Sony planning to launch Z1 aka Hanomi on September 18th in INDIA

By Vijay @ 09:58pm

Sony Xperia Z1 aka Honami, is going to launch in India on September 18th at an event in New Delhi. Just like the Xperia Z, which was the Japanese giant’s flagship smartphone for the first half of the year, Sony will rope in Bollywood star Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for the device. The fact that Sony will launch the Xperia Z1 within two weeks of its global announcement suggests India will be in the first wave of countries where it will be launched.

Notably, the phone will carry a price tag of close to Rs 50,000/- if not more, which might fluctuate depending on the prevailing forex rate. The Xperia Z1 is expected to be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, which will work in tandem with 2GB of RAM and will have a 5-inch 1080p display that will boast Sony’s Triluminus display technology.

The Xperia Z1 is an imaging monolith as it will combine a Cyber-shot branded 20-megapixel sensor that will have Carl Zeiss optics and a Sony G lens that the company reserves for its point and shoot cameras.

Additionally, is also expected to combine Sony’s BIONZ image processing engine and it is expected to be the first phone to be able to shoot video at 4K resolutions. Design wise as the above press image shows, that it could have a metal frame much like the Nokia Lumia 925 and internally it will also have 16GB of memory, a microSD card slot and a 3,000 mAh battery. It will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We have also heard that the phone will feature an augmented reality app called Info-eye which could work similar to Nokia’s CityLens app on its Lumia devices.

You can view the device in the teaser released

 

Sony Xperia Z1 teaser released [video]

By Vijay @ 02:50pm

Sony is leaving no stones unturned to tease its upcoming Xperia Z1 aka Honami ahead of its September 4 launch in Berlin. Sony today released a video showing off the G lens, the metallic frame as well as its waterproof capabilities.

The Xperia Z1 is expected to sport a 20.1-megapixel camera along with a BIONZ image processing engine and will be capable of shooting videos at 4K resolutions. It will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2GB RAM, which we have seen on the Xperia Ultra and feature a 5-inch 1080p display. The teaser video follows the break.

Sony launches buyback offers for Xperia Z and ZL

By Vijay @ 03:00pm

After Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry, now Sony that has launched a buyback scheme for its Xperia Z and Xperia ZL smartphones. The brand and products might be new, but the scheme remains the usual – exchange your old smartphone for a rebate on a brand new Xperia Z or ZL phone. Sony is offering a minimum discount of Rs 5,000 along with a 12 month EMI-based payment mode on both the phones. The discount will be applicable on the current market price for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, which cost Rs 33,790 and Rs 30,690 respectively.

Additionally, Sony is also giving away a case, which it claims is worth Rs 1,990 with the Xperia Z and a snap-on cover claimed to be worth Rs 1,490 with the Xperia ZL for free.

Besides this, the company is also offering 6/12 month EMI scheme on various Xperia series smartphones, which include the recently launched Xperia Z Ultra and Xperia Z tablet as well. Other phones in the scheme include the Xperia L, Xperia J, Xperia U, Xperia E, Xperia ZR, and Xperia SP.

Source: BGR

 

 

Always-on voice recognition comes standard with forthcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip

 By Vijay @ 10:38pm

The Snapdragon 800 chip is coming to the new flagships in the second half of the year – the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Note III are just some of the devices to get Qualcomm’s new silicon. However you might have known that the Snapdragon 800 is about more than just an increase in clock speeds.

One more feature of the Snapdragon 800 is the built-in support for always-on voice recognition. This basically means that if manufacturers decide to support this, the newest Android flagships can get the same key feature as the latest devices by Motorola (including the Moto X) have.

Always on voice recognition allows for features like Motorola’s Open Mic. This in turn makes it possible to interact with your device solely using your voice – you don’t have to unlock it first. A video demonstration is at Qualcomm’s website right below, take a look.

 

Sony Xperia ZR battery life test done by GSMARENA

By Vijay @ 01:35pm

As usual GSMARENA’s greatest asset of doing Battery Test, of latest mobile devices. Today its turn for Sony Xperia ZR.

The Sony Xperia ZR is the little brother of the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, which can almost say as a mini version of Xperia Z series. Xperia ZR consists of 4.55″ 720p display, which should be kinder to the equally large 2300 mAh battery inside the phone.

Identical chipsets and batteries plus a smaller screen of lower resolution give the Xperia ZR every chance of beating its premium rivals.

The Sony Xperia ZR did 17 hours and 48 minutes of 3G calls before its 2300mAh battery went dead. That’s nearly 5 hours more than Sony officially says the phone is capable of, which is quite impressive on its own, but even more so considering that its better than the Xperia Z achievement by a bit over an hour and a half.

Web browsing time is equally good as Sony Xperia ZR tops everything we’ve ever tested by scoring 11 hours and 20 minutes. The combination of Chrome as a default browser and the smaller screen are probably to thank for this great result.

And in Video playback the Xperia ZR did alright, but nothing breathtaking. Thanks to its 720p screen it beat the 1080p display rocking Xperia Z (5:39) and Xperia ZL (5:28) by scoring two hours more – 7 hours and 30 minutes. That’s not a particularly impressive score, but it’s not half bad either.

