Xperia ion product page live; promo shots and video

by XB on January 9, 2012

in News,Videos,Xperia ion

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!

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

by XB on January 9, 2012

in Featured Content,News,Xperia S

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.

Sony Ericsson LT26i ‘Nozomi’ benchmarked and sized up against Xperia arc S

by XB on January 6, 2012

in News,Rumours

We have already seen some high-resolution leaked pictures of the Sony Ericsson LT26i codenamed ‘Nozomi’ in the past, but we’ve now got another round of shots that are worth looking at. These hands-on pictures are from ITProPortal and include some angles not seen previously.


The top of the handset had not been pictured before, it holds the power button and 3.5mm headphone jack. We’re glad to see the headphone jack back at the top of the phone, like on the Xperia X10, versus the side of the phone like the 2011 flagships (Xperia arc and Xperia PLAY). One side of the handset has HDMI, volume control and a dedicated camera shutter button, whilst the other side has the micro USB port. The pictures aren’t the clearest, but it looks like all ports will be covered by a flap.

The picture of the back of the handset confirms the use of a micro-SIM, sealed battery and no microSD support. There are more pictures that show Nozomi side-by-side with the Xperia arc S. Nozomi is boxier, taller and marginally wider too. It will be interesting to see how that extra handset length feels in the hand ergonomically.

This particular version was running Android 2.3.7 (which all 2011 Xperia handsets are likely to be updated to) running the 2.6.35 kernel. The phone scored 2219 on the Quadrant benchmark. Strangely the Quadrant benchmark shows the handset as running only one core at 1.5GHz. The benchmark does list the chipset as MSM8660, which we know is a 1.5GHz dual-core chip.

Other confirmed details include 1GB of RAM and a 720 x 1280 resolution display. We also expect the handset to feature a 12MP camera and at least 8GB of internal storage. There are rumours that Nozomi will officially be called Xperia HD on release. We expect it to be announced at CES 2012 next week. Stay tuned.

Via ITProPortal.

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.