Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Mugen Power releases 3400mAh battery for Xperia Pro, 3200mAh battery for Xperia arc / arc S

by XB on December 12, 2011

Mugen Power, provider of quality third-party batteries, has released an extended battery for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro. The 3400mAh capacity battery is more than double the stock 1500mAh battery and will set you back $84.95. As you can imagine a battery of this size requires a larger battery cover, which is provided.

Also, the company has released another extended battery for the Xperia arc and Xperia arc S. It had already released a 1700mAh and 4500mAh battery previously and has now added a 3200mAh capacity battery to its stable. This particular one will set you back $84.95.




Picture of Sony Ericsson’s new Gingerbread UXP

by XB on December 12, 2011

We were sent a screen capture of Sony Ericsson’s new Gingerbread UXP (the UX platform is the strategic framework for the core of Sony Ericsson’s portfolio) over the weekend. Interestingly the picture has a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, the same as the rumoured Sony Ericsson Nozomi – further evidence that this 2012 flagship will launch with Android Gingerbread.


The single image itself doesn’t give too much away. It shows the Android home screen using a new font for the clock widget. The small rectangles at the top of the screen on current firmware, showing which of the five home screens you are on, have been replaced by circles. Also the border around the four sticky icons at the bottom has been removed. The UI also matches that seen on the leaked Nozomi images from earlier today.



It is therefore looking more and more likely that Sony Ericsson has redesigned some elements of its Android Gingerbread firmware and that this will launch prior to the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update in H1 2012. We reported on new eDream6 firmware over the weekend. At the time we were wondering what had happened to eDream5, so maybe this is it? Given the date on the image below, could this new firmware be rolling out as soon as early January (along with a Nozomi release)? It shouldn’t be as farfetched as it sounds given all of the recent evidence.


Thanks X-Leaker!

Sony Ericsson LT26i Nozomi high-res images leak

by XB on December 12, 2011

 It was only last week that we were speculating that it won’t be too long before high-resolution images of the Sony Ericsson LT26i ‘Nozomi’ leak and here they are courtesy of GSM Arena. 

We have seen the front of the phone plenty of times, but now we get to glance the sides too. The left side has a micro USB slot (with cover) and the right side has HDMI slot (with cover), a volume switch in the middle of the phone and a reasonably sized camera button. The phone eschews the curves of the Xperia arc and has a very boxy design.

Strangely the glowing strip at the bottom looks like it is made out of see through plastic as the icons can also be seen on the back of the phone. GSM Arena’s tipster has verified a lot of the details we brought to you exclusively over three months ago.

This includes a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4.3-inch (720 x 1280) display, micro-SIM, no microSD slot, 1GB RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, 12MP camera and sealed battery. The tipster also confirms what our sources have told us i.e. that the phone will launch with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and then receive Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at a later date. We’ll bring you more details as we have it, but in the meantime check out the lovely pictures below.









Via GSM Arena

Link2SD guide – never worry about internal memory limits again

by XB on December 12, 2011

One of the most common gripes we hear from Sony Ericsson Xperia owners is that it doesn’t take too long before you fill up the phone’s internal memory. Whilst most of the 2011 Xperia range has a 1GB ROM, only around 380MB can be used for apps or games. Obviously manually moving your apps to the SD card is one answer to this problem, but this can be a pain to manage and sometimes part of the app will remain in internal memory.


To get round this problem, we’ve written the following guide on Link2SD. In layman terms, Link2SD uses a secondary partition on your SD card and uses it as another segment of internal memory. Link2SD moves and links apk files, dalvik-cache (.dex) files and lib files onto this partition, which the OS mounts on boot. The great thing is that these linked apps remain available when your phone is connected in mass storage mode as Android only unmounts the first partition. Also, you don’t need to worry about linking something you weren’t meant to as Link2SD doesn’t allow you to link certain system applications.



