony Mobile is expected to ship 50 million Xperia smartphones next year, and pull off that ambitious growth by turning to Taiwan-based original device manufacturers.

"[Foxconn] is currently the largest ODM for Sony Mobile, followed by Arima and Compal," an industry source told Taiwan's DigiTimes.

"The three ODMs may receive up to 20 million smartphone [of the 50 million] orders from Sony Mobile in 2013."

The source was unnamed, but the statements back up a previous report that indicated Sony is expecting 50 percent year-on-year growth for its Xperia line.

Forecast for the current year

Sony Mobile will ship 35 million smartphones by the end of this year, estimated the same source.

This would represent a 50 percent increase from last year, but that might not be enough to leave the company in the black.

"[Sony] is still unlikely to swing back to profitability in the year," according to the industry source.

This may be due in part to the additional scale and high fixed costs that Sony had to incur after it acquired Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson.

Outsourcing almost half of its Xperia line to Taiwan could reverse that trend, and Sony has already put the plan into motion.

Foxconn began making low-cost Xperia smartphones in the third quarter of this year, and Arima and Compal will take on similar duties by the second half of 2013, according to DigiTimes.

The 50 million smartphone question

How Sony Mobile is able to create enough demand to warrant shipping 50 million smartphones is the big question.

The company's Xperia S and Xperia T were well reviewed, and T (and the U.S. variant, the Xperia TL) has some star power behind it.

Both the Xperia T and the TL are featuring in the new Bond flick, Skyfall, ensuring that it'll peak the interest of 007-wannabes everywhere.

It also doesn't hurt that both the Xperia T and the TX models are receiving feature upgrades this week.

But the real question mark lies with the long-rumored Sony Odin and its just-as-unconfirmed 5-inch WhiteMagic display. That may be the key to Sony's 50 million smartphone target.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/report-sony-mobile-aims-to-ship-50-million-xperia-smartphones-in-2013-1110962

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Official render of Xperia Odin surfaces, looks like previous leak

Sony's alleged next flagship droid has leaked anew this time with an official photo. The Sony Xperia C650X Odin official photo is a render, which looks pretty close to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 and slightly resembles a Motorola RAZR with its beveled edges and use of metal in the frame.

The render is very close to the previous live picture we saw of the Xperia Odin.

Sony Xperia Odin render (click for larger image)

The Xperia C650X Odin is rumored to feature a 5" screen with the impressive 1080p resolution, resulting in an mind-blowing density of 440 ppi, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with four 1.5 GHz Krait cores, a 13 MP snapper on the back, 2 GB of RAM and 32 gigs of internal storage.

Judging by the specs the Sony Xperia Odin should give the HTC J butterfly a run for its money.

Still the render could turn out to be a well made hoax and all the rumored specs are subject to change.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/official_render_of_xperia_odin_surfaces_looks_like_previous_leak-news-5031.php

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AT&T announces pricing and availability of Sony Xperia TL

AT&T announced pricing and availability of the Sony Xperia TL. The LTE smartphone will be available for purchase next week, on November 2 for $99.99 with a two-year contract.

As its name mildly suggests, the Sony Xperia TL is almost identical to the globally available Xperia T, which we recently reviewed. The only major difference between both devices is the presence of LTE connectivity.

Traditionally, the availability announcement of the Sony Xperia TL is accompanied by a promo video from AT&T. See it below.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/at_t_announces_pricing_and_availability_of_sony_xperia_tl_-news-4998.php

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Her majesty’s secret smartphone, the Sony Xperia TL, coming to AT&T Nov. 2 for $100

The Sony Xperia TL will be available on AT&T from November 2 for $100 on a two-year contract. The new phone will be featured in the new Bond movie Skyfall and comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera.

We covered the announcement of the Sony Xperia TL on AT&T and now we can bring you the details on the release date and price. AT&T has just revealed that the “James Bond” smartphone which features in the new Bond movie Skyfall can be snapped up for $100 on a two-year contract.

