sony | Fone Arena

Sony releases the WG-C20, a more portable 2nd gen Wireless Server for your Smartphone

Remember the crazy WCG-10 wireless server from Sony? They have released a successor to it, but it now looks a lot slimmer, just like the Xperia devices, and it can now charge them too! Funnily enough, at first glance, one would think it is actually the back of a Xperia device. A quick recap of what it does is, it’s a portable solution that can connect wirelessly to your smartphone and back-up files, or even let you access the files already in the server and play it back. Pretty interesting concept, that is possibly better explained in a video –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQAgFYufDDE

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Sony IFA 2013 Press Conference Live Blog

FoneArena is live in Berlin , Germany for IFA which is one of the largest technology shows of the world. Sony is holding a press conference later today where the company is expected to announce the much rumored Honami / XPERIA Z1 smartphone and a couple of very interesting lenses. Much is already known about the Sony Z1 and it is said to pack in a Snapdragon 800 processor with a very interesting 20MP camera. The design is believed to be a play on that of the Xperia Z and Z Ultra.

The event starts at around 4PM Berlin time or 7:30PM India time

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review

Every once in a while we come across a product that is a bit ahead of the curve or perhaps such a niche that it is hard to accept it in its current incarnation. The Xperia Z Ultra while not exactly revolutionary, does have the inklings of what might be come the future of smart computing. But is it good enough to convince us ? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review”

Sony Wireless NFC Speaker SRS-BTV5 Unboxing

Sony has always been known for making audio accessories for its TVs and home entertainment systems, and to an extent, even for its yesteryear Walkman series of phones but it gradually reduced until recently when they released smartphone focused accessories. These devices were launched to complement the new Xperia smartphones that come with the built-in NFC functionality. One of those accessories launched is the Sony Wireless NFC speaker codenamed SRS-BTV5(priced at Rs. 3,990) that works with any smartphone with Bluetooth A2DP. We got the cyan version of this spherically shaped wireless speaker and unboxed it for a video demo, watch it –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTUEO-pDXkY

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Sony’s Lens Camera leak shows off external lens attachment on a Xperia Honami

Sony has been known for its innovative attempts at consumer technology, but the leak you see above takes it to a whole new level. What you see, is a Sony Lens Camera. It’s a lens, and a camera, yet it doesn’t have a viewfinder like a normal camera. This is where the Xperia i1 Honami comes in, acting as a wireless viewfinder to the Sony Lens. This crazy contraption is actually inspired(?) from a critically acclaimed Wireless ViewFinder Interchangeble lens(WVIL) camera concept shown off by a company called Artefact, way back at CES 2011. Here’s a video demo, to help you ease you into the concept of a wireless viewfinder lens camera –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDIZImKrhg8

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Sony’s Q1 FY13 results out, mobile sales increase by 36% YoY

son-yq1-fy13-results-mobile-sales

Looks like Sony is back in the game, especially in mobile! The Japanese company has just reported its first quarter FY 2013 results and has beaten expectations set by analysts. The increased performance is due to, you guessed right, its mobile division. While it posted huge operating losses last year, the division has gained 36% YoY, posting an operating income of 60 million USD. The company’s overall net profits stand at a small 35 million USD, which is not huge by any means, but posting profits after struggling for the past year should be encouraging for the consumer electronics giant.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra Photo Gallery

Sony launched its big ass new smartphone, the Xperia Z Ultra in India though it won’t be available in retail till 2nd August. We’ve previously done a hands on with the handset that borders on being a tablet and here are some additional images of the 6.4″ behemoth. Our initial impressions are quite positive and if you can look past the size, the Xperia Z Ultra is definitely a very impressive device. Sony’s new Triluminous Display with with X-Reality engine works wonders and is a much needed improvement over the dim and not very impressive screen on the Xperia Z. The 6.4″ panel has a resolution of 1920×1080. Additionally, there are no capacitive buttons here and users can navigate the interface through the onscreen buttons. Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z Ultra Photo Gallery”