Gsmarena ran the test with Mobile BRAVIA 2 turned on as how most users will be using their Xperia. Nevertheless, even with it switched off, the battery life wasn’t affected in a noticable way.

In the end, thanks to its efficient talk times and optimized web browsing, the Xperia ZR managed to pull off an endurance rating of 62 hours.

You can read more about how GSMARENA done the battery tests here.

Courtesy: GSMARENA

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Phablet Now Offical in India for Rs. 46,990/-

By Vijay @ 01:17pm

Although I previously mentioned that Ultra Phablet launched in India. Now Sony had officially annouced the availability.

The 6.4-inch phablet will be available on e-commerce sites and retail stores across the country from August 2 onwards.

The Xperia Z Ultra is Sony’s first phablet with 6.4-inch full HD 1080p TRILUMINUS display, something which the company uses in its high-end HDTVs. With 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor paired with 2GB RAM and included 3,000mAh battery with STAMINA mode, Sony claims this phablet can survive up to 16 hours of talk time and up to 820 hours on standby mode.

On the photography front, the phablet features an 8-megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom and an Exmor RS sensor. This is complemented with a 2-megapixel camera at the front. To store your photos, videos and other multimedia files, Sony offers 16GB of internal memory that is expandable up to 64GB using a microSD card.

On the software front, the phablet runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but as Sony’s recent software update roadmap revealed, the device will soon get the 4.3 Jelly Bean update. Additionally, like the Xperia Z, this phablet too is IP55/IP58 certified, which makes it waterproof and dust resistant.

Sony is pitching this product to rival Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablets. Though it doesn’t have a stylus bundled, according to Sony, one can write and sketch on its screen with a pencil, pen or a capacitive stylus that has a tip of over 1mm in diameter.

As an introductory offer, Sony has tied up with Vodafone to offer buyers with 8GB of free 3G data each month for a period of two months.

For more about this Phablet, pls wait for our mini review…By the time you can view the commercial links below…

Sony Xperia Z and ZL get the official Android 4.3 ASOP Rom

By Vijay @ 05:36pm

Sony was quick to announce the list of devices that will get Android 4.3 and release an AOSP ROM for the Xperia Tablet Z. The Japanese have since updated the post with good news for Xperia Z and Xperia ZL owners… They’ll get this AOSP build too….

Note that this is the early days and just like the Xperia Tablet Z build things aren’t 100% operational and the builds aren’t suitable for daily use.

Still, it’s nice to see a maker react so quickly to the release new Android version. This will also help developers of custom ROMs who are no doubt digging into Android 4.3′s source code trying to adapt it to their own builds.

Anyway, there’s no file you can flash on your Sony Xperia Z or ZL phone, instead you’ll have to grab the repo from GitHub and build it yourself. Instructions on how to do that and flash the resulting ROM (and unlock the bootloader if you haven’t already) are available on the respective GitHub pages – for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL.

If you don’t know what GitHub is, you can also download the Xperia Z ROM built by an XDA-Developers member pulser_g2. We didn’t find a similar build for the ZL, if you do drop a link in the comments.

Source,

Sony announces Android 4.3 update, receiving devices list..

By Vijay @ 11:18pm

 Sony has just published the list of devices that will be getting the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update that was announced yesterday. On the smartphone side, the company will be bringing the latest Jelly Bean version to the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia SP and Xperia Z Ultra. The only tablet that is confirmed to get treated to the latest Android release at this point is the Xperia Tablet Z.

Sony is currently seeding the Jelly Bean 4.2 update for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Starting from early August, the Xperia ZR and Xperia Tablet Z will get Android 4.2 as well.

Some older Xperia phones running Android 4.1 are still under examination. There’s a possibility that at least some of them will be updated straight to Android 4.3, but no names have been confirmed yet.

Additionally, Sony acknowledges that its updates haven’t been “as succinct or as timely as you might’ve expected.” The company’s developers have now changed their workflow to assure that future updates arrive faster. The whole procedure is detailed in a lengthy and educational blog post, in case you are interested.

Source: SonyMobile

 

 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra now available in India for Rs. 44,990/-

By Vijay @ 10:18AM.

Sony’s recently announced 6.4-inch smartphone Xperia Z Ultra is now available in the Indian market. Listed at retailer Saholic.com, the device has been priced at INR 44,990. The retailer expects to ship in seven days.

The first smartphone to reach Indian shores with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor, Sony Xperia Z Ultra was originally announced at the Mobile Asia Expo last month. The smartphone features a full HD TRILUMINOS display, Android 4.2 and 2GB of RAM. The phone also comes with 3,000 mAh battery, 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera.

Sony Xperia Z also support handwriting recognition and is compatible with any pencil and selected stylus or pen (capacitive stylus or metal pen with tip diameter over 1mm).

Sony Xperia Z Ultra key specifications

• 6.4-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS Display for mobile powered by X-Reality for mobile engine
• Waterproof and dust resistant (IP55/IP58)
• 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor
• 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera
• Battery STAMINA Mode
• Android 4.2
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• MicroUSB with MHL support
• 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD card slot.