Link2SD allows you to cherry-pick which apps/games to move to the SD card, you can auto-link new installs and the whole thing is wrapped in a user-friendly user interface. We’ve been using Link2SD for a while now and it’s a godsend, especially for the Xperia PLAY where we tend to download a lot of games. If you’re constantly managing your internal memory we highly recommend you give Link2SD a try, see the full guide below.

Guide to using Link2SD on your Xperia smartphone

This guide may seem lengthy, but trust us when we say it is straightforward. All steps have been documented which makes it look daunting. Read each section carefully and follow the steps outlined to install Link2SD.

1. PREPARATION
Please make sure you have completed all of the following before starting the tutorial.

On your PC:
– Install the necessary drivers for your Xperia smartphone onto your PC/laptop. The easiest way to do this is to ensure that Sony Ericsson PC Companion is installed on your PC. Once installed, connect your phone to complete the process.
– Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard onto your PC or laptop.

On your Xperia:
– Enable USB de-bugging mode: Setting –> Applications –> Development –> Tick ‘USB debugging’
– Enable the ability to install unknown apps: Setting –> Applications –> Tick ‘Unknown sources’
– Install Link2SD from Android Market onto your Xperia smartphone. It is a free download.

2. ROOT
Rooting your handset gives you the permissions necessary to install custom software on your handset.

a) First, download the ‘Xperia 2011 Easy Rooting Toolkit’ from here.

b) Extract the RAR file using WinRAR or 7-Zip.

c) Connect your Xperia to your PC.

d) Click on ‘RUNME.bat’ from the extracted RAR file, which should give you the following screen. Just press any button to let the program do its work.


e) When finished you should see the output as per the picture below. The phone should now be rooted, make sure you restart your handset before the next step. 



3. BACKUP MEMORY CARD
As we will be creating a partition on your microSD memory card, make sure you create a backup just in case anything goes wrong.

a) Create a new folder on your PC and name it anything you want, such as ‘SD_Backup’

b) Connect your phone to the PC, navigate to your memory card and copy the contents to the backup folder.

4. CREATE SECONDARY PARTITION
You now need to create a secondary partition on your microSD memory card that will enable you to use Link2SD.

Note: We will use MiniTool Partition Wizard to create a secondary partition on your microSD card. This partition can be ext2, ext3, ext4 or FAT32. We will use FAT32 as it is supported on all phones and should lead to less troubleshooting later. You can use any partition manager of your choosing, but the steps below guide you through MiniTool Partition Wizard.

There is no need to wipe your memory card when going through this process, just ensure you have at least 0.5GB to 1.0GB of free space to make it worthwhile. You also do not need to use a microSD card adaptor as the process below creates the partition whilst the phone is connected to your PC.

a) Connect your handset to the PC via USB and then launch MiniTool. You should see the details pop up under ‘Disk 2′.


b) Click on the memory card under Disk 2 in MiniTool and then in the left pane, press ‘Move/Resize Partition’. On the blue bar under ‘Size and Location’, move the right arrow towards the left to create the size of the secondary partition desired. In the example below we created a secondary partition with 1018.63MB of space. This value can also be typed in manually in ‘Unallocate Space After’.


c) Once this is done you should see that your memory card is now split into two partitions under Disk 2 of MiniTool. Right click this new partition and then press ‘Create’.


If you see this pop-up below, just press ‘Yes’ to continue. 


d) You should then see this ‘Create New Partition’ window. Under ‘Create As’ click Primary and then under ‘File System’ click FAT32. Leave the cluster size as default and you can assign whichever drive letter you want. Once finished press OK.


e) This should bring you back to the main MiniTool screen. Now hit the ‘Apply’ button on the top-left of the screen, denoted by a tick symbol. 


This will bring up another pop-up window and will take several minutes to both resize and create the secondary partition.


If successful, you should see message below. Congratulations your card is ready to use in conjunction with Link2SD.



5. LINK2SD
This application makes it easy for users with root privileges on their phone to move applications to the SD card.

a) Open the Link2SD app on your phone. You should be greeted with the following menu, check the FAT32 option and click OK.



You will then see the Superuser Request, click ‘Allow’.


