With the release of an XPERIA Z for T-Mobile, this would be another rare push by Sony to have a smartphone on a carrier with a contract here in the USA. Generally an XPERIA device will be released in the states off-contract only, allowing users to choose their carrier and their data plan without contractual obligations as such.

If the Sony XPERIA Z is released to T-Mobile in the near future, it’ll be put in indirect competition with the XPERIA ZL and direct competition with the Samsung GALAXY S 4 as well as the HTC One, both of which are being carried by T-Mobile this spring and summer. Sony’s hero efforts will need, therefor, a price point that’s less or equal to what these devices offer at least due to the much more active advertising efforts of the competition.

Have a peek at SlashGear’s review of the Sony XPERIA Z as it exists internationally, and stay tuned as we review the Sony XPERIA ZL for the USA as well. It’ll be up to you, if you’re Sony-addicted, whether you want to be attached to one or the other. Both will work with T-Mobile, mind you, but only one will be working with the network’s upcoming 4G LTE connectivity roll-out. The FCC listing discovered by Engadget this week shows the XPERIA Z to be working with T-Mobile-specific 4G LTE radios.

While the Sony Xperia SP’s display isn’t standing out among the best available, the rest of the specs place it fully in the mid-to-high range. Inside, users will find a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor alongside 1GB of RAM. There’s a rear Exmor RS for mobile 8-megapixel camera and flash. There’s also a light strip that displays different color lights depending on which notifications the user receives.

The display is a sizable 4.6-inches with a 720p resolution, which is less than some of its competitors, but certainly not a bad resolution. Sony says that the display’s colors and contrast are improved via the inclusion of a Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 system, which been used in some of the maker’s other handsets as well. This is accompanied by Battery STAMINIA, which is a feature said to improve battery life.

Connectivity includes the typical 3G/4G, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The handset runs Android 4.2.2, and weighs in at 155 grams with an aluminum frame. The Xperia SP is being offered in three colors: red, black, and white, the latter of which you can see in the image above. T-Mobile UK says customers should allow 30 days for delivery.

[via Xperia Blog]

This smartphone runs with many of the same specifications that the XPERIA Z did, bringing on the 5-inch 1080 x 1920p full HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 for the brightest and sharpest experience you’ve ever had on an XPERIA smartphone. You’ll be working with Infra-red for controlling your television, NFC for connecting to all the NFC tags you could ever want, and that same cool 13 megapixel camera on the back. You’ve also got a rather nice “Superior Auto” mode on the camera that instantly adds or subtracts camera features depending on what the camera detects in front of you.

You’ve got a newly rubbery textured plastic back panel instead of the glass flat panel the Z worked with – while some might not be all that pumped up about such a change, we’re certainly all for it. Now the device doesn’t feel nearly as fragile, and it retains its high-end feel just as well. You also get a significant size advantage with this build, the device working with the same massive display but with a bezel that’s shaved enough off the top and bottom of the build that you’ll be holding what basically feels like a “borderless” screen – a rather nice feeling.

Interestingly enough, it’s not as if the Xperia ZL was made entirely on the suggestions made for the Z. We saw the Xperia ZL at the same time as the Z back at CES 2013 with our Xperia Z hands-on. Both devices were ready to roll in their near-ready forms one next to the other, the one ready to dunk in the water, the other being the smaller-bodied beast.

Inside you’ve got the same processor you’ll get with the LG Optimus G and the Google Nexus 4 (by LG) – have a peek below at some benchmark tests to prove this device’s might. You’ll also find some hands-on images above and below, and we’ll be presenting additional tests soon. Please feel free to let us know any questions you’ve got about this device and we’ll do our best to make sure you’re fully informed before you purchase the Xperia ZL later this month!

The controller will then connect wirelessly to your device via Bluetooth. To turn the controller off, you can switch it off via your phone’s notification’s menu. With DualShock 3 support, and the option to connect your device to an HDTV, this new feature will bring you a much-welcomed upgrade to your gaming experience. You will be able to find new love for games such as titles from Square Enix, as well as re-released PlayStation titles like Grand Theft Auto III.

This new native support for the DualShock 3 helps make Sony’s Xperia devices a major competitor against the upcoming OUYA and GameStick devices, both of which want to compete in the world of console gaming. However, unlike Sony, both OUYA and the GameStick both have dedicated developers who are creating games exclusively for both systems.

Sony makes it easier for you to find out which games are compatible with your DualShock 3 controller. Compatible games will have a reference to either a controller or gamepad support. You will be able to find games straight from both the PlayStation store as well as the Google Play store. We’re not sure which devices are supported yet, but we’re very sure that Sony Xperia T, Z, and ZL owners will be able to take advantage of this feature. Be sure to check out our review of the Sony Xperia Z.

The Xperia ZL handset is high-end phablet offering a full 1920 x 1080 HD Reality Display, as well as a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor and the Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2. There’s a rear 13-megapixel Exmor RS for Mobile camera that can record HDR video in 1080p, offering both noise reduction and Superior Auto focus. The handset supports 4G LTE and offers both NFC and infrared connectivity, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

To help ensure that users aren’t having to charge too often, there’s the Battery STAMINA standby feature as well. The handset is compatible with HSPA+ 1/2/4/5/8 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900. The carrier will be offering the Sony Xperia ZL for $249.99 after a mail-in rebate and a two-year contract, and says it will be available on May 1 via its website and retail stores.

Said Cincinnati Bell’s Consumer Markets Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Vanerwoude, “We’re excited to add the Sony Xperia ZL to our line of premium smartphones. With this extraordinary device, customers can connect with each other using the best technology Sony has to offer. The Xperia ZL on Cincinnati Bell’s 4G wireless network creates an unbeatable combination.”

[via Business Wire]

Originally, HP said that its new Slate 7 tablet would be available sometime next month, but the company has pushed back the release to June, giving eager buyers a couple more months to mull over their decision. However, we’re not exactly sure why the tablet is delayed. It went through the FCC without any problems, so perhaps HP simply wanted to make some slight last-minute changes.

As for the Xperia Tablet Z, the tablet released on March 22 in Japan, but it has yet to see the light of day in other parts of the world. It was also originally set for a release sometime next month, but it has been pushed back to May. As with the HP Slate 7, there’s no word on exactly what’s causing the delay, but again, it’ll give more time to those eager shoppers to think about whether or not go for it.

The Xperia Tablet Z was one of the more nicer tablets that we saw at Mobile World Congress last month. It’s got a 10-inch 1080p HD display and it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. When it eventually does make its way to the states, it’ll cost $499 for the 16GB model — right on par with Apple’s entry-level iPad.

