Sony announces the Xperia Z1, packs a 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera with G Lens

Following a series of leaks and rumors, Sony has officially unveiled the Xperia Z1, previously known as ‘Honami’.

An upgrade to Xperia Z?

The Sony Xperia Z1 looks to be an upgrade to the Xperia Z, though we don’t really know for sure if the Z1 will replace it. The Xperia Z1 packs the same 5-inch TFT LCD Triluminos display with full HD 1080p resolution, a monstrous 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera with G Lens and the BIONZ image processor, a bumped up 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, and a large 3,000mAh battery.

As with all other Sony Xperia phones, the Xperia Z1 is an IP58 certified device which means it is protected from dust ingress and can be submerged under 1.5 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

Sony Xperia Z1 Specifications and Features
5-inch TFT LCD Triluminos display with full HD (1920x1080) resolution
2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor
Adreno 330 GPU
2GB RAM
20.7 megapixel camera with Exmor RS sensor
16GB internal storage with microSD card slot (up to 64GB)
LTE Category 4 up to 150Mbps
3,000mAh battery
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS

The Sony Xperia Z1 will be released in the market sometime in October. It will be available in Black, White, and Purple.

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Sony Xperia Z for Globe exclusively available on Allphones on Plan 1,799

Phone retailer Allphones just announced that they will be carrying the Sony Xperia Z for Globe Postpaid and that it will be available exclusively on their stores.

The Sony Xperia Z will be offered by Allphones on Globe Postpaid Plan 1,799 with a cash-out of P8,079. They Xperia Z will be exclusive to Allphones and will not be available on Globe Stores.

Allphones is a new phone retailer in the country, which only started their operations in April. They are originally based in Australia, but have since expanded here in the Philippines. They have retail stores at SM Marikina, SM Cubao, and Starmall EDSA-Shaw.

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Sony announces the Xperia SP, comes with HD screen, LTE, and Jelly Bean

A few days ago, Sony Mobile announced the Sony Xperia SP, which seems to be an upper mid-range smartphone with a not-so-high price point.

Design-wise, the Sony Xperia SP has quite the same premium looks as its bigger brothers, the Xperia Z and ZL. It’s made of precision-crafted aluminum, and boasts of the translucent bar (first seen on the Xperia S) at the bottom which can emit different colors for different notifications.

The Xperia SP sports a 4.6-inch LCD display with HD 720p resolution, a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 Megapixels camera with Sony’s Exmor RS sensor, 8GB of storage, and packs LTE connectivity. It will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Sony Xperia SP Specifications and Features
4.6-inch HD TFT LCD display with 1280x720 resolution at 319 ppi
1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor
Adreno 320 GPU
1GB RAM
8 Megapixels Exmor RS autofocus camera with LED flash
VGA front-facing camera
Full 1080p HD video capture at 30fps
8GB mass memory, expandable by 32GB using microSD card slot
GSM / HSPA+ / LTE
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
NFC
Gyroscope
Compass
Accelerometer
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS

The Sony Xperia SP will hit global markets this coming Q2 and will have a price of around 399 Euro or more or less P21,000.

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Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL becomes official

Sony Mobile finally unveiled their flagship smartphone for 2013, or the first half I think, the Xperia Z. The Xperia Z is a splendid smartphone by Sony, with it’s body beautifully sandwiched by two slabs of glass on the front and back. A 5-inch 1080p full HD screen makes this thing imaginably large by the number. Its display is packed with 443 pixels per inch, so we expect things on it to look really crisp.

The camera of the Xperia Z is a 13 Megapixels one with their new Exmor RS™ sensor which Sony say should allow for clear and quality photos under low-light conditions. It can also capture HDR video.

It is also IP55 and IP57-certified which means it can resist dust and water. Sony equipped the Xperia Z with the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor and coupled it with 2GB of RAM. As for the battery life, they added a new feature called Battery Stamina which, when activated, will improve standby times by up to 4 times.