The big selling point, beyond the Bond product placement, is the 13-megapixel camera which is super-fast – capable of going from standby to capturing a shot in 1.5 seconds flat. There’s also HD video recording and a snazzy 4.6-inch HD Bravia-branded “Reality Display” to enjoy your footage on.

Throw in “One-touch connectivity” powered by NFC, which allows you to share content across multiple devices (provided they are NFC-enabled, of course). There’s also 4G LTE connectivity, HDMI, DLNA support, and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, which adds up to a fairly decent looking Android phone. Pity it’s shipping with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich); you’d expect Bond to demand the latest version of Android, although Q promises an Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) update shortly.

As part of the 007 tie-in you’ll find an assortment of preloaded content including ringtones, behind the scenes footage, wallpapers, and more. Check out the video for a closer look.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sony-xperia-tl-coming-to-att-november-2/

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Rumor: Sony to launch MyXperia cloud service

Send in the Clouds

A "MyXperia" trademark filed by Sony possibly points to the company putting together a new cloud service for its Xperia mobile devices.

The European Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market-registered trademark is intended to enable the "upload, storage, retrieval, download, transmission and delivery of digital content and media."

Trademark 011197332 says that these functions apply to "mobile phones, smart phones, digital or electronic tablets, PDAs and/or portable and handheld digital electronic devices."

The forecast for Sony's cloud-based service is backed up by the existence of MyXperia.com. Going there forwards users to the subdomain MyXperia.Sony.com, which asks for credentials.

Cloudy with a chance of "Me Too"

Sony is just the latest mobile device manufacturer with a desire to capitalize on cloud storage.

Apple iCloud and Google Drive are already helping users sync files between their devices and computers. Both offer 5GB of free storage with the ability to expand for a fee.

Microsoft is trying to up the storage ante by offering 7GB for free. Its SkyDrive service is also the only one that is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Dropbox doesn't have a horse in the mobile device game and only offers 2GB initially. But the popular storage-only service allows users to expand (up to 16GB) with referrals.

But Sony has XPERience

Sony is late to the cloud storage game when it comes to mobile devices, but its experience in video games is once again a help to its technology division.

One of the features of PlayStation Plus, the paid service for PlayStation Network users, is the ability to sync 1,000 save files (up to 1GB) with Sony's servers.

Sony's gaming cloud has been running on PlayStation 3 for one year and is slated to come to the handheld PlayStation Vita next month with an extra 1GB of storage.

There's no word on a release date for the company's MyXperia service. But given the fact that MyXperia.Sony.com is already up and running, it may not be long.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/storage/rumor-sony-to-launch-myxperia-cloud-service-1106668

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No Jelly Bean for Sony Xperia phones until 2013

A wait ahead for some, for others only despair

Sony has confirmed that its flagship Sony Xperia T handset won't be getting the upgrade to Jelly Bean until February 2013 at the earliest.

Also getting the Android 4.1 update at around the same time is the Sony Xperia V.

The company hasn't explained what the hold up is, but it does add that Android 4.1 will be coming to a host of other Xperias.

Getting the sugary update at some point next year are the Sony Xperia S, Xperia acro, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia Go and Xperia J.

There's no time-frame for this yet, and roll-outs will vary by country.

Play 'em out, keyboard cat

Unfortunately for those of you with older Xperia phones, the Jelly Bean dream has crumbled and died.

In the same blog post, Sony announced that "after thorough evaluation, we have concluded [the 2011 Xperia portfolio] will not be upgraded beyond Ice Cream Sandwich".

There was a bit of a hoo-hah over the 2011 Xperia line-up when it appeared in July that the company had given up on them, leaving them to languish on Ice Cream Sandwich forevermore.

Then Sony changed its mind, saying that the Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini Pro and the rest of the 2011 gang could yet get Jelly Bean as the company was "actively investigating" what was what.

But it turned out that what was what was that there is no hope of an official update for the older handsets. Time for a new phone?