Update: HP has updated its Slate 7 product page, and the release date is now listed as “April 2013.”

UPDATE:: As noted by Sony, the Xperia Tablet Z remains on-track for a May release in some regions, and availability will vary based on region as well – can’t wait!

This device works with some advanced industrial design features such as concentration on perfecting the roundness of the edges and “premium build and craftsmanship” put specifically into the power button. Strange and excellent! This device also works with a display that’s got Sony’s own touch of greatness in it with “Reality Display” technology and power backed up by Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2.

NOTE: Don’t forget to check out our review of the Xperia Z as well – similar, but not the same!

This device also boasts implementation of Sony’s own Exmor RS technology, the first in the world – so they say – that offers a mobile implementation of HDR Video. You’ll find that this device also works with a “STAMINA” mode for battery life extension so you’ll be able to shoot all day long.

Key features for Xperia ZL:
• 5″ 1080 x 1920p full HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2
• 13MP Fast Capture camera with Exmor RS for mobile, HDR video (1080p), Superior Auto and • Noise Reduction to effortlessly capture razor sharp pictures and videos in any conditions
• Battery STAMINA for improved standby time
• NFC-enabled and Infra-red capable
• 1.5 GHz asynchronous quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM
• MSRP $759.99 (unlocked, Model C6506) and $719.99 (unlocked, Model C6502)
• Available colors: Black, White, Red
• Xperia ZL will launch on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Past the idea that this machine will be launching with the not-quite-newest version of Android (with 4.1 instead of 4.2 Jelly Bean), it’s clear that Sony means business with this release. Expect this lovely little amalgamation of bits and pieces to be available to you sooner than later right here in the USA! Pre-sales have already begun!

The Xperia TL was first announced back in October of last year, and it’s most known for its role as the official phone of the newest James Bond film Skyfall. As for the Xperia J, it’s a phone that we haven’t heard much about lately. The device was announced at IFA 2012, and its one of Sony’s mid-range devices packing a 4-inch display.

As for the availability of these updates, the Xperia TL should be available right this second to download, while the update for the Xperia J will land within the “coming weeks.” As soon as the update is available for you, you should receive a notification that will allow you to update over-the-air, but some users may have to update through their computers.

The Xperia TL packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, and a 13MP rear-facing camera with a front-facing shooter capable of capturing 720p video. It also has NFC built in, and is covered with a 4.6-inch 720p display powered by the company’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine.

The demonstration took place in the window front of a T-Mobile store in the Czech Republic, where a clear shower was installed. Showing off the Xperia Z’s waterproof capabilities in perhaps the most eye-catching way possible, a pink bikini-clad supermodel took the phone into the shower with her and used it in the water. As you can see below, this drew quite the crowd.

That was certainly a brazen way to launch a flagship handset, with the Xperia Z hitting shelves in the nation this week. Less anyone feel left out, a guy also tested the phone out in the shower, with the models taking turns. One thing is certain, those who happened to pass by aren’t going to forget this live product show as fast as they would a 20 second TV commercial.

The Xperia Z is quite a nice handset, which we detailed in a full review that you can check out for yourself here. The handset features a 5-inch full 1920 x 1080p HD display, as well as a quad-core processor, 13.1-megapixel camera, and, of course, a completely waterproof design. It runs Android 4.l Jelly Bean.

[via Android Community]

The price hasn’t been officially specified, however, nor has a release date for when the handset will hit shelves Stateside, with the Xperia Store simply listing it as “coming soon.” For those willing to wait, what they’re get is a high-end Sony flagship handset that offers excellent hardware, a sleek body, and the benefits of not being tied to a carrier.

The Xperia ZL is officially in the phablet category with a 5-inch full high-definition 1080p display. Inside, users will find a Qualcomm quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, as well as 2GB of RAM. There’s a 13.1-megapixel camera around back, and the handset runs Android Jelly Bean. Although the phone doesn’t support Verizon, users can use it with both AT&T and T-Mobile’s 4G LTE networks.

While the Xperia ZL is unlocked, it isn’t a dual-SIM handset. It comes pre-loaded with Google Talk, YouTube, and Facebook. Connectivity includes NFC, Bluetooth, a microUSB port, and wifi. Battery life is excellent, with up to 40 hours of music playback, 500 hours of standby (460 LTE), up to 10 hours of talk time, and up to 5.5 hours of video playback.

[via Android Community]

Sony’s biggest focus is the app community, which it wants to help faciliate in creating apps for Firefox OS, something that will have a large impact on how the platform is received by consumers when launched. Users interested in flashing their Xperia with Firefox OS should head over to the announcement and check out the full guide to get started.

Said Sony Mobile Communication’s Deputy CEO and Head of Products Business Group Bob Ishida: “At Sony Mobile, we continue to evaluate innovative technologies that can help deliver the premium user experiences that Sony’s consumers expect. Our engineers are now working with Firefox OS Mobile and HTML5, evolving technologies which show great potential.”

The experimental Firefox OS was assembled by Sony’s Per Astrand and Andreas Sandblad. Says the announcement, this version of the operating system is not intended to be used as an everyday platform, and has several limitations in place that would impede on its function in daily life. There’s no radio connectivity, meaning calls can’t be made. The SD card is unstable, and the touch sensitivity is not calibrated completely.

[via Sony Mobile]

According to WildTangent, the Sony Xperia X will lead the charge with the Xperia smartphone universe, the team promoting their service with a handful of free WildCoins if they register WildTangent on their Xperia device. WildCoins are used by WildTangent members to rent and purchase games for their device. In addition to being able to rent a game for a limited period of time, users are able to purchase that app outright – and when they do so, any money spent on rental is applied to the purchase automatically.

Many games are are available for free as well, they being subsidized – to so speak – by the advertisements they carry in-game. The titles Great Little War Game and Babel Rising 3D are just two of the next-generation of devices coming on quick, and completely for free. You’ll also find the now-classic Fruit Ninja and ultra-powerful third-person shooter game SHADOWGUN there as well.

Have a peek at the Wild Tangent universe for yourself if you’ve got an Xperia device, and consider having a tap with it even if you don’t – it’s growing more universal by the day! Also be sure to have a look at the rest of our Mobile World Congress 2013 coverage through the MWC 2013 tag portal – more up to the minute news blasts and hands-on action than you can handle!