It also supports LTE, particularly the bands 1, 3, and 5 which local carriers use.

Sony Xperia Z Specifications and Features
5-inch TFT HD Reality display with 1920x1080 full HD resolution
Sony Mobile Bravia Engine 2
13 Megapixels autofocus camera with LED flash, Exmor RS sensor
2.1 megapixel front camera
1080p video recording
16GB internal memory, expandable up to 32GB using microSD card
2 GB RAM
1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core CPU
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G/HSPA+ (850, 900, 2100 MHz)
LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)
2,330mAh battery capacity
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS (upgrade to 4.2 after release)

The Sony Xperia Z will be released this Q1 2013 globally. They will also release a slightly different variant of it, the Xperia ZL in some countries that will not get the Xperia Z. The Xperia ZL offers a smaller form-factor and design but still retains the same specs.

The Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL will launch on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and will be upgraded to 4.2 shortly after launch.

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Sony’s full HD flagship, the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL shows its glory in a leaked press shot (update)

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 is only just one more week away from now. As it has always been, the leaks are now starting to, well, leak out.

One of the anticipated devices to be unveiled is Sony Mobile’s flagship for this year, which is said to pack a full HD 1080p screen, is the Xperia Z. It will join the likes of the HTC Droid DNA in the elusive 1080p club.

The other details that are available for now include Android Jelly Bean as it’s OS, a quad-core processor, and a 13 Megapixels camera. The remaining specs of the device remain unknown. But guess what? We’re only 7 days away from it’s official unveiling. So stay tuned!

UPDATE: Engadget has published a fresh pair of press shots for the Xperia Z and its twin, the Xperia ZL. The latter one is quite a looker due to the thinner bezel at the top and bottom.

Source: UnwiredView

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update for Sony Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray, and Xperia Neo V Now Available in the Philippines

Heads-up Sony Mobile owners in the Philippines! The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is now available for your devices. My cousin just tipped me that she has just updated her Xperia Arc S to ICS last Tuesday.

I was not able to get more info about the update from her but she said her Arc S got a little bit faster, perhaps due to the more optimized OS.

Some new features and changes with the update:
-Smart lockscreen
-Smart dialer
-New widgets
-Face unlock (front-facing camera required)
-New and improved multitasking UI
-Data usage tracker
-New Performance Assistant app

The update bumps your Xperia's Android version to 4.0.3.

You may not get the update by connecting your phone to your PC and using Sony's PC Companion software for Windows or Bridge for Mac.

Thanks Kate!

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Sony Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray, and Xperia Neo V Officially Receives Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update

Sony Mobile just confirmed that the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update is now starting to roll-out to it's 2011 smartphone line - the Sony Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray, and Xperia Neo V.

The update is now initially available on the European countries of Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Norway.

You can check if the update is now available for your Xperia device by looking up for it's Sales Item (SI) number here. You can check your SI number by removing the battery of your device and looking at the label just below the 'Sony Ericsson' text. Alternatively, you can dial *#*#7378423#*#* and tap Service info > Software info and look for the Customization Version.

You can update by using the PC Companion software available for Mac OS and Windows. There will be no OTA update that will be released.

ICS update for other markets will follow in the next 4-6 weeks.

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Sony Mobile Prices the Xperia Sola at P16,990; Xperia P at P22,990! Coming Soon in the Philippines

Sony Mobile Communications is also about to release the newly announced Xperia Sola, the phone with a magical screen technology called Floating Touch™.

Sony Xperia Sola MT27i Specifications and Features
3.7-inch TFT LCD screen display with 854x480 screen resolution @ 265 ppi with Bravia Mobile Engine, scratch resistant screen
5 Megapixels main camera with LED flash with up to 16x digital zoom
720p HD video recording @ 30 fps
8 GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB using microSD
512 MB of RAM
1,320 mAh battery capacity
GSM
3G / HSPA up to 14.4 Mbps
Bluetooth
1 GHz ST-Ericsson U8500 dual-core processor
Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS (upgrade to ICS planned in Q2 2012)

The Sony Xperia Sola will be available on mid-May, and will come with 2 NFC Smart Tags, screen protector, a set of earphones and the other usual stuff in the box. The SRP will be P16,990. Watch the video below to get a glimpse of the Floating Touch™.