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/no-jelly-bean-for-sony-xperia-phones-until-2013-1105619

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Sony announces which Xperia phones will get Jelly Bean

The cards are on the table - Sony just announced the update plan of its Xperia line. Here's the list of models that will get updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and also the ones that will remain stuck with 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sony's latest high-end Xperia phones - the Xperia T, TX and V - will be updated to 4.1 Jelly Bean in mid-Q1 next year.

Next up are the global versions of Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go and Xperia J. The release date for the update will be announced later. It's still unclear what will happen to the localized versions.

And now, the ones left behind - the whole 2011 Xperia lineup (which got updated to ICS) will not be getting Jelly Bean because Sony "would not be able to guarantee owners of these smartphones the user experience you expect and we demand".

It's a bit disappointing that the Xperia J, which has a cut-down version of the Qualcomm chipset that powers the 2011 Xperias, is getting JB but the older models are not.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_announces_which_xperia_phones_will_get_jelly_bean-news-4970.php

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Sony Xperia VL is Xperia V for Japanese carrier KDDI

The Sony Xperia AX was announced at the beginning of this month as a version of the Xperia V for Japan. Now there's the Xperia VL, also for Japan. The difference here is that the AX is going to NTT DoCoMo and the VL is for KDDI.

Other than that, the Sony Xperia VL packs the same features as the Xperia V - a super sharp 720p 4.3" display, 13MP camera, dual-core Krait processor and LTE connectivity. And it's dust and water-proof too.

One feature not on the international version is the 1seg mobile TV support. Also not part of the international package is the bundled desk stand.

Anyway, the Sony Xperia VL will launch by the end of the year with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Sony's Walkman and multimedia apps. For colors, you can choose between Pink, White, Black and Blue.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_vl_is_xperia_v_for_japanese_carrier_kddi-news-4961.php

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Sony Xperia Miro review

It seems like only yesterday that we were putting the Sony Xperia Tipo through its paces, but here already, with just the smallest of spec boosts, is the Sony Xperia Miro.

The entry-level smartphone market is becoming increasingly crowded as it is, so it's a surprise that Sony has seen fit to release two handsets that, on paper at any rate, are incredibly similar.

That it has launched them so close together is even more baffling, and surely risks rendering one of them obsolete.

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It's not just the Sony Xperia Tipo it's got to contend with, either. The boost in specs has brought with it a boost in price, as you can currently pick the Sony Xperia Miro up for £159/AU$240/US$239.99 SIM-free. This price range puts it in competition with the similarly styled Sony Xperia U and the HTC Wildfire S.

So, does the Sony Xperia Miro do enough to justify its price tag? Well, first impressions aren't great. The Sony Xperia Miro has a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 display, which is on the small side these days, particularly when cheaper handsets such as the Huawei Ascend G300 pack a 4-inch display.

But coming from the Sony Xperia Tipo, it actually feels like quite a jump in size - it's only 0.3 inches bigger, but the difference is surprisingly noticeable.

A few of its other specs have been boosted above those of the Xperia Tipo too, though they're still fairly modest. It retains an 800MHz single core processor with 512MB of RAM.

Its camera sees a boost in megapixels, up to 5 megapixels, versus the Xperia Tipo's 3.15MP snapper. It can shoot VGA video at 30fps and comes with 4GB of storage, only 2.2GB of which is useable. On the plus side it supports microSD cards of up to 32GB.

It comes running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which isn't the latest build but it isn't too far behind.

Despite having a name that aligns it with the Tipo, the Sony Xperia Miro eschews its sibling's rounded edges in favour of a rectangular look in line with the more premium Sony Xperia U, Sony Xperia P, Sony Xperia T and Sony Xperia S.

However, if the aim was to make it seem more premium, it wasn't entirely successful. At first glance the Sony Xperia Miro does look like a better - or at least more expensive - phone than the Sony Xperia Tipo.

The more angular, less chunky form factor on the Sony Xperia Miro gives it a touch of class, but as soon as you pick it up you find that looks can be deceiving.

