Phones

A Quick Glance at the Sony SmartWatch 3 Stainless Steel Edition

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 8, 2015 | 0 comments

At CES 2015, the Sony SmartWatch 3 Stainless Steel edition was unveiled. Based on Android Wear and incorporating everything from the Sony SmartWatch 3, the Stainless Steel edition brings an all-new elegant design as can be seen from the video above where we give you a quick glance. The Sony SmartWatch 3 Stainless Steel edition will go on sale later this month for $299.

Be sure to check out our previous video where we go over Android Wear and how to use your smartphone to customize the Sony SmartWatch 3.

Sony SmartWatch 3 With Android Wear UI

by Allegra Osati | Jan 7, 2015 | 0 comments

At CES 2015, Sony showed off their the SmartWatch 3. Running Android Wear, the SmartWatch 3 is the only one of its kind with onboard GPS, allowing you to track your activity without needing your phone. Thanks to Android Wear, the SmartWatch 3 is highly customizable with different watch faces and functionality.

In the video above, we give you a quick look out how the Sony SmartWatch 3 with Android Wear can be customized.

Sony Xperia E4 Leaks As It Passes Through FCC

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 31, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony_Xperia_E4_3 Come early 2015, Sony will launch a new budget Android smartphone. Likely targeting emerging markets like Asia and India, the Sony Xperia E4 will replace the Xperia E1 Dual and cost considerably less than current flagship phones like the Xperia Z3. Once released, the Xperia E4 will come with Android 4.4.4 KitKat though Android 5.0 Lollipop shouldn’t be far behind.

Now let’s talk details about this 5-inch budget smartphone after the jump, where you’ll also find more pictures.

Sony Mobile Tablet Sales to Dwindle to 3-4%

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 29, 2014 | 5 comments

Earlier today, we reported on Sony placing in the top 5 newly activated mobile devices during the holiday season. Though Sony has revealed no breakdown, the following information makes it pretty clear that Sony is nearly selling all smartphones with tablets only making up a very small percentage of their mobile division sales.

When speaking during a roundtable event in Japan, Hiroki Totoki, the new Sony Mobile CEO, revealed that Sony Xperia Tablets accounted for 5% of the divisions sales in 2013. During that year, Sony’s fleet only included the Xperia Z2 Tablet which offers a waterproof design. Just this June, Sony was able to partner with Verizon and bring their tablet to the US with carrier support. In that time span, competitors like Apple have brought out two different iterations of their tablets at varying form factors.

Come 2014, Sony finally entered the growing smaller form factor tablet market with the 8-inch Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. Despite having two different tablets, Totoki doesn’t see any growth for the company in 2014 or 2015. Details after the jump.

Sony Products Are the 4th Most Activated New Mobile Devices During Christmas Week

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 29, 2014 | 7 comments

Depending on if you’re a cup half full or half empty kind of person, the following news can taken in two different ways. During the holiday season which is also the most important time of the year for retailers, Sony Mobile products were the 4th most activated new mobile devices. While bested by rivals Apple, Samsung, and Nokia, Sony was able to slightly edge out LG while completely leaving others like Motorola, HTC, and Blackberry in the dust.

Now comes the cup half full or empty part.

Sony Lifelog App Gains GPS Support for Android Wear

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 18, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony has updated their Lifelog app, bringing with it GPS support for Android Wear. Released earlier in the year, Android Wear is the latest OS iteration from Google that’s meant specifically for wearables like smart watches. Following the announcement of the new OS, the Sony SmartWatch 3 was released, one of the first devices with Android Wear. The SmartWatch 3 is also one of the very few devices on the market with built in GPS which allows you to leave your smartphone at home while still being able to track and log all of your movements. Now, Sony’s Lifelog app can take advantage of this feature as well, completing the circle.

Details after the jump.

Sony SmartBand With Roxy Gets Announced

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 15, 2014 | 2 comments

Just in time for the holiday shopping rush, Sony has unveiled a new collaboration with Roxy, the well known women’s outdoor sports lifestyle brand. Dubbed as SmartBand with Roxy, the latest wearable includes all the basic functions you’d expect from devices of this sort like your step count, number of stairs climbed, and typical calories burned. The Sony SmartBand, however, has a few tricks up its sleeve, hence why Sony prefers the term “life tracker.” Beyond the basic ability to track your movement in a waterproof design and set alarms, the SmartBand also allows you to play, pause, and skip through your music and even act as a camera remote on your Android device. Connecting the Sony SmartBand is also easy thanks to the built-in NFC.

More details after the jump.

Sony’s Underwater Xperia Aquatech Store Revealed in Pictures

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 10, 2014 | 0 comments

While an interesting marketing blitz, Sony’s underwater Xperia Aquatech store never quite made sense to us. You can read our full take on why Sony could have better spent their marketing budget. Still, seeing how we have no sway at Sony, the stores opening has come and gone as it was only open for three days. Thanks to those who attend and their eagerness to share photos on Twitter, we’ve been able to get a better feel of the store and the experience it brought with it. While not as futuristic looking as depicted in the concepts, the event seems to have had plenty of flair. Now lets hope those select customers, VIP’s, and members of the media who attended will be able to share their experience with others and convince a few to buy some Xperia devices which of course is the whole point of the event.