The service will work similar to third-party phone locating/wiping services that are available for smartphone owners. Users will be able to use it by turning on the service’s app on their phone, then signing in with their Google ID to the my Xperia website. From the account, a user can then see where their smartphone is on a map, such as at the gym where it was forgotten.

If the phone has been forgotten in a location where it isn’t at risk of theft, the user can send an alert to the phone via the service that will cause its display to turn on and it to make noise regardless of its volume status. Likewise, a message can be sent remotely to the phone that has information on how to contact the owner so that it can be returned.

Of course, sometimes you haven’t lost access to your phone because it was misplaced, but rather because someone swiped it while you weren’t paying attention. In this case, my Xperia can be used to wipe both the smartphone’s internal memory and its SD card if one is present, eliminating the risk of the data – whether it is unflattering pictures or sensitive business files – getting into the wrong hands.

Not everyone will be able to take part in the initial launch; those lucky few who can will find out via a notification. The service will first be available to those using handsets running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, with the Xperia Acro S being first in line. More devices will be added “over the coming weeks.”

[via Android Community]

This device would also look to be taking on the 6.1-inch beast known as the Huawei Ascend Mate, a machine we got to see for ourselves at CES 2013. This component photo you’re seeing above comes from the form known as Digi-Wo and also makes it appear as though Sony is going the Motorola DROID RAZR M route with a “near-borderless display”. With such a device the user is meant to feel like they’re holding one massive touchscreen rather than a machine that just so happens to have a display in and on it.

Sony also revealed their new Xperia Tablet Z in the past 24 hours, this device appearing very much to be coming in with many of the same design cues. Have a peek at the rather sharp corners and you’ll see what it’s all about for Sony’s mobile hardware for 2013; no cutting down for this manufacturer! Does it look like they’re on-point to you?

Meanwhile we’re expecting the Sony mobile team to be bringing the heat to Mobile World Congress with a variety of offerings, even if this rather sharp looking component is not included amongst them. Have a peek in the timeline below to get an idea of what Sony’s been showing off in the past few weeks and see if you can get a handle on what’ll be appearing in Barcelona. Follow us soon and very soon in our massive MWC 2013 portal!

[via Engadget]

The reason we’re not exactly 100% solid on the specifications as we’d normally be with a release straight from the manufacturer is the fact that this is a bit of a third-hand sort of situation. While we see Engadget posting it from Blog of Mobile, they in turn are getting it from Sony Mobile‘s Japan-based hub. This means that even though this tablet will be hitting shelves in Japan with these specifications, we’ll likely see more than a couple changes by the time we see it in the USA (or outside the islands, for that matter).

This tablet is set to come in at least two color combination – on the back, anyway – and it’ll be coming with no less than the excellent Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 quad-core SoC clocked in at 1.5GHz. This will be paired with 2GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity (and a wi-fi only edition we must assume) as well as an 8.1-megapixel camera on the back. This back-facing camera works with Exmore R technology and will likely be a star in Sony’s promotion of the unit overall.

The display on this machine is not quite as massively dense with pixels as the Google Nexus 10, but it’s tight nonetheless: 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution working with Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology – we’ll see soon what kind of display it is, be it IPS or AMOLED – with the jumps we’re seeing here over previous model Xperia tablets, there’s no knowing what the Sony team is bringing forth. This tablet also works with NFC, has a microSD card slot for memory expansion, and the whole package is both waterproof and dustproof (though the exact amount of both we’re still waiting on, too).

Inside the machine you’ll find a 6,000mAh battery and the whole unit will be coming in at a super thin 6.9mm and 495g in weight. This machine is a rather large leap forward for Sony from any of their previous tablets – have a peek at our recent review of the Tegra 3-toting Xperia Tablet S to see how far the company has come in a relatively short time. Note the software there too, because we’re quite likely going to be seeing something rather similar soon!

Expect to see this at Mobile World Congress 2013 next month – we’ll be there with bells on!

We’re also hearing that the new tablet from Sony will sport a 10.1-inch screen displaying at 1920×1080 resolution, so we’ll be working with full HD on the Xperia Tablet Z. With a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 pro processor and 2GB of RAM under the hood, the Xperia Tablet Z should be at least relatively speedy. Users will have 32GB of internal storage to take advantage of, and the claim that the Xperia Tablet Z will be waterproof and dustproof is sure to get those who like to spend their time outdoors excited.

The tablet has been tipped to use a beefy 6,000mAh battery, along with a 8.1MP camera around the back and a 2.2MP camera on front. In terms of wireless connectivity, potential users can expect Wi-fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC capabilities. Finally, this latest rumor tells us that the Xperia Tablet Z will be running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and will come ready to take advantage of LTE networks.

Unsurprisingly, Xperia Info also says that the Tablet Z will sport a design similar to that of the Xperia Z smartphone, which seems like a given. Keep in mind that none of these specifications have been confirmed, so it’s possible that we’re all being taken for a ride. Then again, it’s possible that the entire list is correct, so now we wait for Sony to make an official announcement. We’ve been hearing that Sony is aiming to launch the tablet in the second half of 2013, so that announcement we crave might still be a few months out. Stay tuned.

[via Technology Blogs Simplified]

UPDATE: Check our own Xperia Z hands-on from CES 2013 now!

The so-called skeleton frame is composed of individual components, according to Sony, upon which the phone is assembled. In addition, there’s an OptiContrast panel, a 13-megapixel Exmor RS camera, a full HD Reality display, and the ability to both take images and record videos in the HDR mode. Also demonstrated is its water-resistant body, with images showing the handset covered in large droplets of water.

Aside from the new features in the promotional video, we got a nice look at the handset via the Russian website Mobile Review, which claimed to have a copy of the handset, which it reviewed in detail. According to current leaks, the Xperia Z has a 1080p display, a unibody design, a beautiful power button on the side, and glass backing.

The Z is said to run a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU. The 5-inch display has a resolution of 1794 x 1080 with the on-screen buttons. According to leaked images, it is running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. So far, everything we’ve seen points to an exceptional, sleek handset. Sony is rumored to show off the device at CES, and we’ll be sure to keep a lookout for it.

The device we’re speaking of here comes right after the Sony C660X “Yuga” was tipped as being called the Xperia Z in its final form. Now with the ODIN we’ve got a device that’s ready to bring on a 5-inch 1080p display (sensing a trend?) along with a lovely Sony BRAVIA engine inside and a quad-core processor to back it all up. That processor is rumored to be the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core SoC clocked at 1.5GHz – that’s the same one you’ll find in the LG Optimus G and the Google Nexus 4 – powerful stuff!

