May 20
May 20
Sony Xperia UL announced for Japan: 5-inch 1080p display and 15-frame burst photography skills (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
The FCC may have spoiled the surprise, but Sony’s now gone official with yet another smartphone and this one’s for its native Japan. The Xperia UL appears to be a slightly thicker riff on the Xperia Z, matching the display of the company’s early-2013 flagship, with a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) ticking behind the 5-inch 1080p screen. It’s worth noting that it’s a substantial resolution bump from the similar-looking 720p NTT DoCoMo Xperia A. Although it’s not the Snapdragon 600 rumored, Qualcomm’s S4 Pro flexes its muscle through Exmor RS 13-megapixel camera sensor, offering up the ability to capture 15 frames in a second. NFC, naturally, is already in attendance as well as the Felica wireless payment system. You’ll also get the benefits of both a physical camera button and water (IPX5/8) and dust resistance (IP5X) — two features in tandem that should help separate it from Sony’s pair of existing 5-inch 1080p smartphones. The Xperia UL will launch on KDDI’s au network in white, black and hot pink colors on May 25th. Check out the obligatory close-up ad after the break.
Update: The Xperia UL runs on an S4 Pro processor, not the Snapdragon 600 initially stated.
Gallery: Sony Xperia UL press shots
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Source: Sony (Japanese)
May 17
May 16
Japan-bound Sony Xperia UL leaks out with 5-inch screen, reportedly packs Snapdragon 600
Posted in: Today's Chili
It was only a couple of weeks ago that we got an early peek of T-Mobile’s Xperia Z thanks to the FCC, but we’ve now already gotten word of another unannounced Sony handset. While the published FCC report doesn’t offer much more than a label, Blog of Mobile has turned up some images of what’s purported to be the Xperia UL (codenamed “Gaga”), giving us an early look at the 5-inch device clearly inspired by other members of the family design-wise. What’s more, the UL is allegedly sporting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 chip, along with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a 2,300mAh battery and waterproof / dustproof attributes (these being common Japanese standards). Word on the internet is the Xperia UL will be launching as a KDDI exclusive, though we’ll have to wait for something more concrete to see if that’s indeed the case. Until then, you can peruse the gallery after the break to get a slight idea of what to expect.
Gallery: Sony Xperia UL
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Via: UnwiredView
Source: Blog of Mobile, FCC
May 16
May 15
To this day, relatively few wireless carriers offer LTE at its loftiest 150Mbps speeds. We’ll soon get to count NTT DoCoMo among those ranks, however. Alongside the launch of its summer phone lineup, the Japanese network has firmed up some details of its Xi speed-up plans. The initial rollout will focus on the major centers of Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, all of which should have 150Mbps access by the end of the year. While NTT DoCoMo hasn’t settled on the frequencies it will use, Impress Watch understands that this could involve reusing 1,700MHz FOMA 3G bands to get around local spectrum limits. Regardless of the speeds, there should be a tangible improvement in coverage — the provider hopes to more than double its Xi base stations from 24,400 in March to 50,000 by the end of 2013. Most of us won’t reap the rewards of the upgrade, but it’s good to know that Japan’s biggest carrier will soon be a first-class 4G citizen.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Via: Impress Watch (translated)
Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)
May 15
A Slice of Giant Japanese Robot Lineage:
With a marketing campaign aimed at pretty much any human being with electricity, high levels of robo-geekery aren’t at all required for one to be aware of this summer’s giant robot & monster movie, Pacific Rim. However, awareness of the nearly 60-year legacy of giant Japanese robot fiction could use some press. Thankfully, you don’t have to be an anime fanboy to get hip; working forward from the 1950s, and mercifully avoiding discussion of the convoluted and often bizarre plot lines, check this out:
Oldest: Tetsujin 28-go (1956 – Approx. 34ft/10m; pictured above-left)
Directly translatable as “iron human,” Tetsujin is probably the oldest example of specifically Japanese giant robot fiction. While no humans piloted Tetsujin from within, it was human-controlled. What was the influence, and was Tetsujin brought to the English-speaking world, one might wonder? Why yes, in 1964 Tetsujin came to America and changed his name to “Gigantor.”
Older: Giant Robo (1967 – Probably 100ft/30m; not pictured)
This manga and anime series was created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, the same guy who made Mr. Tetsujin up there. The human-controlled “Giant Robo,” which is Japanified English that could only appeal in that (lack of) linguistic context, came to America shortly after it’s J-release as “Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot.”
Old: Mobile Suit Gundam (1979 – Approx. 60ft/18m; above-center)
These giant Japanese robots got a person inside at the wheel. Gundam is one of the better known yet mostly Japan-only giant robot franchises, and is one of the few properties on this list to actually grow in popularity since its initial release. Global coverage of a 1:1-scale Gundam statue in Tokyo definitely helped that along.