It's lightweight at 110g (0.24lbs), but with dimensions of 113 x 59.4 x 9.9mm (4.4 x 2.3 x 0.4 inches) it's not a tiny handset, and this makes it feel odd when held.

Your brain tells you it shouldn't be that light, like it's an imposter, or what every phone manufacturer dreads hearing - that it's a toy.

That impression isn't helped by the cheap, plasticky feel of the handset. Yes, most phones have a plastic shell of some kind, but there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it, and the Sony Xperia Miro most definitely does it wrong. It feels like a toy. An expensive toy, but still a toy.

Below the screen you'll find three soft-touch buttons. These are the home button in the centre, the back button on the left and the menu button on the right.

Below that there's a blue light that appears when you wake up the phone or when you receive a text or call. You can't even tell it's there when it's off and when it's on it looks good, extending out across much of the width of the phone. It's also incredibly useful, and we applaud Sony for supporting this feature when so few other manufacturers do.

Below that the body curves inwards slightly and is adorned with the word 'Xperia'.

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Above the screen there's a proximity sensor, another notification light, the front camera lens and a speaker. There's a 3.5mm headphone port on the top edge, along with a small power button.

Given that the power button is also used to wake and lock the handset we do wish it was a little bigger, but that's a minor issue.

A volume rocker lives on the right edge and the micro USB port is on the left edge. The main camera and another speaker can be found on the back.

There's a little notch at the bottom of the handset to peel the back cover off, and doing so just compounds the feeling of cheapness as the cover itself is revealed to be very thin plastic.

Underneath you'll find the battery, along with the SIM card and microSD card slots. Unfortunately not only do you need to remove the back cover to swap out a microSD card, but also the battery.

Granted, it's a minority of users that will need more than one card, but for those that do this is an unfortunate inconvenience. Given the tiny amount of storage on the Xperia Miro it would be nice if Sony had done more to ease expansion.

Overall the Sony Xperia Miro doesn't make the most amazing first impression, seeming like little more than a Sony Xperia Tipo with a slightly bigger screen.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-miro-1088799/review

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New Sony Odin specs emerge, sounds suitably god-like

Is Sony finally joining the quad-core party?

New superphone specs for the mooted Sony Xperia Odin handset have emerged, promising a quad-core processor and 5-inch Full HD screen.

Supposedly on track for an early 2013 reveal, the Odin is said to be coming with a Qualcomm's quad-core S4 processor backed up by 2GB of RAM - Sony previously said quad-core wouldn't be featuring on its phones until 2013 when "performance matches the battery efficiency".

The 5-inch screen would put it in competition with the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2, while the 1080p resolution should keep things nice and sharp when coupled with the Sony Mobile Bravia Engine.

Previous information gleaned from a leaked User-Agent Profile for the handset suggested 4G connectivity and Android Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1).

Father of Thor

Not much else to report on the Sony Odin aside from noting that these specs come from a forum thread so are best taken with the customary pinch of salt.

The same thread also threw up talk of a bigger 6-inch device with the same spec sheet; sounds as though it could be an interesting CES 2013 for Sony Mobile.

Presumably that 6-inch device will be code-named Borr. You know, because Norse mythology.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/new-sony-odin-specs-emerge-sounds-suitably-god-like-1104536

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4.9-inch Sharp Aquos Zeta SH-02E droid headed to NTT DoCoMo

NTT DoCoMo announced its winter lineup, which consists of 16 new (for the carrier, at least) models, including the Samsung Galaxy S III, Note II and the Sony Xperia AX. The real attention grabber is the Sharp Aquos Zeta SH-02E, which promises to give the LG Optimus G a run for its money.

The Aquos Zeta has a 4.9" 720p IGZO TFT display (a world's first, IGZO is supposed to be more power-efficient) and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chipset with quad-core Krait CPU at 1.5GHz and Adreno 320 graphics. The Sharp SH-02 will launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sharp Aquos Zeta SH-02E

The main camera on the phone is a 16MP shooter with LED flash and there's a 1.2MP front-facing camera.