The Sony Xperia X and Sony Xperia Z are both expected to be appearing at CES 2013 at the earliest or Mobile World Congress 2013 at the latest, hero status in-tow either way. Sony is in a position right this minute where they’re in need of a real win after having had less than great luck with breaking their way into the top tier of the smartphone universe since the birth of Android – with massive beasts like these, they just might do it.

Also of interest for those completists of you out there in the Sony universe is word that the Z and the X will be more or less identical. The big differences between the two are said to be in the internal connectivity components that make them able to work with networks inside or outside the USA. If you’re inside the USA, you’ll likely see the ODIN, aka the X, while Asia will likely be working with the Yuga, also known as the Z.

[via it168]

On November 7, several images said to be the Sony Yuga appeared on the German website Android Schweiz, showing off different angles of the phone’s display and body. Then, on December 18, the Yuga appeared again, this time on the Russian website Mobile Review, which claimed to have a prototype of the handset, which it reviewed in detail.

The latest rumor surfaced over on Xperia Blog via the source UnknownX, who is known to have posted accurate leaks in the past on the XDA forums. According to the source, the Yuga will be officially called the Xperia Z, and will feature a chassis that is both dust and water resistant. The handset’s final size is said to be 139mm x 71mm x 7.9mm.

The handset is said to feature a 5-inch 1080p display at 443ppi, which the source says utilizes OptiContrast technology, something found in both the Xperia V and Xperia Tablet S. The Yuga/Xperia Z is said to feature a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and Adreno 320 GPU, as well as a 12-megapixel camera and Bluetooth 4.0. It runs Android 4.2.

[via Android Community]

Hardware

This machine thrives on the unique nature of its shape – there’s really no other device like it when it comes to it’s back, it having the look of a book folded over. Because of this shape you’ve got a couple of pocket-like crevices where a microphone hole, notification light, power, and volume can sit on one side while a headphone jack and full-sized SD card slot can sit on the other. The folded-over portion of the tablet is a hard plastic with a slight dotted 3D pattern on it while the rest of the back of the device is cold metal.

As a reminder – this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this form factor, but it is the first time we’ve seen this unique device. The Sony Tablet S was released all the way back in 2011 while this new device, the XPERIA Tablet S is on the market now. Have a peek at our Sony Tablet S Review from back in August of 2011 for comparison purposes – that looks RATHER similar to this, but the two are, in fact, different in several ways.

On the bottom of the back of the device you’ve got a Sony proprietary port for power that’s massive enough to work with a Sony-made dock that’ll hold this machine aloft. There’s also a couple of back-facing speakers that are rather healthy in their ability to blast sound, but like all back-facing speakers are not up to the task of facing down into your lap – imagine that!

The back also has a relatively lovely-seeming 8 megapixel camera that’s OK when you’ve got perfect lighting conditions. The camera software inside this machine bring the device’s cameras on front and back up to “fun” levels but do not generate photos that you’ll be wanting to print – social networking grade they are!

This machine also has an IR blaster so you can connect to your television for basic channel changing and volume adjustment with the Remote control app that also comes with the device. With universal remote access you’ll also be able to turn on more than one device at a time, audio systems, DVD players, and TVs included, and not just limited to Sony brands. Sony is making a big push for this device to be the center of your living room and makes it so with not just remote control connectivity, but Sony-branded music and videos available for purchase as well.

Software

You’ve got Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich here on the Tablet S complete with a user interface that adds on a set of buttons and shortcuts on to the basic Google homescreen. On the bottom of the display you’ve got a quick shortcut to the Remote Control which opens as a window that can float above whichever app you’re in at the pressing. The same is true of the shortcuts bar directly to the left of the remote control that’ll lead you to miniature versions of your Web Browser, Calculator, Memo, Sound Recorder, Remote Control (again), and Timer – there’s also a “Clip” shortcut that lets you take screenshots on the fly.

Sony adds a collection of their own apps to this machine that include a Sony vision for the photo album, movies, ereading (with connectivity to the “Reader” collection of books), Walkman (showing your music on the device and Sony-purchased music), Sony Select (shortcut to the website), and Socialife (for social networking). You can also connect to Music Unlimited from Sony, Video Unlimited, and PlayMemories (collecting your photos into digital albums for sharing with the web).

You’ll also be able to switch between users if you’re going to be passing this device around from family member to family member, “Guest Mode” allowing you personalized configurations (before Android 4.2 Jelly Bean gets here with Google’s version of this functionality), including wallpaper, app, and widget differentiation.

You’ve got connectivity to PlayStation Mobile and Xperia link, as well. The promise that you’ll be becoming part of the Sony universe here, including the PlayStation ecosystem, is met about half-way because of the relative lack of big-name game support that Android has seen centralized in the PlayStation brand. This means that while there have been some big releases from developers that’ve made their name on PlayStation in the past on Android today, they’ve done these releases in a wide way – not just limited to the Sony universe. You can get Grand Theft Auto’s two first biggest open-world hits on the Google Play app store right now no matter what device you’ve got, Sony or no.

If you’re part of the Sony universe already – that is if you’re paying for Music Unlimited and Movies Unlimited and also have a PlayStation and want to make the most of it all with a tablet form-factor, by all means, purchase the Sony Tablet S. There are some Sony televisions that even connect with this tablet to bring you detailed information on media you’re watching on the big screen – if you’ve got that hardware, this may very well be the device you need to bring your experience up to the next level.

Above you’ll see some standard benchmark results as well as an astounding battery readout. As with all of the devices on the market with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside, this device has fantastic standby-time as it utilizes NVIDIA’s 4-PLUS-1 technology – in this case that means that the “ninja” core (there’s 5 cores inside the processor in this device, not just 4) works for low-power tasks and makes the time the display is off a time that the device isn’t hounding power – as it should be!

Wrap-up

If you’re looking for a great stand-alone Android tablet, this isn’t it – it wasn’t made to be the one perfect stand-alone tablet and it doesn’t pretend to be that piece of equipment. Instead you’ve got the best Sony has to offer in a tablet form-factor, and with a quad-core processor from NVIDIA to back it up, it’s perfectly capable as a Sony companion for the rest of your Sony devices.

In case you need a refresher course on the features of the new handset, it packs a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, and a 13MP rear-facing camera with a front-facing camera capable of shooting 720p video. It also has NFC built in, and is covered with a 4.6-inch 720p display powered by the company’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine.

The device’s camera comes with a quick launch feature, where it can go from sleep mode to taking the first picture in just 1.5 seconds, according to Sony. We’d want to test this out for ourselves, but it doesn’t sound like a surprising figure at all. We’re sure other handsets could easily match that speed.

