Hasta La Gadget!

After just under three months of development, Google’s wrapped up its experimental work on bringing the Sony Xperia S into the Android Open Source Project fold. According to Sony, AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru considers the effort a success, but the device is being taken off the project’s roadmap so Mountain View can focus on its own hardware. Currently, an AOSP build boots on the Xperia S hardware with support for SD-Cards, Wi-Fi and its built-in sensors. Audio and the phone’s modem are also operational, but they require proprietary binaries Hirai and Co. can’t publish just yet. Work on polishing the handset’s vanilla Android experience isn’t over, however. Sony has moved the code to its GitHub account and is welcoming developers to pitch in and help with the open source effort. For more details and to see what code has already been laid down, tap the second source link or check out the video of the smartphone in action below.

Continue reading Google kicks Xperia S Android Open Source Project out of its nest, Sony takes it under its wing (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony, Google

Google kicks Xperia S Android Open Source Project out of its nest, Sony takes it under its wing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Europeans who were slightly disappointed that the Xperia V would be shipping with Ice Cream Sandwich a year after the OS first appeared will be glad to know that at least one Sony division shares their feelings. Sony France says it’s pushing back the launch of the 4.3-inch smartphone from late this year to the end of January so that it can ship with Jelly Bean from the start — unfortunate, but possibly worth the wait. The company is simultaneously dropping the off-contract price ever so slightly from €549 to €529 ($704 to $678) to make the delay that much more palatable. We’ve reached out to learn whether or not other European countries are on a similarly adjusted schedule, although it’s less likely that our Gallic friends will be singled out while everyone else gets their device earlier and waits for an upgrade.

Update: As Mobiltelefon.ru notes, Sony Russia claims it’s still on track to ship the Xperia V by the end of the year. While that’s not technically Europe, it suggests that Sony may not wait until 2013 to put everyone on the same page.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

Sony France says Xperia V pushed back to late January to make way for Jelly Bean (update: not universal) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the beginning of the month, we heard word that AT&T would be offering Sony’s Xperia TL, but of course, no pricing or availability details were announced. Finally, though, Ma Bell has unleashed the only information we’ve been waiting for. Coming November 2, and costing only $99 after a two-year contract, you’ll be have a Xperia TL all to yourself.

In case you need a refresher course on the features of the new handset, it packs a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, and a 13MP rear-facing camera with a front-facing camera capable of shooting 720p video. It also has NFC built in, and is covered with a 4.6-inch 720p display powered by the company’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine.

The device’s camera comes with a quick launch feature, where it can go from sleep mode to taking the first picture in just 1.5 seconds, according to Sony. We’d want to test this out for ourselves, but it doesn’t sound like a surprising figure at all. We’re sure other handsets could easily match that speed.

The Ice Cream Sandwich-equipped device is the company’s new flagship handset and will also be featured in the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall as “the official Bond phone,” meaning the Xperia TL will be the phone of choice for 007 himself in the upcoming film. The Xperia TL will also come loaded with behind-the-scenes footage from Skyfall, as well as Bond-themed ringtones and wallpapers.

AT&T Sony Xperia TL coming November 2 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s no shortage of cloud storage sites and apps, but it looks like Sony might be trying to get a little more involved in ethereal storage. According to this European trademark filing spotted by Juggly, Sony Mobile has staked a claim to MyXperia, outlining that the service (or mobile app) involves itself in the “upload, storage, retrieval, download, transmission and delivery of digital content and media.” In short, the kind of stuff you already do with your cloud service of choice. While Sony has no shortage of cloud-based services, MyXperia.com currently sends you to a bare-bones login page, underneath the Sony Mobile umbrella — it looks like we’ll have to wait for some account credentials before we get to take a look.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Sony

‘MyXperia’ trademark filing suggests Sony might launch its own cloud service originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the fast moving world of smartphones, giant HD displays just aren’t enough anymore. The new hot commodity in the land of mobile is “HD Voice.” Sure, the technology isn’t exactly brand new, but using it over post-3G high speed networks is. The selling point here is high quality noise cancellation, which allows a phone’s user to be heard clearly in the noisiest of environments. The latest device to hop on the bandwagon is Sony’s Xperia T. When describing this feature, the herculean consumer electronics maker got downright emotional saying, “you feel closer to the person you are talking to.” While we’re not too sure about that, HD Voice did impress during our ears-on session. The major caveat here is that this feature requires that both parties have HD Voice capable handsets. So, until this concept becomes more mainstream, Xperia T owners’ phone calls are likely to be close, but no cigar.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

Bring the noise! Sony confirms HD Voice support for Xperia T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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