Friday, January 13, 2012

Xperia ion white paper confirms MSM8260 chipset, 1900mAh battery and microSD card slot

by XB on January 9, 2012

Sony has released the white paper for the recently announced Xperia ion (LT28at). It confirms several details about the phone including that it will run the Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260 chipset which features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Adreno 220 GPU.

The handset will come with 1GB RAM, 1GB of internal phone storage and 16GB of eMMc flash memory. Crucially, the white paper confirms that the handset will come with microSD memory card support. Rumours suggested that this was believed to be absent in some of the new Xperia handsets such as the Xperia S (Nozomi).

A 1900mAh embedded battery will provide juice to the 4.55-inch 720p display, providing up to 10 hours of GSM talk time, 3 hours of video or 12 hours of music. The Xperia ion will also have a number of sensors on board including gyroscope and magnetometer.

The Xperia ion utilises the Qualcomm MDM9200 modem chipset. This is the industry’s first 3G/LTE single-chip modem. It will support a number of network frequencies including UMTS [HSPA+ 850 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I)], GSM [EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900] and LTE [Band IV and Band XVII].


Xperia ion white paper.

Xperia ion product page live; promo shots and video

by XB on January 9, 2012

The Sony Xperia ion may not look as striking as the Xperia S, but checking out the video attached below reveals the Xperia ion has a very understated design. The Xperia ion chassis is made from magnesium and it also features a no air-gap display, last seen in the Xperia arc.

The product page for the handset is now also live, where you’ll find further details on the handset. See some promo pictures for the Xperia ion below along with a hands-on video. Also note the “Use of Sony brand subject to regulatory approval” disclaimer below each photo!

















New Sony accessories: SmartWatch, Smart Wireless Headset pro and Xperia SmartTags

by XB on January 9, 2012

Sony has announced three new Sony ‘Smart Extras’ accessories. First of all we have the SmartWatch, the successor to the LiveView, bringing remote Bluetooth access from your Android phone to the SmartWatch microdisplay. The SmartWatch has a 1.3-inch OLED display and measures just 8mm in thickness. Unlike the LiveView it features a 128 x 128 pixel touchscreen, capable of displaying 65,536 colours, defined into 9 distinct touch areas in a 3 × 3 matrix.

It’s good to know that SmartWatch has a vibration function, accelerometer and is both dust and splash proof. Sony says that you can also customise this with any 20mm wristband. The SmartWatch white paper is available to download here.



 The Smart Wireless Headset pro is a Bluetooth wireless headset that will allow users to also read text messages, view incoming calls, access the calendar alerts and more. With the phone disconnected it will work as an independent MP3 or radio player. If you’re wondering how this works, the Smart Wireless Headset pro supports microSD and will ship with a 2GB card. Smart Wireless Headset pro uses Bluetooth 3.0 to communicate with the phone and it features a two row display. The white paper is available here.






Lastly there are Xperia SmartTags, using the NFC functionality of the new Xperia phones to change the settings of the handset with a single pass. Once the phone is touched with a SmartTag, it will launch a preconfigured profile inside the phone. For example you may have a SmartTag in your car which will activate a GPS application. Customisation is key here and Sony will allow you to easily customise the tags to make your lives easier.




SmartWatch Pictures






Smart Wireless Headset pro Pictures

 



 

Xperia SmartTags Pictures

 





 

 

Xperia S: official press images

by XB on January 9, 2012

The Xperia S is gorgeous. We have all of the details in the previous post, but we also managed to get hold of some more press photos that we thought we’d share. Feast your eyes below. 












Xperia S official: 4.3-inch HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core, 12MP camera

by XB on January 9, 2012

Following on from the Xperia ion, the Sony Xperia S will be formally announced later today. Full details of the handset were leaked prematurely and we have all of the details. The Xperia S is part of the new Xperia NXT series, this range denotes the company’s next generation products. One of the key features of this range is a new design called Identity Iconic. We are referring to the transparent notification strip at the bottom of the phone. Sony says that this element emphasises the display and also houses the antenna.

In terms of specifications, the Sony Xperia S will be powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (MSM8260 chipset) and 32GB of internal memory. It will have a 4.3-inch (720 x 1280) Reality display with Bravia Engine, implying a very impressive 342PPI pixel density. Camera duties will be taken care of by a 12MP Exmor R camera with f/2.4 aperture and 1080p video recording. It will also be armed with a 1.3MP front facing camera, capable of 720p video recording. Like the Xperia ion the Xperia S will be able to take pictures from sleep in just 1.5 seconds.

Other features include a 1750mAh battery, HDMI and NFC. The latter will be able to be used with one of the company’s new accessories called Xperia SmartTags NFC (more on that later). Like the Xperia ion, the Xperia S will be a PlayStation Certified handset. The Xperia S weighs 144 grams and has dimensions of 128 x 64 x 10.6 mm. The Xperia S will launch from the end of Q1 2012, initially with Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 and then updated to Android 4.0 ICS in Q2 2012. It will come in black and white colours.


Xperia ion for AT&T gets official: 1.5GHz dual-core , 4.6-inch 720p display, 12MP camera

by XB on January 9, 2012

Sony has officially taken the wraps off the Xperia ion, which will be an exclusive in the United States with AT&T. This phone is jam-packed with features. It will come with a 4.6-inch high-resolution (720 x 1280) display powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core S3 Snapdragon processor. It has a 12MP Exmor R camera capable of 1080p video recording and a 720p front camera. The Xperia ion will have 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, HDMI and NFC. It is also LTE enabled, crucial for the US market and will be also be PlayStation Certified.

The camera features will be a big marketing point, especially with that 12MP sensor. Sony claims it can go from standby to first picture shot in less than two seconds (1.5 seconds to be exact!) Sony claims that the phone will be unmatched against any other Android phone. The phone will be branded ‘Sony’, the Xperia arc S was the last Sony Ericsson handset you’ll ever see. The phone is set to release in the United States in Q2 2012. It’s not clear whether we will see this phone elsewhere globally, although we wouldn’t bet against it. See some larger pics of the Xperia ion below.








Leaked Android 4.0 ICS ROM hits Xperia PLAY [Video]

by XB on January 9, 2012

The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY already has an Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich alpha ROM by ICX, however a newer and more complete ROM has become available to PLAY owners. The ROM, which is based on Android 4.0.3, was apparently leaked anonymously and therefore it is more fully-featured than the previous ICX ROM. Users have DooMLoRD from xda-developers to thank for turning the leaked ROM into something usable for end-users.

It’s not all perfect though as the camera is not working and the stock launcher does not allow anyone to add widgets to the homescreen. However, you can use the Trebuchet launcher to get round the latter issue. This ROM is pre-rooted and includes the ICS boot animation. See a couple of preview videos of this in action below.






Via xda-developers.
Thanks Guddu!