In less than a month’s time, we are hoping that Sony will be announcing some new mobile products at one of the biggest consumer electronics tradeshows in the world, CES 2014.
Sony’s main press event will take place on Monday 6 January 2014 at 17.00 in Las Vegas. We are expecting at least a couple of new announcements including the Xperia Z1s (the Z1 refresh) along with the Xperia Z1 mini. To find out the time of Sony’s CES 2014 press conference in your time zone click here. [read more…]
The mini version of the Sony Xperia Z1 has passed through the FCC revealing very little. There are a few schematics but no pictures of the device, not really an issue as it will probably look almost identical to the Japanese-bound Xperia Z1 f. The documents do confirm the ‘Amami’ codename though and there are a number of references that suggest that this is a European-bound device, pointing to a D5503 model number as seen previously.
A number of software versions are tested including build number 14.2.A.0.144 and 14.2.A.0.78, which means it will release with Android 4.3. The Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra build number is 14.2.A.0.290, highlighting they are likely using the same software strand. Hopefully, we’re looking at a formal announcement for the Xperia Z1 mini at CES in January 2014. [read more…]
The official Android 4.3 firmware update FTF for the Xperia Z (C6603) and Xperia ZL (C6503) is now available thanks to Androxyde over at XDA developers. Firmware build 10.4.B.0.569 represents Android 4.3 for both handsets, but it is unclear at this stage whether this is the final build that will roll out to consumers. Androxyde has tagged this release as “Commercial&Journalists”, although there’s a good chance that this is the build that will roll out in the next few weeks. Hit the download links below if you want to give it a try. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted once the Android 4.3 update rolls out for real. [read more…]
Sony’s PlayStation Mobile promotion continues into the third week with two new free games offered. This includes the highly-addictive Super Crate Box and fast-paced action puzzler, Fuel Tiracas. Head over to the PSM app on your Sony Xperia device to download the games right now.
PlayStation Mobile is available for a number of certified Sony Xperia devices along with the PS Vita. PlayStation Mobile is currently available in Japan, United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Australia. [read more…]
Out of nowhere Sony has just announced the “Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition.” Yep, you read that right, this is the first Sony Xperia device to get a close to Nexus-like experience with Android updates directly from Google. Notice the absence of the ‘Xperia’ brand in the naming though, which seems like an odd decision. Perhaps this was taken to avoid confusion with the normal Xperia Z Ultra, although the words ‘Google Play Edition’ should have been enough to differentiate the two.
The Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition is in stock right now but is only available to those in the United States for $649 with free shipping. The Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition supports a number of LTE bands (Bands I, II, IV, V, VII, VIII, XVII). [read more…]
Sony is rolling a minor update to the Sony WALKMAN app for Xperia devices. New build version 8.0.A.0.4 follows a big update in the form of 8.0.A.0.3, which launched last week. As you can tell from the numbering, this latest update is likely to include bug fixes only. It should be rolling to Xperia Z series devices right now. [read more…]
It looks like the countdown to Android 4.3 for Sony Xperia devices can now begin. A new build version for the Xperia Z1 has been certified by the PTCRB website. Firmware version 14.2.A.0.290 made a brief appearance on the Xperia Z Ultra the other day, this is believed to be the Android 4.3 version for these two handsets. This new firmware has been certified for all versions of the Xperia Z1. We would hope to see it released in the next couple of weeks, especially with Christmas fast approaching.
Update: The same firmware build 14.2.A.0.290 has also been certified for the Xperia Z Ultra. [read more…]
The Xperia Z1s passed through China’s TENAA, the country’s telecoms regulatory authority, revealing it will come with the L39t model number in China (as opposed to L39h for the Xperia Z1) as well as a number of images. This particular SKU is the TD-LTE version for China, most likely heading for China Mobile. The Sony Xperia Z1s will be a refreshed version of the Xperia Z1 from all that we’ve seen so far. The device is likely to be announced at CES 2014 and shares the same design as the Xperia Z1, although there are a few differences.
This includes the placement of 3.5mm headphone jack that sits slightly off-centre, compared to sitting on the very left side of the Xperia Z1. The front-facing camera also sits on the left side of the SONY logo as opposed to the right when looking at the Xperia Z1. The right side of the Xperia Z1s is laid out exactly the same as the Xperia Z1, however the left side is slightly different only having one port flap as opposed to the two on the Z1. If this is correct, then it either means they managed to squeeze both the micro USB port and microSD card slot under one flap, or that they have removed the latter altogether. Could the Xperia Z1s end up with 32GB of internal storage as opposed to 16GB in the Xperia Z1? [read more…]
We recently reported that unofficial CyanogenMod 11 (Android 4.4) builds were available for a number of Sony Xperia devices including the Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia T and Xperia V. Well we can now report that CM11 Nightlies are now available for the same devices above. You should expect a number of bugs given that CM11 development is at an early stage, however if you want to give it a try, you’ll find the download links below. [read more…]
A member of XDA-developers is claiming that he received an OTA firmware update for his Xperia Z Ultra (C6802, XL39h) which could be Android 4.3. The build version was 14.2.A.0.290, which compares to the current version of 14.1.B.2.257. The user wasn’t able to install the update, which clocked in at 228.2MB, suggesting it very well could be the Android 4.3 update given the size. We can’t translate what the text says, but if anyone can help, let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, the Android 4.3 update is hopefully not too far away know, so we’ll report back as soon as we hear of any meaningful movement. [read more…]
Screenshots of what is believed to be the official Android 4.3 update for the Sony Xperia ZL have leaked. It shows a firmware running with a build version template of 10.4.X.X.X.XX and 3.4 kernel. The screenshots show a UI and home launcher very similar to that used with the Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra. Sony has said that the Android 4.3 firmware update will start to land for a number of Xperia handsets this month, hopefully there is not too long to wait. [read more…]
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