On the connectivity side there's LTE (100Mbps/37.5Mbps up/down) and NFC with mobile payment support. The Sharp Aquos Zeta will also support both 1seg and NOTTV broadcasting.

The phone will have a large capacity battery (2000+mAh or more, the specs sheet didn’t give the exact number) and will be both dust and waterproof (IP57, IP5X).

The Sharp Aquos Zeta SH-02E is expected to launch in November or December.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/49inch_sharp_aquos_zeta_sh02e_droid_headed_to_ntt_docomo_-news-4930.php

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Sony Xperia T European march continues, hits US shores too

The Sony Xperia T is continuing its roll-out to retailers across rest of Europe and the U.S., after becoming available in the UK a few days ago. Reports are coming in of the device being available in Slovenia, where it's offered by carrier Telekomu on a contract with prices starting from €229.

Germany also got access to the Sony latest flagship. The local branch of Amazon is offering the smartphone for €500, with an estimated delivery time of 3-4 days. Some other German online retailers already have the device in stock and are willing to send one your way for €499.90.

In the United States, the Sony Xperia T is currently retailing for $599.99 SIM-free. Moreover, it's only a matter of time until major US carriers pick it up and start offering it subsidized.

The Sony Xperia T packs a 4.6" screen of 720p resolution and shatter-proof, scratch-resistant glass. The chipset is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 with a dual-core Krait CPU at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 225 GPU.

Make sure to check out our extensive review of the Xperia T before heading to a smartphone store near you.

Thanks, František Bálint, for the tip!

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_t_becomes_available_in_slovenia_hits_us_shores_too-news-4880.php

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ICS updates for several Sony Xperia devices are now live

After a spring filled with anticipation, the Xperia U, go and sola were among the last remaining devices among the new Xperia line to not be running Android 4.0.

It's unsure whether the update brings with it some of the nifty ICS features we saw on the Xperia T flagship, such as the redone Album and Movies apps, but at the very least these devices will be getting the usual bug fixes, optimizations and peace of mind that come with a higher OS version.

One thing worth mentioning is that the Xperia sola is set to receive a special "glove mode" feature that allows it to utilize the devices floating touch display technology to use the device even with gloves on.

The availability of the update will depend upon market and carrier requirements, so it make take a while for it to come to your particular neck of the woods.

Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/ics_updates_for_several_sony_xperia_devices_are_now_live-news-4877.php

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Sony Xperia T available from Three UK for £29 on a contract

The Sony Xperia T is a great looking flagship, although its rather high initial pricetag puts it at something of a disadvantage compared to some certain quad-core offerings (the T itself offers a dual-core Krait CPU).

Fortunately, Three UK is willing to sell you the smartphone for just £29 if you are willing to sign a £30/month Ultimate Internet 500 contract.

There's also a Pay As You Go offer, which comes with a heftier £399 initial fee plus an additional £15 for unlimited data, 300 any-network minutes, and 3,000 texts for 30 days.

"The Bond Phone," as the Xperia T is also known as in the UK, features some impressive build quality and Three is also throwing in two Xperia SmartTags for NFC connectivity, which were not present in the retail package of our review unit. Speaking of our review, you can find it here.

Note that the Bond Phone edition is only available from O2.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_t_available_from_three_uk_for_399-news-4872.php

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Sony Xperia ion for AT&T ICS update is now available

The LTE flavored Sony Xperia ion for AT&T's has finally left the land of Gingerbread. The handset's long overdue Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update is now available to download directly from Sony.

The update to Android 4.0 brings a number of features to the smartphone. They include tabbed browsing, offline reading, desktop mode, etc. Of course, users will also receive Sony's proprietary UI on top of Google's OS.

In case you are an owner of the said device, you can download the update over here.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_ion_for_at_t_ics_update_is_now_available_-news-4862.php

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