Hasta La Gadget!

Sony is the first third-party phone manufacturer to announce Android 4.3 availability for their lineup of smartphones and tablets. The company announced that the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP and Xperia Z Ultra will all be getting updates to Android 4.3, but details are bit murky at this point.

As for when these device will get the Android 4.3 update, it’s unclear, but Sony says that the Xperia ZR and Xperia Tablet Z will start receiving the previous update of Android 4.2 starting early next month, so we’re guessing Android 4.3 will come shortly thereafter. The 4.2 update for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, however, “is well underway.”

Then again, Sony says that they plan on upgrading some of their other devices running Android 4.1 directly to 4.3. Of course, the company didn’t mention specifics on which devices would skip Android 4.2 or when that would occur, but they assure us that they’ll be keeping folks up to date as far as what they decide on.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean was announced yesterday with several new features, including multi-user account support with restricted profiles, as well as Google Play Games, which is Google’s version of Apple’s Game Center. The latest Nexus devices are already being treated with the update, but Sony is the first third-party company out of the game.

Hopefully we hear from some more phone makers in the near future, including Samsung and HTC, who are some of the dominant companies in the Android market. We’re sure that HTC One and Galaxy S 4 owners wouldn’t mind if their handsets received an update to Android 4.3 in a timely manner.

SOURCE: Sony

Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, and more getting Android 4.3 update is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’d been expecting the larger-than-life Sony Xperia Z upgrade code-named “Honami” disappear any time soon, you’re in for a surprise. What we’re seeing today are the most legitimate-looking images of the device that’ll sit aside the Sony Xperia Z Ultra for size, here coming in with a black rim and that same lovely circular power button that makes the Z feel premium. Now we’ve just got to have a chat about the return of the full-glass-back.

You’ll find a single flap covering what we must expect is a set of microSIM and microSD card ports, this alongside the power button on the right side of the device. Below that you’ll find a dedicated camera shutter button and a loop. The loop sits on the bottom right as a hole that busts through to the bottom, this allowing you to add dongles galore at your leisure.

Also along the bottom you’ll find a large speaker grille, this telling us two things:

1. This device won’t be waterproof.
2. Sony may place a lot of faith in this device’s audio prowess.

It would appear that one of two things is also true of this device, given the appearance of its display in this set of photos:

1. This is a rack model, meaning the display is printed, not actually a display at all.
2. This entire device has been fabricated.

Assuming the first is true, we can still roll out a collection of specifications that’ve been tipped for the final release of what we still hope is a very real device. It begins with a 5-inch AH-IPS LCD display with “Triluminous” technology and 1080p sharpness. This is paired with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM for good measure.

Inside you’ve got a 3030 mAh battery and on this device’s back sits a 28mm equivalent Sony G lens and a 1/2.3-inch 20.6MP Exmor RS BSI sensor. The whole unit is said to be approximately 9mm thin, making this just about the most fragile-looking device on the market – but NO WORRIES, we’ve not dropped the Xperia Z yet!

Sony Xperia Honami reboots the Z in leaked phablet images is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Two of the most powerful smartphones ever offered by their respective manufacturers are headed to T-Mobile this week for users hoping to pre-order and get in on the action as soon as possible. One runs Android – that’s the Sony Xperia Z, coming in both black and a rather unique purple version. The other works with Windows Phone 8 – that’s the Nokia Lumia 925, the newest in a line of large-display-toting hero phones from the company birthed for Microsoft’s software all the way back in 2012 with the Nokia Lumia 920 – here in 2013 it’s time to get and go metal.

Both of the devices being sent up by T-Mobile this week have had full reviews here on SlashGear, with the Nokia Lumia 925 review we’ve got working internationally. Our T-Mobile Sony Xperia Z review, on the other hand, has the handset set squarely in the corner of the big pink mobile data carrier.