Another member of Xperia NXT series is the mid-range Sony Xperia P.

Sony Xperia P LT22i Specifications and Features
4-inch TFT LCD screen display with 960x540 (qHD) screen resolution @ 275 ppi with Bravia Mobile Engine, scratch resistant screen
8 Megapixels main camera with LED flash with up to 16x digital zoom, VGA front-facing camera
Sony Exmor™ R CMOS sensor
1080p Full HD video recording @ 30 fps
16 GB internal memory
1 GB of RAM
1,305 mAh battery capacity
GSM
3G / HSPA up to 14.4 Mbps
Bluetooth
1 GHz NovaThor™ U8500 dual-core processor
Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS (upgrade to ICS planned in Q2 2012)


The package contents of the Xperia P will be somewhat similar to that of the Xperia Sola. It will be also available starting mid-May. The SRP is P22,990. That's a pretty good price considering it's specs.

Now that the four new Xperia phones are about to land here, which one are you considering to buy?

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SMART To Bring HTC One X, Sony Xperia S, and Nokia Lumia 900 This Summer

Smart Communications Senior Marketing Manager, Louie Ang, said in a tweet that the company is set to offer the three 'heavyweights' of 2012 - the quad-core HTC One X, the 12 Megapixels Sony Xperia S, and the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone in the Philippines.

I think Smart will bundle those phones with their affordable data plans, just like what they do with other smartphones. My guess is that the HTC One X and Sony Xperia S will be free at Data Plan 3000, while the Nokia Lumia 900 will be free at Data Plan 2000.

Let's just wait and see...

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Sony Mobile Philippines Announces Pricing Details for Xperia S and Xperia U

Sony Mobile Communications has finally announced the pricing and release date details for it's two new Xperia NXT series phones.

Sony Xperia S Specifications and Features
4.3-inch TFT LCD screen display with 1280x720 (HD) screen resolution @ 341 ppi with Bravia Mobile Engine, scratch resistant screen
12.1 Megapixels main camera with LED flash with up to 16x digital zoom and f/2.4 Aperture
Sony Exmor™ R for CMOS sensor
1080p Full HD video recording @ 30 fps
32 GB flash memory
1 GB of RAM
1,750 mAh battery capacity
GSM
3G / HSPA up to 14.4 Mbps
Bluetooth
1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 dual-core processor
Adreno 220 GPU
Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS (upgrade to ICS available in Q2 2012)

Sony Mobile has priced the Xperia S at P27,990 and will come with 2 NFC Smart Tags, an HDMI cable, screen protector, and also the other usual stuffs such as charger, USB cable, etc. The Xperia S will be available sometime in April. Sources says it will be after the Holy Week.

Sony Xperia U Specifications and Features
3.5-inch TFT LCD screen display with 854x480 screen resolution @ 280 ppi with Bravia Mobile Engine, scratch resistant screen
5 Megapixels main camera with LED flash with up to 16x digital zoom
720p HD video recording @ 30 fps
8GB memory (2 GB system memory, 2 GB phone memory, 4 GB internal storage)
512 MB of RAM
1,320 mAh battery capacity
GSM
3G / HSPA up to 14.4 Mbps
Bluetooth
1 GHz ST-Ericsson U8500 dual-core processor
Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS (upgrade to ICS available in Q2 2012)

The Xperia U will retail for a fairly cheap and affordable P13,990 sometime on May 2012. It will come with a screen protector, an extra colored cap, as well as the usual stuffs again. Considering it's decent specs, I guess this will surely attract a lot of buyers specially those who are on a tight budget.

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