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Sony owes Xperia owners a refund over faulty water resistance
When you buy a phone billed as water-resistant, you generally expect it to survive accidental dunks. Some Sony phone owners have a very different story, though -- their supposedly resistant phones took water damage that required an expensive fix. If you're one of them, we have good news. A preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit will offer a 50 percent refund of the retail price to US customers who bought a water-resistant Sony Xperia device and had to file water damage claims. The list of affected hardware covers a whopping 24 phones and tablets sold in the US, ranging from the Xperia Z1 through to relatively recent devices like the Xperia Z5.
How would you change Sony's Xperia Z Ultra?
When Brad Molen described Sony's Xperia Z Ultra as "the best phone you'll probably never buy," it was probably true of most Sony smartphones. The 6.44-inch device had a beautiful design, good build quality, had a fast engine and could withstand water, much like every other Sony smartphone you see. The downside to that, of course, is that it's a Sony, and that seems to have been enough for buyers to take their money elsewhere. But what did you, oh people who bought one, actually think of it? Head over to our forum and talk about what you liked, what you hated and what you wanted to change.
KitKat now rolling out to Sony's Xperia Z Ultra, Z1 and Z1 Compact
An Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Xperia Z Ultra, Z1 and Z1 Compact is rolling out as of today, Sony's announced. In addition to what the newer OS version itself brings, Sony's folded in some tweaks of its own, like a reworked status bar and quick-settings menu, a couple of PS4-inspired UI elements and updated forms of Sony's stock and media apps. While KitKat might be ready for this trio of devices, remember that availability depends on where you live and what carrier your handset may be bound to, so don't bet on a notification popping up this very afternoon. Sony confirmed back in November that the Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z, too, were eligible for a KitKat update, but they'll have to wait until at least "mid-Q2" for their snacks. In better news, the Xperia T2 Ultra, E1 and M2 have been added to that exclusive list, though we can't give you even vague timelines for when these updates might be available just yet.
Sony launches dedicated Xperia Z Ultra cases for QX lens cameras
Though Sony's crazy QX10 and QX100 lens cameras can attach to most smartphones, the company naturally favored its own Xperia Z and Z1 handsets by creating custom cases for those devices. Now it's doing the same for its crazy-large 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra, according to our sister Engadget Chinese site. A new attachment cover in black or white will fix either camera to its latest phablet for HK$238 (about $30) on top of the price of the QX10 ($249) and QX100 ($499). If you'll recall, that'll boost your smartphone's shooter to either an 18.2- or 20.2-megapixel monster, respectively, with the latter boasting the same sensor as the formidable Sony RX100 Mark II. It'll arrive next month in Hong Kong, and while Sony hasn't divulged availability elsewhere, we can picture it hitting the US soon as well.
Sony confirms five devices will get Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade, 4.3 to roll out to ten next month
After taking a week to crunch the numbers, look at the data points and put together some fancy pie charts (we assume), Sony's finally ready to reveal its initial firmware upgrade plans. Five devices in the lineup made the cut to receive Android 4.4 KitKat at a to-be-determined future date, and ten in total are slated to get Android 4.3 Jelly Bean starting next month. Among the devices listed to get KitKat are the Xperia Z, Z1, Z Ultra and Tablet Z, though they'll receive 4.3 first alongside five other smartphones (including a trio of handsets that will jump a version from 4.1 to 4.3). While the rollout is set to begin next month, phones on different carriers or in different parts of the world may not get the upgrade right away. Sony doesn't appear to have closed the door on the remote possibility of other models getting updated, but as usual, we don't have high expectations of that happening. We've included the full list of eligible devices below.
Refresh Roundup: week of August 26th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Weekly Roundup: Gamescom 2013, Ballmer stepping down, Connecting Cape Town, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Xperia Z Ultra review, Connecting Cape Town, Gamescom 2013, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra review: the best phone you'll probably never buy
More Info Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on Sony Xperia Z review Samsung Galaxy Mega review What we're about to describe is the same kind of phenomenon we experienced with 5-inch phones in 2010. If you recall, that year marked the debut of the Dell Streak 5, an absolutely massive smartphone / tablet hybrid for that time. Fast-forward to 2013, when 5-inch screens are the norm and 6.44-inch displays are now considered too unwieldy. Such is the case with the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which borrows many traits from the smaller Xperia Z while taking on a flatter shape. Basically, Sony turned the old Z into a plate phone. As it happens, we got a chance to play with one thanks to our friends at Negri Electronics, an online retailer in the US that sells the Z Ultra's baseline model for about $675. So is the phone comfortable to hold? Does it make more sense as a tablet? And does the Ultra have any redeeming traits outside of its size?