Once you see the following message, restart your phone. The app should now be ready to use.


b) To make sure everything is installed correctly. Click the Menu button and go to ‘Storage Info’. This will show you the internal memory and your two partitions on the memory card. In our case, you can see that the second partition has 1GB free.


c) Now you need to move the apps of your choice to the memory card. Click the Menu button and press ‘Multi-select’.


Choose which apps you want to move by clicking the tick box next to the app. System apps are greyed out and cannot be selected. Link2SD can only move apps that are already on the internal memory. If you have apps already on your SD card, you will need to move them back to the internal memory before you can link them with Link2SD.


If you want to move all of your apps, pressing the menu button will bring up another menu allowing you to do this.


d) Once you have chosen which apps you want to move, you then need to hit the menu button and press ‘Actions’, which will bring up the following menu. Press ‘Create Link’.


Leave all three check boxes ticked and press OK. Link2SD will now do its work and move/link the selected apps to your memory card. 


Once finished, you should see that the apps you have moved have ‘Linked -> SD Card’ in red font in the Link2SD app list. Reboot your phone.


e) Congratulations your phone is now using Link2SD! You should now go to Settings by pressing the menu button and configure how you would like Link2SD to work. The main decision here is whether you want to Auto Link newly installed apps to the memory card. Given that you’ve gone through the hassle of installing Link2SD we suggest you enable Auto Link and make worrying about your internal memory a thing of the past.




CyanogenMod 9 Alpha for Xperia arc pegged for next week

by XB on December 9, 2011

The FreeXperia developer team are working round the clock on CyanogenMod 9 (based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich). They have confirmed that the first Alpha release should hit at some point next week. The alpha ROM will be available on the Xperia arc only at this stage and is still under heavy development according to FreeXperia developer FXP.

There are three major bugs that the devs are trying to iron out including GSM Data, Camera and Mass Storage. If they can get the ROM stable, they will release the alpha to the public during week 50 (i.e. next week). Not too long to wait for those who love tinkering with new ROMs. We’ve attached the latest screenshots of the CM9 ROM after the break.






SE France unveils limited edition Karim Rashid Xperia arc S

by XB on December 8, 2011

Sony Ericsson France will be giving away a limited edition Xperia arc S, inspired by renowned designed Karim Rashid. The model is identical to the Xperia arc S in all ways apart from the black and white patterned back cover design. It is not the first time Karim Rashid has dabbled in tech design, Asus launched a limited edition Karim Rashid netbook a couple of years back.

You will not find this handset in the shops though. Sony Ericsson France will be giving a number of these limited edition handsets away in a Facebook Christmas competition running from 19 to 23 December 2011. For those in France, keep an eye on their Facebook page for details.






Sony Ericsson LT22i Nypon concept pic

by XB on December 7, 2011

If you remember those very nice looking concept pictures of Nozomi released at the weekend, well we have another one for you by the same guy. This time it is a concept render for the Sony Ericsson LT22i Nypon. This phone is meant to be sporting a 1GHz dual-core U8500 chipset from ST-Ericsson, 4-inch qHD display, 8MP Exmor R camera, 1GB RAM and 16GB ROM.

What we don’t know at this stage is whether the person who designed these renders has any inside scope at Sony Ericsson. The Nozomi render could very well have been based on some of the leaked pictures we had already seen. For Nypon, we’ve not seen any leaked images at all, so it’s difficult to know how faithful the concept will be to reality. The Nypon concept is a simpler affair than Nozomi, with no capacitive buttons on the front. Click through for a larger pic after the cut and let us know which one you prefer in the comments.



Via Concept Phones.

Sony Ericsson talks through the steps taken to bring Android 4.0 ICS update

by XB on December 7, 2011

Sony Ericsson has a very detailed explanation on the steps it is taking to get the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update onto Xperia handsets. If you remember, SE has confirmed that all 2011 Xperia models will be receiving the ICS update, with rumours pointing to a March 2012 release.


