Hasta La Gadget!

We dinged Sony for shipping the Xperia Z with an old version of Android, but the company is catching up today by posting an upgrade to Android 4.2.2. Most owners receiving the update are carrying unbranded HSPA+ and LTE models at this stage, although there are reports of at least a few carrier-specific phone variants getting the refresh. As with the Xperia ZL update, most of the user-facing changes are minor. The biggest addition is support for lock screen widgets; there’s also slight (if noticeable) tweaks to the interface look and feel. If those revisions are still meaningful enough for you, we’d suggest a quick upgrade check through the usual desktop and OTA channels.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Via: Xperia Blog, Phone Arena

Source: Sony Mobile forums

Now that AT&T is willing to offer LTE on budget services like GoPhone, the floodgates are open: it just extended the faster cellular data to its Aio Wireless prepaid brand. An automatic update is rolling out that enables LTE on Aio customers’ existing SIM cards when they’re in one of the provider’s coverage areas. To mark the occasion, the carrier is launching the ZTE Overture, a 4-inch phone packing LTE alongside a 4-inch display, Jelly Bean, a 5MP rear camera and an unspecified front shooter. Aio hasn’t divulged pricing for the Overture, but we wouldn’t expect a large outlay when the handset ships within the next month.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T

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Source: Aio Wireless

Yes, we’ve seen Samsung’s Galaxy Mega 6.3 at the FCC before. With its second visit, however, there’s something special. The extra-large phone is back as the SGH-i527, and it’s carrying AT&T-native LTE that hints at a probable US carrier deal. There aren’t any other visible changes in the filing, although we weren’t expecting any. The real question is when this behemoth will ship to the States, assuming it ships at all — for now, any possible AT&T launch remains shrouded in mystery.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

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Source: FCC

GEAK may be focusing its attention on wearable tech like the Ring and Watch, but it still has a pair of new offerings for those who like old-fashioned smartphones: meet the 5-inch Eye and 5.8-inch Mars. Both are tailored to photo junkies with 13MP, backside-illuminated rear cameras as well as strong front cameras that shoot at 8MP (Eye) and 2MP (Mars). Differences between the handsets revolve mostly around performance and screen size. The Eye keeps things modest with a 720p IPS display, a quad-core MediaTek MT6589, HSPA+ data, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Spring for the extra-large Mars and you’ll upgrade to a 1080p IPS LCD, a Snapdragon 600 and 2GB of RAM. Either way, you won’t be paying a lot for the imaging prowess — when pre-orders start on June 25th, GEAK will ask ¥1,999 ($326) off-contract for the Eye and ¥2,999 ($490) for the Mars. Just don’t expect either to leave China when there’s no word of international plans.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: GEAK (1), (2)

T-Mobile is more than a little eager to justify its acquisition of MetroPCS. To its relief, there’s early evidence that the money was well spent: it says that MetroPCS’ switch to a blend of HSPA+ and LTE is ahead of schedule, and it cites the just-started Bring Your Own Phone program as proof. The bigger carrier is already planning to expand MetroPCS’ device mix, too. In addition to the recent launches of the Galaxy Exhibit and Optimus L9, T-Mobile’s refreshed Galaxy S III is due on June 17th. We won’t declare the transition a resounding success just yet, however — when T-Mobile only expects to finish converting MetroPCS customers by 2015, there’s still a lot of ground left to cover.

[Image credit: Jim Carroll, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

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Source: T-Mobile