The Ice Cream Sandwich-equipped device is the company’s new flagship handset and will also be featured in the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall as “the official Bond phone,” meaning the Xperia TL will be the phone of choice for 007 himself in the upcoming film. The Xperia TL will also come loaded with behind-the-scenes footage from Skyfall, as well as Bond-themed ringtones and wallpapers.

Here with this Sony device we’re seeing a complete lack of “Xperia” brand naming and some form shaping unlike anything Sony has delivered before. You can see some styling choices that certainly ring a Sony bell, enough to make us think it’s possible, but the family resemblance with the Galaxy Nexus makes one believe this might be a hybrid. This device has some metal (or plastic that’s made to look metal) on the bottom back, soft plastic up top, and a single LED flash near a large-lensed back-facing camera.

NOTE: If you weren’t already, take an extra grain of salt with this supposed leak. It’s more important at the moment to think about the implications of such a phone rather than assuming this one is real – but keep in mind that it COULD be real, too. You never know until you know!

There’s a single microUSB port on the left of the device along with three pogo-pins for wireless docking. It appears that this device will be released with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or greater, such is the color scheme in the user interface. The front of the device also has a right-side front-facing camera and two sensors as well. You’ll also notice a lack of any off-screen buttons, the home set of three being rather Nexus-friendly right along the bottom inside the display.

This device, if it is indeed real, could be released at the same time as the LG Nexus 4 (or Nexus G), with more than one manufacturer bringing the heat at the same time to show Google’s power. This is the new vision for Google, a re-imagining of their original Android mission to release a single phone that would be out on every single carrier at once. Will Sony be able to do justice to the next version of Android in a vanilla iteration? We shall see!

[via Xperia Blog]

There are a couple caveats that you should be aware of, though. First, the service only works on “PlayStation Certified” devices, which means the Vita, obviously, but also only a handful of newer Android devices from Sony and HTC. The list consists of the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia S, Xperia Ion, Xperia Acro, Xperia Acro HD, Sony Tablet S, Tablet P, the HTC One X, One X+, One S, and One V.

Second, PlayStation Mobile only works on up to three devices. This isn’t too much of a problem, since most users wouldn’t own more than a Vita, smartphone, and tablet at once, but for a service where its main selling point is playing games on multiple devices, you’d think they would allow unlimited devices or at least more than three.

Once you purchase games, and have PlayStation Mobile installed on three of your devices, you’re pretty much good to go. The games take advantage of both the Vita’s touchscreen and gaming controls, as well as the on-screen virtual DualShock controller for the Android devices. Right now, there are only 20 games to choose from, but we’re guessing that number will grow over time.

[via Android Community]

Now obviously Sony has tons of products on display for IFA 2012, so we’re just going to round up and mention a few of the important product launches that stood out the most this morning. That all starts with their new 84″ 4K Bavia HDTV. Yup they just launched their first 4K TV and it comes in at a massively impressive 84″ with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160. It upscales everything into 4K and even has some passive 3D features for that crowd too. It’ll be expensive and hit stores sometime early September. Who’s buying?

Next up we wanted to talk mobile considering Sony’s been slowly but surely getting more popular in the smartphone market. Today Sony rebranded their tablet line into the XPERIA name and launched a new and improved Sony Xperia Tablet S. It rocks a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich all for $399. Next up was smartphone and Sony had a new range of three smartphones. The top-tier Xperia T, then they also launched an Xperia V and a budget friendly J.

That was then followed by a brand new Microsoft Surface competitor with their new Windows 8 convertible PC called the Sony VAIO Duo 11 tablet. The picture above should explain plenty otherwise hit the link for Sony’s take on a Surface-like Windows 8 tablet PC. It rocks a Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and up to 256GB SSD options. Not bad right?

Then to round off a few more interesting aspects of Sony’s day we have a personalized 3D headset called the Sony HMZ-T2 Personal 3D viewer. This unit is designed to give users a personal, private, and unique perspective of 3D content and looks rather interesting. We’ll be hearing more on that soon I’m sure. Lastly they showed off a few NFC-capable Bluetooth wireless speaker systems that will work with the above Xperia tablet and smartphones. Simply tap the device to the speaker and NFC will enable music playback and start right off from your last played favorite track. This is music enjoyment in its simplest form. Last but not least they announced a micro action cam to take on the GoPro called the Sony Action Cam.

We will have plenty more coverage from Sony, and everything else at this years IFA 2012 event so stay tuned and don’t forget to stop by our IFA 2012 Hub.

With a feature part – read: product placement – in the new James Bond movie Skyfall, the Sony Mobile Communications group showed off the Xperia T, a device that’s got an HD display, a massively powerful camera, and NFC-powered “One-touch” functionality. Sony also showed off the Xperia J, a smartphone with a “stand-out screen size” that’s set to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012. There’s also an Xperia V smartphone that was showed on-screen at the IFA keynote for Sony that has not been detailed in full.

The Xperia T and J work with “design language” introduced with the Xperia arc and Xperia arc S released last year. These devices come with a brand new application called WALKMAN. This application of course uses the still-popular brand name that’s represented mobile music for decades and is ready to bring high-quality sound here in app form. This WALKMAN app is also able to work with Sony’s “recommended sound” with “ultimate clarity and presence across the entire spectrum of sound” with a simple activation of Sony’s ClearAudio+ mode.

Each of the new Xperia smartphones get a free 60 day trial of the cloud-based music network Music Unlimited. The T also gets Sony’s implementation of NFC and “One-touch” functions. With One-touch, these devices will be able to share content with a tap to 3rd party devices made to connect with them wirelessly. This includes the new Sony SRS-BTV5 NFC enabled speaker which will play your music with a simple tap connection.

NOTE: to clarify – the Xperia J does NOT have NFC – the T and the V on the other hand, DO have NFC.

The Xperia T has a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine for “razor sharp clarity”. This device has a 13 megapixel camera, 1080p HD video recording on the back, and 720p HD video on the front. This device is PlayStation certified for gaming excellence and has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor under the hood. You’ll be working with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and Sony has made it clear that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is on the way. This device will also be known as the Xperia XT in some markets.

The Xperia J is bringing on a lovely 4-inch display with FWVGA (480 x 854 pixels) on a chassis that’s just 9.2mm slim. This device works with illumination for social media updates and has a 5 megapixel camera on the back. This device also has a front-facing camera for video chat and will be appearing on the market in Black, Gold, White, and Pink. The Xperia T will also have several color choices: black, silver, and white.

