Xperia

Sony gets the crowd to shoot its Xperia Ion promo

More companies seem to be discovering that crowdsourcing is more than just a cheap way to have other people do your work for you, it's a cheap and potentially cool way. Or so the conversation likely went with Sony's marketing folks when they came up with the idea to demo the HD camera on the Sony Xperia Ion smartphone by creating a music video entirely from footage shot by a crowd full of the phones.

Sony got Metric, one of the bands signed to its recording label, to perform in a hotel penthouse and handed out 25 of the company's new LTE phones for the audience to film the one-take performance. … Read more

Guessing Sony's U.S. strategy

Sony used the the IFA tech extravaganza in Berlin this week to introduce a trio of new Android-based smartphones.

Called the Xperia T, J, and V, they run the gamut from low-end to top-tier and should be enough to tide the company over until CES in January. In addition to the three handsets, Sony also unveiled its Android-powered Xperia Tablet S, a remodeled and improved update to its previous Tablet S.

Big time stuff for our international friends, sure, but what about us in the United States? Will we see any of these devices?

While most U.S. consumers are … Read more

IFA 2012: Big reveals for Sony, Samsung

Time to learn German for Wednesday's tech news roundup:

Tons of devices being unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The highlights from Wednesday include:

• Sony releases its first 4K TV, the 84-inch XBR-84X900. No official word on cost or availability, but expect to pay close to $30,000 to own one. Here's an explainer on what a 4K TV is, but no need to worry about new formats just yet. Afterall, what movies do you own in 4K? • Sony showed the Xperia S tablet, available Sept. 7 starting at $400. It has several TV-ready features, Android … Read more

Sony makes Xperia SL official

If you're thrilled by Sony's Xperia S, then you have another reason to get excited. The company has just revealed plans for an Xperia SL phone, which sees the Xperia S and raises its 1.5GHz CPU up a notch to 1.7GHz. Of course, both phone's processors are last-generation Snapdragon S3 chips, which while technically dual-core, are roundly trounced performance-wise by Qualcomm's current Snapdragon S4 processors. … Read more

Sony Xperia P gets a serving of Ice Cream Sandwich

Sony today confirmed that the Xperia P is the latest Android smartphone to receive its 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. A post on the company blog advises that consumers will receive a notification when their respective update is ready to download.

As is the case with all other 4.0 releases, the handset will benefit from an enhanced lock screen, improved handling of data consumption, and scalable widgets. Sony has also taken steps to ensure a more rounded media experience for the Xperia P, introducing Walkman, Album, and Movies apps. … Read more

Sony's Xperia Go rugged enough for the great outdoors

Smartphones have become part of daily life but are often too delicate to withstand everyday abuse. Not so for the Sony Xperia Go, an Android handset built to shrug off treatment that would destroy typical mobile devices.

CNET UK took the Xperia Go for a spin, a few dunks, plus crevice-clogging dust-ups to put this rugged machine through its paces. … Read more

Sony readying quad-core Xperia tablet ahead of IFA

Sony has been quietly readying a new Android-powered tablet that should supplant the company's Tablet S. According to a host of leaked images, the new tablet will feature Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core processor and come with three storage options.

Bearing the distinctive folded magazine wedge design, the Xperia tablet is an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device with a 9.4-inch display. Other specifications include an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1-megapixel front-facing camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 6,000mAh battery. Pricing, although unconfirmed, should start at $449 for the 16GB model and go as high as $649 … Read more

Rumor Has It: iPhone 5 isn't the only trick up Apple's sleeve

On this week's show, we discuss the latest iPhone 5 release date rumors, Samsung's possible Retina Display, and an alleged new tablet from Sony, and we wonder if Apple is really interested in buying a stake in Twitter.

The New York Times came out with a report over the weekend describing talks between Apple and the 140-character proselytizer. The report alleged that Apple has considered buying a minority stake in Twitter, a company that hasn't yet filed an IPO. The Wall Street Journal chimed in to say the talks were more than a year ago, and its … Read more

Sony hoping to work Android 4.1 into Xperia line

Sony has not completely ruled out an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for its 2011 Xperia line, despite what the company may have told you just days ago.

A post on the company's blog today advises that it is "actively investigating" software updates for all of its devices and that 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich deployments still are on track.

Rumors spread quickly last week that Xperia models from 2011 wouldn't see an Android 4.1 update. A member of the Sony UK team hosted a Q&A with Facebook followers where he advised … Read more

Sony may have a Mint at IFA

It appears that Samsung is not the only handset manufacturer tied to a big IFA announcement next month.

Now we're getting word of a possible new Sony smartphone called the Mint. But these are more than just blurry rumor shots; tech blog Mobile Review has published a full analysis of the device replete with dozens of photos and screen shots.

Listed with a LT30p model number, the Mint reportedly features a number of high-end specifications, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor and 4.3-inch HD display. Other key hardware details include 1GB RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera, front-facing … Read more