The Nokia Lumia 925 works with a refined look at what’s also delivered to Verizon with the Lumia 928, it, again, being the newest version of the smartphone first offered in the form of the Lumia 920. Here we’ve got a 4.5-inch 1280 x 768 pixel display working above a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor and a 8.7 MP PureView camera on the machine’s back. Inside is the newest edition of Windows Phone 8. This device is coming up for pre-order on the 17th of this month for $99.99 down and 24 months of $20 USD.

The Sony XPERIA Z is one we’ve reviewed more than once – see our original Sony Xperia Z review to see how it adds up to this USA-bound version. It’s essentially the same device, but seeing the two ever-so-slightly different angles on the device, one from Chris Davies, the other from Vincent Nguyen, should give you a fair view of the machine in the end.

This Xperia Z smartphone packs a fully waterproof body working with a 13-megapixel camera on its back and a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD display on its front. It’s coming with a Sony Wireless Bluetooth Speaker “gift” if it’s picked up this week from T-Mobile, and just like the purple color form of the device, this offer is limited. The black edition will continue to be available well into the future – both are available for a variety of prices which you can see in our original pricing and pre-order rundown.

T-Mobile Xperia Z and Nokia Lumia 925 launching (pre-order) this week is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While Sony’s Xperia Z is still making headlines, it seems the company is already thinking ahead about what will replace the flagship device. We’ve heard rumors and have seen leaks of the so-called Xperia i1 “Honami”, which looks to be a worthy successor to the Xperia Z from what we’ve seen, and Sony Korea’s CEO thinks such a device will launch later this year.

A report notes that Sony’s Korea CEO Kenji Sakai says that the successor the Xperia Z will be out sometime later this year. This phone is suggested to be the Xperia i1 Honami, which we’ve seen in the recent past as a 20MP smartphone that is said to pack the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor.

With the rumored phone’s upgraded camera, it will take on the recently-announced Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. The 1020 comes with an impressive 41MP camera that aims to revolutionize smartphone cameras, and while we still have yet to try the phone’s camera out for ourselves, Sony will mostly likely have to out something big in order to overthrow the 1020.

As for a focused release window for the i1 Honami, Sony isn’t saying much, but we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw the rumored device make an appearance at IFA 2013 in September. The only question that remains is when the device will release in the US. Like some of Sony’s past phones, the US may not see the i1 Honami until after its initial release over in Asia.

VIA: PhoneArena

SOURCE: EconomicDaily

Sony Xperia Z successor due later this year: 20MP Xperia i1 Honami incoming? is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s time for Sony’s second effort in the SmartWatch business, this time with a device that – once again – comes out well before any comparable efforts in wearable industry take shape. This device is appearing this week with Clove, an international web-based spot for sales of such devices, with the company suggesting they’ll have the machine in-stock starting on the 15th of July. This device is also suggested – and remember, this is all preliminary – to be coming in at just 120 pounds in England.

With this machine essentially standing alone in the market as both a smartwatch that can act as its own self-contained device and as an Android-based mini-screen still supported in a major way by its creator, the pricing may surprise you. Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is said by Clove to be well under two bills – that’s right around $180 in USD. With a launch date at July 15th, it’s also surprising that this machine hasn’t been added to any other store stock anywhere else, either.

This device is bringing on a display that’s 1.6-inches large with 220 x 176 pixels to its name, bringing along Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC for wireless connectivity. This device can indeed act on its own, but pairing with a smartphone for internet will allow you to get updates for items like email and Facebook messaging.

Pairing with the Sony SmartWatch 2 will be a tap away with Android devices using NFC on their own and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or above – and it’ll all pair with your smartphone for notifications straight from it, too, if you like.

This device has been called out as an early strike against Apple’s so-called iWatch, a device whose trademark has been filed for in several countries across the planet in the past couple of weeks. Sony has, on the other hand – of course – already released their first SmartWatch which was also joined in the market by Motorola’s own MOTOACTV sports watch in 2011. So it’s not as if this is anything new.

VIA: Geekygadgets; Clove

Sony SmartWatch 2 hits Clove early with July launch date is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.