After the jump, plenty of pictures await you.

Sony’s Underwater Xperia Aquatech Store Debuts Today, Only Open for Three Days

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 3, 2014 | 0 comments

Starting today, select customers, VIPs, and members of the press can experience the Sony underwater Xperia Aquatech store. Located at The World Islands off the coast of Dubai, the store (sitting 4 meters underwater) is designed to drive home that Sony’s Xperia Z lineup of tablets and smartphones are waterproof. Sony hopes that, beyond wowing select customers, their underwater store also scores big with social media and has created the following hashtag (#XperiaAquatech) to help promote the event. Currently the price of the publicity stunt (which is what this really is) has yet to be and likely won’t be disclosed. Of course it’s not like Sony is creating this unique experience in what’s already a remote country with an small population and would severely limit the days its available versus just running a traditional marketing campaign on TV, like Apple, which has proven to be effective.

This just in; the Sony underwater Xperia Aquatech store will only be open for three days. Well ok…let’s ~~rant~~ talk after the jump.

New Details Emerge from Sony’s Underwater Xperia Aquatech Store

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 2, 2014 | 0 comments

We’d previously reported on Sony’s ~~ludicrous~~ ~~innovative~~ ludicrous plan on creating an underwater store in Dubai. The ‘Xperia Aquatech’ store, according to Rüediger Odenbac, Vice President of Sony Mobile Middle East and Africa, will allow select customers and VIPs to

be able to stand on the seabed and breathe perfectly normally

while of course experiencing, playing, and hopefully purchasing Sony Mobile products. Sony has gone to great lengths to make their entire mobile flagship series (read Xperia Z) waterproof and they hope that the Xperia Aquatech store can show that. Now new details have emerged from the store that will be 4 meters below the surface. More details and another concept shot after the jump.

Sony Xperia Z3v on Verizon Marked Down to Free (updated)

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 28, 2014 | 3 comments

One of the biggest faults in Sony’s smartphone strategy in the US before now had been a lack of carrier support. With the Xperia Z3, their latest flagship Android smartphone, Sony looked to change its fortunes by teaming up with Verizon and T-Mobile. Now, Sony is kicking things into the next gear by offering the Xperia Z3v free on Verizon with a two-year contract.

Details after the jump.

Xperia M2 Update, M2 Aqua 18.3.1.C.0.21 (4.4.4) Rolling Out (Update)

by Jonathan Nolan | Nov 25, 2014 | 6 comments

Bored of the last KitKat upgrade? Xperia M2, Aqua users looking for a new update are in luck.

For most users who are keeping their M2 phone updated, we’re running on build version 18.3.C.0.39 (or a variation of it) which was released back in August, bringing KitKat 4.4 including an updated white-icon UI, new apps, camera features, audio tunnelling and a few more tweaks.

So update 18.3.1.C.0.21 is beginning to roll. So far, no other Xperia site seems to list (even comments) what’s in this update. We know. Read on to find out first…

Sony to Focus More on PlayStation, Less on Televisions and Mobile

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 25, 2014 | 0 comments

It’s no secret that Sony has been struggling for nearly a decade. Thanks to mismanagement and miscalculations, Sony was unable to capitalize on the transition to LCD televisions and was equally late to mobile. In their most recent earnings guidance, Sony predicts that come March, the company’s mobile division will mount a $1.7 billion loss for the year. With television sales having reached a saturation point and 4K television sales though healthy, not enough to make up for an otherwise sluggish division, Sony knows that it can’t rely on mobile which was to be one of the three pillars that would help turn around the company. When even Samsung has seen their mobile division fall apart with sales declining by nearly 60% laster quarter, what can Sony do to compete and even thrive?

One word it seems. PlayStation.

Sony Mobiles ‘Backup & Restore’ App Not Hacked Despite Reports

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 24, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony_Back_And_Restore_App_Fake_Hack_1 Earlier today, news began to circulate that Sony’s Backup and Restore app on Google Play for the company’s line of Xperia devices was hacked. Appearing on Google Play and available to download for free, the app in question mimicked everything about Sony’s official app from wording to design with one obvious difference, the top part of the app was replaced with HeArT HaCkEr Group. Many took this as a sign that Sony’s internal servers had been compromised and an update had been pushed from within the company with the above changes. As Backup and Restore is an official system app from Sony, there is no way to delete the program and those who’ve given it permission will have potentially already had their information compromised.

That is, if Sony’s servers were hacked – but that’s not what happened at all.

Sony ‘Roof’ Ad Shows PS4, Xperia Z3, PS4, Xperia Z3, PS4….

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 20, 2014 | 2 comments

In a somewhat surprising manner, Sony has rolled out a second ad this week in the US. Dubbed Roof, the clever and extremely simply ad shows off the Remote Play feature between the PS4 and Xperia Z3. Sony ran a similar ad in Europe earlier in the month which highlighted the same features between Xperia devices and PS4. Besides highlighting the PS4, Sony is hoping to garner attention for its flagship Xperia Z3 smartphone which for the first time in the US has carrier support from T-Mobile and Verizon.

In the past, Sony’s smartphone strategy had lacked carrier support in the US, leading to marginal sales and a nearly zero percent marketshare. After the jump, the Sony Roof ad awaits you.