This device is set to bring a slimmed down design to the market with a casing that’s between 35 and .47 inches thick and it’s much lighter than the previous model at just 1.26 pounds. This device has a massive 6,000mAh battery and is made to work with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The tablet is slated to move forward to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean soon, as well.

This device comes with the Watch Now app for live TV viewing, they’ve got a Guest Mode for working with multiple users on one device, and the whole thing works with Sony’s Music and Video Unlimited as well. The tablet comes with 5GB of space with Sony’s new cloud storage service PlayMemories, and is ready to rock in early September.

So early, in fact, that you’ll be able to get this device on September 7th, with pre-orders starting today. Prices will be $400 for the 16GB model, 32GB for $500 and the 64GB for $600. This device also has several accessories coming too, with a charging cradle, stand, dock speaker, and carrying case set up right out of the gate.

XPERIA T is a smartphone that brings a 4.6 inch display connected to a 16 megapixel camera with an instant sleep to snap functionality. This device is connected to a one-touch function that works with NFC to enable connections in a moment. This device will also be working with Music Unlimited with a 60 day free trial. This device will also be coming with a new service called “Access” with Music Unlimited for your music anywhere.

The Sony XPERIA V and J will be popping up with slightly less-fabulous specifications at smaller prices later this year as well. And the best item of all: entertainment inclusion. The brand new action movie Skyfall will be popping up – James Bond, specifically – with the Sony XPERIA T in his hand. Have a peek at our Sony portal and check out the rest of our IFA 2012 action all week.

The folks at Huawei are getting set up to offer a wider range of storage products for the near future. It’s seeming more and more likely that Steve Ballmer will be revealing the details of Office 15 later today. Have a peek at the Gauntlet keyboard-glove that’ll be perfect for your Google Glass early next year.

You can now order Raspberry Pi in general, pre-orders having been shipped and the online store ready for action. There’s a bit of talk surrounding iPad challengers this morning, starting with a new 10-inch Kindle Fire. Those of you that own the HTC Desire HD, you might be out of luck as far as Ice Cream Sandwich goes.

The folks at Activision and Marvel Comics have finally made way for a Deadpool-centric game that’ll be released later this year. The relationship between Anonymous and WikiLeaks has beed detailed in part. It appears that SpaceX is ready to complete its Dragon design review – kids in space next year!

Al Capone’s 1928 Caddilac will be heading to auction very soon. The New York Times has reported that they’ve got sources confirming the iPad Mini. Google’s Project Glass has had its Artificial intelligence and controls detailed in full in a patent application. Microsoft has sold its share of MSNBC.com in its entirety to Comcast.

The Nokia Lumia 900 has had its AT&T price cut in half, and we can expect Apple’s OS X Mountain Lion to launch on the 25th of July.

There’s also a 12-megapixel camera with Full HD video recording support, and Sony has slotted in some of its mainstream camera expertise for things like super-fast app loading and the ability to fire off shots with less than a second in-between. Connectivity includes HDMI and USB, along with NFC, WiFi and Bluetooth.

UPDATE: Sony and AT&T have sent the following update on the pricing and availability of the Xperia ion:

The new Xperia™ ion builds on Sony’s reputation as an innovator and leader in imaging and entertainment and costs just $99.99 with a two-year agreement. Entertainment fans longing for a better mobile HD experience will soon have an all-new 4G LTE Android smartphone to covet as the Xperia™ ion hits stores in the coming days.

Sony Xperia ion hands-on:

There’s also 4G LTE for AT&T’s network, of course, and Sony’s own Xperia UI modifications. An upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is in the pipeline, though no date for its release has been confirmed.

We’ve more on the Xperia ion in our hands-on from CES (and in the video above). The question will be whether AT&T’s competitive sub-$100 price is enough to sway buyers to Sony and away from the Galaxy S III.

According to Xperia Blog, 2,102 people have already clicked the button, moving the announcement forward by 11 hours and 42 minutes. Currently the countdown is set to expire in ten days, but can be further moved forward if more people click on the Fast Forward button.

Sony is also running a promotion that will see users winning one of the of the handsets when it’s officially announced. In order to enter for that, you’ll have to click a few more things and provide an email address. If you’re just dying to know what Sony has in store for us all, head on over to the Facebook page and get clicking to inch the clock forward.

[via Xperia Blog]

Hardware

The Xperia U is identical in design to the Xperia P and Xperia S, and it would be accurate to say that the U is essentially a mini version of the S. The soft touch plastic makes a return here, unlike the aluminum Xperia P, as does the monolithic chassis with a strange mix of curves and sharp angles. It’s an intriguing design, and the clear strip at the bottom device, which houses the antenna, certainly helps it to stand out. The strip also lights for certain notifications and alerts, and can be changed to display different colors depending on your mood.

The 3.5-inch body fits snugly into your hand, although the front angles of the screen might dig into the palm depending on your particular grip. The soft touch plastic feels nice too: granted, it doesn’t feel as good as an aluminum or glass construction, but it’s much better than the glossy plastic that plague a lot of phones at this end of the market. It’s thicker than rivals at 12mm, but the curve of the back gives the illusion of a thinner device, and it really isn’t an issue in day to day use.

Spec wise, this phone doesn’t slouch. Sony is using a custom NovaThor dual-core 1Ghz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a five megapixel camera. The good news: the processor is responsive and snappy enough, but you might notice some minor stuttering on graphical transitions and webpages occasionally. It’s not as fast as a Snapdragon S3 chip, for example, but it’s better than the single-core chips you’d typically see at this price range.

The bad news: that 4GB of storage is all you’re going to get. Sony has made a curious decision not to include a microSD card slot, so you’re either going to have to rely on cloud services to store all your content, or buy a USB On The Go adapter and carry a FAT32 USB stick. We tested USB OTG functionality on the Xperia U just to make sure, and everything worked fine. We really have to question Sony’s move on this one though. Even dirt cheap Android phones include a microSD card slot, so would it really have been so much trouble to include one here when there’s only 4GB of storage to play with?

What about that 854×480 3.5-inch display? Well, it’s a mixed bag. Pixel density is good, but the quality of the panel isn’t. Viewing angles are decent, but colors quickly fade as you angle the phone. Moreover, there’s a strange graininess to the panel that can be noticed on lighter backgrounds as you move a little closer. Head-on you won’t see any issues, but holding the phone at a slight angle reveals the disconcerting effect.