Whilst some may be impatient about such a drawn out date, there is clearly a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Remember, Sony Ericsson only started work on ICS once the source code was released on 14 November. It is a very interesting and detailed article that we won’t repeat verbatim here, however for anyone interested in the process it is definitely worth a read here.

Black Sony Ericsson LT26i Nozomi spotted in the wild

by XB on December 7, 2011

The previous live pictures if the Sony Ericsson LT26i ‘Nozomi’ were of the white version, however as we revealed over the weekend a black version is also being planned. Now it appears that live pictures of the black Nozomi have been snapped in the wilds of Hong Kong.


The overall appearance looks similar to what we’ve already seen with the Sony Ericsson logo sitting above the ear-piece and a front facing camera to the right. We then have what looks to be a >4-inch display, with a slightly wider bezel than seen in the recent render.



The most revealing part of this new photo is the capacitive buttons which sit behind three small white illuminated dots, quite a nice touch in our view. Previously we had only seen the actual tiny icons (menu, home and back) that sit above the thin glowing strip at the bottom. We’re not sure what the small triangle towards that third capacitive button is (this could be a sticker and nothing related to the phone). We’re also not sure what the line of text is above the Xperia logo on the bottom. Although this could be a reference to this particular prototype, hence why it seems it has been blurred out.


Another photo has appeared from Concept Phones, but instead of being a render this seems to be a live model. It shows a silver trim on the side edge not seen in the other photos. Most of the features do seem very similar to the above photo, although there are small discrepancies when comparing both photos. However, the photo below may have been of an earlier prototype, or as the author points out, the guy that sent it in could have created this mould himself (must be a huge Sony Ericsson fan if true!) Either way, with leaks intensifying it shouldn’t be too long before we have some higher-res live shots of this beauty soon.


Via Techorz.

Sony Ericsson brand to be phased out by mid-2012

by XB on December 5, 2011
in News

Sony plans to phase out the Sony Ericsson brand by the middle of 2012 according to Kristian Tear, Executive VP & Head of Sales & Marketing at Sony Ericsson, speaking to The Times of India. Smartphones released beyond this date will simply be branded Sony says Tear.


A lot of planning goes into getting the branding right but we will be done by middle of next year. It will also mean that the marketing and advertising investments will go up. We haven’t been as fierce as we were a few years back but we will step it up, refocus and invest more in brand-building in select markets and India is one of those markets,” said Tear.



There has been a lot of confusion from some readers wondering why we still refer to the entity as Sony Ericsson and why some of the recent leaks of upcoming handsets still have the Sony Ericsson badge on them. The simple answer is that Sony can only consolidate the acquisition when it has formally closed and that is not expected to happen until January 2012. This is when the acquisition is expected to receive final and regulatory approval.

However, once formally complete, Sony plans to leverage as many of the assets to reach its ambition of becoming a leader in Android smartphones. “Sony is the world’s biggest entertainment company. We were earlier a 50-50 JV, but now that we are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. We expect to gain from its assets on the content, technology and brand side,” Tear added.

Via The Times of India

Sony’s SmartAR tech demoed on the Xperia arc

by XB on December 5, 2011

Augmented Reality (AR) hasn’t taken off like many predicted, but with new devices on the horizon like the PlayStation Vita don’t write it off just yet. This will be old news to some, but Sony has developed integrated Augmented Reality which it calls SmartAR. Sony announced this around six months back, but for some reason it skipped us by. We thought it was worth a post, especially considering the recent Sony acquisition of Ericsson’s stake in SE. It shows what services and tech we may just see in future Xperia smartphones.

SmartAR works like normal AR, but it’s point of differentiation is that it captures additional information which can be displayed on a smartphone/tablet/gaming device. For example, you can use SmartAR to look at a menu in a restaurant. You can then virtually swipe through each page of this menu to see what’s on offer. The technology doesn’t need any markers either, unlike older tech which needed special markers or 2D barcodes. This is demonstrated in the video below, where an Xperia arc is used in different scenarios. The short video is well worth a watch for anyone interested in the potential practical uses of AR going forward.



Via Sony.