Sony Xperia Honami specifications leak out, reportedly sport the Bionz image processor

xperiai1honami_0

Nokia’s PureView, HTC’s UltraPixel, Samsung’s Galaxy Zoom has left Sony, LG, Apple to reconsider their smartphone cameras. The battle for the supreme smartphone camera is really heating up with LG, Apple and Sony yet to step into that territory. Sony’s next flagship has shown up in leaked images and those images suggest that Sony’s bet into smartphone camera will be this Xperia “Honami” device. We had already seen the renders and even some images of the actual device, but its specifications have now leaked out, so read on to find out what the Honami packs.

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Sony unveils the SmartWatch 2 for Android with one touch NFC

sony-smartwatch-2

Smartwatches have always been a niche at best. Recently spurred into prominence by crowd funded hardware innovators like Pebble, amidst rumours of Apple being interested in a similar device, the smart watch is suddenly cool again, and Sony wants in on the market enthusiasm. While they pioneered a bluetooth watch since 2007, Sony has unveiled its latest iteration of the same – the Sony SmartWatch 2. Made for Android devices running on v4.0 ICS or later, the watch sports NFC one touch pairing and promises several utilitarian functionality to grace your wrist. This has been launched in conjunction with the massive 6.4 inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra, check that out. Watch this official promo to get an idea of what it is –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUzM7WYlP0

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Sony releases experimental ‘Illumination API’ for selected devices

Sony has just released a new ‘Illumination API’ for developers to allow them to tweak and create innovative uses for the embedded notification light bars seen in many Sony devices.

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Sony Xperia ZL Android 4.2.2 Jellybean update starts rolling out

sony-xperia-zl-android-4.2.2-Changelog

After making its presence felt at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas this year, the Sony Xperia ZL, a full HD smartphone from Sony landed in various countries alongside its thinner brother, the Xperia Z. Running on Android 4.1.2 at launch, the device had a custom Xperia UI on top like usual, and now news comes our way that the Android 4.2.2 update for the Xperia ZL has started to roll out, starting today.

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Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review

Xperia-Tablet-Z-1

Android tablets are a dime and a dozen with few if any differentiating factors. In this exceedingly crowded space, Sony enters with a high end proposition that aims at taking the iPad head on. With very appealing design aesthetics and a lot of features packed under the hood, the Xperia Tablet Z offers a lot of bang for the buck but is this enough to tempt the consumer ? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review”

Rumor: Sony Xperia Z Google Edition on its way

Users craving high end devices with Google’s stock Android interface have yet another reason to be happy. If various sources and rumors are to be believed we could have an Xperia Z Google Edition joining the Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Edition handsets very soon.

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Sony Honami smartphone rumored to have a 16MP or 20MP Cyber-shot camera and Xenon Flash

Sony Xperia

Details of the Sony’s flagship phones codenamed Honami and Togari have surfaced. Sony’s upcoming flagship phone Honami is expected to have a 5-inch 1080p display similar to the Xperia Z, but the main highlight of the phone would be the phone’s 16MP or a 20MP Cyber-shot CMOS sensor with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and a dual LED flash. It is also expected to have a Triluminos display that would offer vibrant colors according to VR-Zone and feature a dedicated Walkman audio chip for enhanced audio. Continue reading “Sony Honami smartphone rumored to have a 16MP or 20MP Cyber-shot camera and Xenon Flash”

Sony Xperia SP Unboxing

Sony announced the Xperia SP last month and its finally available in retail. We’ve been playing with the handset for a few days now but before we publish our review, here’s a quick unboxing to pique your interest!

In terms of specifications, the handset is powered by a dual core 1.7Ghz processor. An 8MP camera can be spotted at the back. Running on Android Jelly Bean, the handset has a 4.6 inch 720p display. A very cool feature of the handset is its color changing led strip at the bottom. We’ll have more on that in the review. For now, check out the unboxing video. Continue reading “Sony Xperia SP Unboxing”