Even worse, there’s no oleophobic coating on the screen: it picks up grease, smudges, and fingerprints very quickly, and requires a thorough wipedown with a proper cloth to keep it clean instead of a quick wipe down on jeans or a shirt. By far the most irritating issue, however, is the visible digitizer grid that’s prominent on white backgrounds and webpages. As you angle the phone, you’ll be able to see the crosses in all their glory. We were surprised at just how noticeable it was, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any phone display them so clearly.

In terms of ports, you’ll find the standard fare: microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack, power button, volume rocker, and dedicated camera key. The power and volume keys are easy to press, although we would have preferred to see the power key at the top of the device rather than the right side. The camera key, however, is a little strange: it’s a two-stage button, but it’s somewhat tricky to operate. The initial focusing stage is very light and clicky, almost to a fault, but pressing the button all the way down takes a little too much effort and may result in blurred pictures.

Pop the back of the phone off and you’re greeting with a removable 1,290mAh battery and SIM card slot that’s housed on the side rather than lurking beneath the power source. If you think you’ll be able to swap it easily, no dice: the phone automatically restarts once you pop a new one in. The slot has a push-push mechanism similar to a microSD card slot, so it springs firmly into place.

Software

The fact that Sony is still shipping Gingerbread on its newest handsets is particularly groan worthy, and while the company has promised updates to Ice Cream Sandwich, we remain skeptical until they start delivering them to the NXT line. The U is no exception, running Android 2.3 with the same modifications Sony has made to its other smartphones. Everything you would expect from Android is present – Gmail, Maps, etc – but Sony has bundled a bit of bloatware with the device and some pre-installed applications.

We don’t mind seeing apps like Astro file manager and WhatsApp making the grade, but the inclusion of McAfee Security, Wisepilot and OfficeSuite really isn’t necessary. Luckily you can uninstall the apps to save precious space. Otherwise Sony has included some of its own offerings, including Music and Video Unlimited, offering content via subscription for Sony devices, and Media Remote allows you to control a Sony Bravia TV over WiFi using the phone. TrackID works in a similar fashion to Shazam, identifying the track and artist of a song as the app listens in, and PlayNow is Sony’s own app store filled with games, apps, and music.

We were wary of the software keyboard on the Xperia U, but it’s actually pretty capable. The default setting which has haptic feedback enabled does cause it to lag on occasion, a common occurrence on Android phones, but turning that off means things move swiftly around. Some might have trouble getting to grips with it due to the smaller screen, but this reviewer didn’t have too much trouble. The stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard is still better, but Sony’s attempt isn’t bad at all.

Performance of the handset overall is good. The dual-core chip seems to keep things moving along nicely, with only very minor stutters on graphical transitions and menus occasionally. The browser is also relatively snappy, although the device will struggle with heavier webpages, doubly so for those with Flash content. Turning Flash off or setting it to on-demand helps a lot.

The Xperia U generally performed well in benchmarks too: Sunspider 0.9.1 gave a score of 2526ms, Quadrant came in at 2204, and AnTuTu had a healthy 5359 result. That puts it ahead of many single-core budget phones on the market, and generally sits around Tegra 2 in terms of performance.

Camera

There’s nothing particularly exciting about the Xperia U’s camera, packing a five megapixel sensor and 720p video recording. Shots are decent, but vary considerably depending on shooting conditions. Colors are slightly oversaturated, and washed out in low-light scenarios, but on a sunny day in London detail was good on close and far away subjects. There is some minor noise reduction going on, however, which ramps up dramatically as you enter low-light areas. We would have preferred that Sony reign that in a little, but it’s not the worst we’ve ever seen.

Taking photos is a little tricky: as mentioned above, the two-stage shutter button is somewhat finnicky, and several blurred photos were taken as we tried to get the hang of it. There’s always the option of taking photos using the on-screen button, but there’s no touch-to-focus: the camera focuses on a subject and snaps the photo at the same time. If you want to prep your shot first, you’ll have to make do with the awkward button instead.

The 720p video is, in a word, terrible. This is probably some of the worst compression we’ve seen from a smartphone camera, with videos plagued with macroblocking and massive edge enhancement. The jelly effect is present and accounted for too, so cars and fast pans will fill the video with distortion. You need to be careful with your finger placement as well, otherwise you’ll cover the microphone on the bottom of the phone and muffle the audio. Typically smartphones are fine for quick videos, but we wouldn’t ever use the recording mode on this phone. It really is that bad.

Phone and Battery

We tested a few calls around London with the Xperia U and had no problems at all. The earpiece could do to be a little bit louder, but otherwise callers were clear and understandable, and we didn’t have any dropped calls. Data speed were fine: on Three’s network we saw an average of 3Mbit/s download speeds and 1-2Mbit/s upload speeds, but that varied depending on the area of London.

Battery life was pretty good overall. On a video rundown test, which puts the screen brightness at 100%, volume using headphones at 50%, and WiFi/3G left on, we saw a 720p H.264 video on loop drain the battery in 4 hours and 37 minutes. With regular usage as a daily driver, the phone can easily get through a full day, and with light usage would manage around two without issue. The processor seems to be quite conservative, as there was minimal battery drain on standby even with push email and WhatsApp updates in the background.

Wrap-Up

The Xperia U is decent, but we can’t look past the two glaring issues. The first is the screen: maybe we’re nitpicking, but we wouldn’t be able to live with it for an extended period of time without becoming extremely irritated. Secondly, the omission of a microSD card slot, especially with the limited internal storage space, is a crying shame. Everyone may be quick to promote the cloud for content storage, but high-speed internet isn’t as ubiquitous as some may think.

What saves the phone is the price: there’s really not much else out there at this price bracket that combines the specs with overall performance. Three is offering the Xperia U on Pay As You Go for £180, with phones such as the Lumia 710 coming in roughly the same at £170 on O2, while the HTC One V commands a premium at around £230, also on Three. The only other option is to look at the second-hand market and see what dual-core phones are on offer.

It really comes down to how much you’re willing to spend and what you’re willing to sacrifice. If the screen doesn’t bother you (try and find a demo unit to see for yourself before committing), and you can live with 4GB of storage, then the Xperia U is a solid choice. The HTC One V is arguably a better choice overall, but there’s no denying the sometimes sluggish performance and higher price of that handset.

It also gets 16GB of internal storage and has a slick curve to the casing, reminiscent of the Xperia arc. Sony will offer it in white and black, both getting the customized UI the company is so fond of and loading it with a new super-speed Album app for faster photo access even with high-res pictures.

