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

by XB on December 12, 2011

in Accessories,News,Xperia arc,Xperia Pro

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.

CyanogenMod 9 Alpha for Xperia arc pegged for next week

by XB on December 9, 2011

in Android,Firmware,News,Xperia arc

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.

Sony’s SmartAR tech demoed on the Xperia arc

by XB on December 5, 2011

in News,Videos,Xperia arc

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.

New update for Xperia arc and Xperia PLAY adds landscape home screen

Sony Ericsson is pushing out an update for the Xperia Arc and the Xperia PLAY. It's a minor update, the Android version is still 2.3.3, but it brings a few useful changes like stereo sound in videos, landscape mode in the homescreen and a few others.

The homescreens of the Xperia Arc and the Xperia PLAY will both work in landscape mode after the update and there's a selection of new themes available as well. The other big change is the sound in videos - both switch from mono to stereo sound (other parameters of the videos are unchanged).

Next up is DLNA support so you can play media from DLNA-enabled devices. Finally, there's xLoud, which improves the performance of the loudspeaker when playing music.

The availability of the update depends on the market and your operator - to check for the update, you can go to Settings > About > Software update. Or you can use Sony Ericsson's PC Companion to update your Arc or Play.

Source 1 • Source 2 • Via • GSM Arena

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

by XB on August 3, 2011

in News

Sony Ericsson has released a new firmware update for the Xperia arc and Xperia PLAY that brings some new features but keeps the phone at Android 2.3.3. Firmware version number 4.0.A.2.368 updates the handset to include a new landscape mode for the home screen, DLNA compatibility with Digital Home and xLoud that boosts the volume through the speaker. There is also stereo video recording and a selection of new themes.

Seems like a decent albeit minor update for the handsets. The update is available now through PC Companion. If the update hasn’t rolled out to you yet, the global generic file is available over at xda-developers.


Thanks Dyjin!

Sony Ericsson releases second ‘Challenge Xperia’ video

Sony Ericsson has released its second Challenge Xperia video for the Xperia arc. If you remember back, the first involved driving a car only using the Xperia arc display. The second challenge also relates to the display and in particular the brightness aspect.
They set up an array of Xperia arc handsets into a blacked out shed. They then used these Xperia arcs at full brightness to make the flowers bloom. We’re not too sure what the point of this particular exercise was but it’s pretty nonetheless. Check out the video here.

Impossible or not? One daring driver, one hell of a racetrack and no vision
except for three brilliant Xperia™ arc screens. Watch the clip below

3.0.1.A.0.138 firmware will bring Android 2.3.3 to new Xperia handsets

The latest firmware that is certified on the PTCRB site for the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is 3.0.1.A.0.138. This particular firmware was certified on 3 May, although as usual we are left to guess what may be included in this update compared to the current firmware (3.0.A.2.184).

However, judging by the screenshot below, it looks like that one thing it will bring will be Android 2.3.3, itself just a minor update over the current 2.3.2 that is on the Xperia arc and PLAY. Soon after we may even see SE release the latest Android version (2.3.4), which brings video calling and other bug fixes.