New-ish: Microman and Diaclone Robots (1974 & 1980, respectively – various largeness; not pictured)
While not human-driven nor necessarily human-controlled, we best not go without mentioning what are perhaps the most famous giant robots in all of modern fiction: the American Hasbro & Japanese Takara Tomy co-produced Transformers franchise, launched in 1984. The concepts for which were co-opted and incorporated from the latter Japanese company’s Microman and Diaclone toys.
Newer: Beast King GoLion (1981 – inconsistently huge but always huge; above-right)
Actually a team of five human-driven giant robot lions who combine their powers to form an even larger giant robot. Beast King GoLion far and away has the most awkward in-English-yet-Japanese-sounding translation of the original title (what the hell’s a “GoLion,” right?). As such, when it made its way to rest of the world, it became the very well-known “Voltron: Defender of the Universe.”
Other notable giant Japanese robot series include the human-controlled Mazinger Z (1973) and the more recent human-driven Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). And there are more. Actually, several more. And someone needing a master’s or PhD in Japanese studies should probably dig into why nearly all of the giant robot pilots are children.
But okay, okay – point made, yes?
So, Are We Sure Pacific Rim isn’t a Giant Japanese Robot Movie?
Guillermo del Toro, Pacific’s Rim’s well-respected director, has indicated that while the whole legacy of Japanese giant robot fiction has a presence in the film, it’s not a specifically Japanese-style giant robot & monster movie. But look – it’s got huge monsters coming out of the ocean [uh… CHECK!], and giant, human-controlled robots have to fight them and save the world [CHECK!].
Given the obvious monster movie influence of Godzilla, Ishiro Honda’s 1954 allegorical classic, and the above detailed genre-spawning giant Japanese robot factoid expo, the logic of precedent dictates that Pacific Rim essentially cannot avoid being by default, de-facto, and by-proxy, specifically Japanese. Kinda like any McDonald’s, anywhere on earth, just can’t help but be American.
Absent whatever makes Japanese artists and writers so keen on the concept, would humans have come up with giant driveable robots anyway? Yeah – totally. But in this universe, Japan did – so viewers of Pacific Rim, know that the film is standing on some big, beefy, giant Japanesey robotic shoulders.
• • •
The Just for Fun Pacific Rim & Robot Jox Addendum:
Now, we’re not the first to point this out, but Pacific Rim is obviously, ummm… also influenced by the so-bad-it’s-awesome, barely seen even by robo-dorks, confusing and intellectually assaulting live-action cartoon that is 1990’s Robot Jox. To be fair, “influenced” probably isn’t the right word; some of the parallels are just conceptually and anatomically unavoidable.
Given that Guillermo del Toro’s driving Pacific Rim, comparisons probably aren’t really that fair. But, if you wanna ferociously lower your expectations and see what a bad giant robot movie looks like, go ahead and YouTube Robot Jox. It’s out there.
• • •
Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.
Images: Gundam: DARWINFISH105 (definitely visit this guy’s blog); Tetsujin 28-go: Kobe, Japan Tetsujin Project; Beast King GoLion Studio S.A; Robot Jox: Probably Owned by Sony; Pacific Rim: Warner Bros. Pictures
May 14
Aquos Phone Zeta SH-06E packs a 1080p IGZO Screen, 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600
Posted in: Today's Chili
The folks at NTT DoCoMo have just paraded out their roster of handsets for the summer season, and tucked in among the phones is the waterproof Aquos Phone Zeta SH-06E, which packs a 1080p IGZO display. Behind the 4.8-inch screen, the Android 4.2 handset totes a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, NFC, WiFi, a TV tuner and a 2,600mAh battery. As for cameras, the Sharp-made hardware — which comes in blue, red and white hues — packs a 13.1-megapixel rear shooter and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing cam. Since the device operates on the network’s Xi LTE service, it’s rated to pull down 100Mbps and upload at 37.5Mbps. As for a release date, the smartphone is slated to hit Japanese streets on May 24th. There’s no telling when this cellphone or its 1080p IGZO display will arrive in other territories, but our eyes sure hope it’s soon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)
May 14
Sony is adding another option to its smartphone lineup with this Xperia A it just announced in Japan. Spotted a few days ago in an FCC filing, the SO-04E will be released on the 17th on NTT DoCoMo. It slots in a step below the Z and ZL models on the spec sheet however, with a 1,280 x 720 4.6-inch LCD. It shares most of their internals, with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU and Android 4.1, which are nice, but not the latest out (Snapdragon 600 and Android 4.2.) It also packs a 2,300mAh battery, 13MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera. Like all of the phones announced today in NTT DoCoMo’s summer push it supports LTE, and it will have NOTTV access after an update this fall.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF), (2)
May 13
Toyota, the Japanese automobile giant, has recently installed an electric mobility charging station at the Toyota Ecoful Town, which is extremely fitting especially when you consider how this so happens to be the low-carbon model town in Toyota City, Japan. […]
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