As for the Sony Xperia SX, that’s apparently the world’s lightest LTE smartphone at just 95g, but packs a 3.7-inch Mobile BRAVIA display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 8GB of internal storage. It has an 8-megapixel camera and various Japan-only features, like an infrared port and mobile TV. It, too, will be available in black and white.

Each has HDMI connectivity and DLNA streaming, and the LTE – with the right network – is capable of up to 75Mbps downloads. No word on pricing, but they’ll arrive in Japan this summer.

Also inside this device is an 800Mhz Qualcomm chip, single core, and 512MB of RAM. You’ve got a 640 x 480 pixel resolution display, Xperia user interface over Android 4.0, and the full suite of Sony Android apps right out of the box. This device is likely to be released off-contract primarily like a lot of Sony phones are, and you can expect it sometime later this summer worldwide.

Have a peek at our archive of Sony Xperia content including the most recent news coming from the mobile camp at Sony in the timeline below. With all the top-level smartphones popping up on the market recently and over the past year, this device seems positively tame. Could it be that Sony is attacking the low-level market with a vengeance? Will this phone be offered for free on-contract, and take the market with that tactic? We’ll see relatively soon!

Well, depending on the phone, anyway. Sony says on its blog that the first handsets to receive ICS in April will be the Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray. The rollout will continue over four to six weeks. Unfortunately, there’s a longer wait for other handsets. The Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia mini, Xperia mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman won’t be seeing a tasty Ice Cream Sandwich treat until the end of May or beginning of June.

Sony also won’t be offering the update over 3G or WiFi: because it’s such a substantial upgrade, users will only be able to update using the PC Companion or Bridge for Mac. The phone that we’re most interested in receiving ICS, the Xperia S, didn’t get a narrower release date, instead still being saddled with an oh-so-vague “later part of the second quarter” timeline.

Even when the updates begin rolling out, they’ll most likely be for SIM free phones at first. Carriers need to spend time combing over software upgrades to make sure everything is kosher, so you may be looking at an additional delay there too.

[via MobileSyrup]

Featured: So, in case you hadn’t heard the news, HP is tying its printer and PC units together. What does this mean for the company? We’ve written a column on that subject – Dead trees and PCs: HP’s innovation challenge. Another entry in our featured articles department looks at one of Samsung’s latest and great Android devices. It’s our Samsun Galaxy S Blaze 4G review.

Xperia, Galaxy S, and BBM: In other mobile news today, the Sony Xperia S phone is now shipping worldwide. There’s another phone coming out soon, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and we have some new leaked press shots of that one. And in Blackberry news, the new Curve 9320 has a dedicated BBM button. Not that that will make anyone go back to Blackberry, but whatever.

Today Sony announced the Xperia neo L MT25i for the Chinese market. Designed to be a successor to the neo and neo V, the specs certainly won’t wow you, as it looks to be intended for the budget market. Specs are said to include a 4-inch 854×480 display, a 1Ghz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a five megapixel camera with 720p video recording.

You’ll also find a front facing VGA camera on the front of the device. 1GB of storage is onboard, although there’s a microSD card slot so you can expand that up to 32GB. The battery comes in at 1,500mAh, and the phone is 12.2mm thick.

The whole thing will be running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich when it eventually does ship. Right now it seems that this handset is destined for the Chinese market, although it’s not outside the realms of possibility that we’ll see it elsewhere worldwide. No pricing or availability just yet.

[via Unwired View]

Of course, at the time, it was referred to as a Windows Phone-powered Sony Ericsson phone, but now that Sony has bought out Ericsson’s share in the mobile joint venture, Sony may be interested in taking the division into new directions. Android has, of course, been the saving grace for the company. Prior to adopting Android, Sony Ericsson was struggling and consistently posted quarterly net losses. When it switched to Android, it said that move would be exclusive.

Of course, all bets are off now that it’s just Sony. We’ve also heard rumors that Sony might be working on its own proprietary mobile phone operating system based on the recently launched PlayStation Vita firmware. So there’s a good chance Sony is at least thinking of putting its hand in a non-Android cookie jar. Hopefully we’ll see if this rumor comes to fruition next week.

[via Know Your Mobile]

Sony decided to buy out its long-time mobile partner Ericsson so it could focus on creating a more unified vision for its mobile unit. In a world where consumers are increasingly connecting all their consumer electronics together, Sony wants to have complete control over how smartphones and tablets play into its equation. The company now refers to its cell phone division as Sony Mobile Communications.

And that division is holding a press conference at this month’s big mobile trade show, though we don’t know anything beyond that. As far as the Xperia brand goes, it has been hit or miss in the US. The Xperia Play, a PlayStation-certified phone, was a real dud, while others like the Xperia Arc received solid reviews. It’ll be interesting to see how Sony progresses in the market without Ericsson breathing down their back.

[via Unwired View]

The price you’re seeing here comes from Negri Electronics, a store which your humble narrator has never before dropped cash on so cannot vouch for personally, but the price is telling. Inside this device you’re going to get a smashingly sized 4.55-inch HD display, a fabulous dual-core processor from Qualcomm, and a gigantic camera on the back. The camera is set at a whopping 12 megapixels strong and works with an Exmor R sensor while the processor is a dual-core Snapdragon clocked at 1.5GHz.

We’ve got our very own hands-on with this device if you’d like to take a look. Notice the 720p display, the ability to go from asleep to taking a photo in under 1.5 seconds, and the excellence of having a microHDMI port right beside your main microUSB port. There’s also a dock in there too that you’ll probably want to pick up for this device specifically, it having a couple of USB ports, microHDMI, and microUSB to get you rolling on your HDTV. Xperia on the way!

[via PocketNow]

Launch dates are included as well, for those of you awaiting Sony’s oncoming storm of handhelds, and April is the next jump-off point. Inside April you’ll find three devices, the ST251 Kumquat_I, the LT221 Nypon_I, and the MT271 Pepper_I, each of these priced right around $400, so we must assume they’re mid-range based on the price scale Sony Ericsson has already set forth with their off-contract devices here in the United States and abroad. In June we’ve got a super cute Olive_I for right around that same price range, then in July there’s a tag-team of high and low-end devices, Hayabusa and Tapioca.

August has two low-end devices, the Tapioca_DS and the Lotus, while September has three devices, the Mint_I being the hero for the fall while the Atlas_I and the AFFM will be a couple more low-end devices again. The Nypon and the Kumquat are ones to watch, each of them tied previously to the not-oft-spoken-about NovaThor U8500-based chipset. Exciting!

[via GSMArena]