Sony names devices that will (eventually) see Android 4.3
With Android 4.3 being less than 24 hours old, it's nice to see manufacturers already addressing concerns about whether all those under-the-hood tweaks will reach their devices. On Sony Mobile's website, the company confirms that the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP and Xperia Z Ultra will get Android 4.3, though a concrete timetable hasn't been provided. Furthermore, if you own an Xperia ZR or Tablet Z, then consider yourself lucky, because you'll see Android 4.2 hit your device next month, making the wait for 4.3 that much more bearable. So yes, a Nexus might get its updates quicker, but can it receive them in the bath?
Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on redux: benchmark and camera preview
You may have already read our Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on last week, but since then we've also been able to spend a tiny bit more time with a pre-production unit (with firmware build 14.1.B.1.277). Instead of going over again how hilariously large this 6.4-inch, pen-friendly phone is, this time we'll focus on some early benchmark results, camera performance and Sony's very own UX features. As you'll see after the break, many of the benchmark scores aren't too far off from what we saw on the MDP phone with the same Snapdragon 800 SoC, and the final units should be optimized with higher numbers. While we didn't manage to get CF-Bench and Quadrant running on the phone, the higher-than-before 3DMark score did cheer us up, meaning either Sony or Qualcomm's managed to fine tune the latter's new Adreno 330 GPU.
Sony's Jun Katsunuma on the inspiration for Xperia Z Ultra's design
After the Xperia Z Ultra's launch event in both London and Shanghai, we had a brief chance to talk to Sony's Product Design Director, Jun Katsunuma, who was present in the latter city. Jun's been responsible for Sony's mobile devices since the Xperia S days, so the transition to the Xperia Z's double-glass design was also under his watch. That said, the newer Xperia Z Ultra isn't simply just an enlarged version of its smaller sibling, as we found out straight from the horse's mouth.
Xperia Z Ultra makes its way through the FCC
Sony's new mondo handset, the Xperia Z Ultra, was just revealed to the world today, and so it should come as no surprise that the new phone has just received Uncle Sam's seal of approval. That's right, folks, a version of the 6.4 inch device sporting 1,700MHz HSPA and GSM 850/1900MHz radios has passed the FCC's battery of tests. Alas, despite its cellular and dual-band WiFi radios being put through the wringer, there's a dearth of LTE info in the docs, so we're still in the dark as to the bands that the handset's working with. Still, should you wish to know more of the Z Ultras secrets, all the charts and RF readings you can handle can be found in the source below.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra: hands-on with a 6.4-inch Android phone (update: video)
Sony's been explaining the design story behind its new Xperia range at a UK briefing, how it's trying to balance both the dematerialization of tech (touchscreens, gesture interfaces) and a design that's both desirable and beautiful -- and Sony's certainly got the latter down on its new smartphone. The Xperia Z Ultra follows the lines of the rest of the Z series. It has the same "OmniBalance" plane, uniform screen surface, but this time it measures in at 6.4 inches across, but still running at 1080p resolution. Yep, it does feel substantially bigger than the original Xperia Z -- check out our comparison gallery, the new Ultra model dwarfs it. You're looking at a screen width almost identical to a passport and that 6.5mm profile meant we could cram it into our trouser pockets without an issue. It's certainly a bigger device than the likes of LG's Optimus G Pro or Samsung's Galaxy Note II and you're going to have to test it out for yourself to see if you'd be willing to talk into this Xperia like a phone -- it's definitely going to catch the eye. There's also Qualcomm's notable Snapdragon 800 powering the device on a relatively large 3,000mAh battery, while Sony's simplified the design dropping a few of those much-maligned protective flaps, at least on the headphone socket. There are more impressions and a hands-on video after the break! %Gallery-192241% %Gallery-192249%
Sony Xperia Z Ultra official with 6.4-inch 1080p screen and 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 chip, global launch in Q3 2013
Sony's unveiled its latest addition to its Xperia Z series, a new smartphone that blurs the line between smartphone and tablet once more -- the appropriately named Xperia Z Ultra. Packing a 6.4-inch display that runs at 1080p resolution, it bests other similarly gigantic superphones that all currently hover around 720p. This new screen is paired with Qualcomm's latest and greatest mobile processor, the impressively potent 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and 4G LTE connectivity too. It all weighs in at 212 grams (over 50 grams more than the Xperia Z) but the body has been slimmed down to a mere 6.5mm uniform thickness, jostling with the barely announced Ascend P6 for title of thinnest phone despite those high-end specifications (and screen dimensions). There's 16GB of built-in storage, 11GB of which is user-accessible, while a microSD slot will add an additional 64GB if needed. To power that screen, Sony has also cranked the battery pack up to 3,000mAh and we're hoping that will be enough for all those high-end components it'll be powering. There's no specifics on LTE bands just yet, but the phone also packs a pentaband HSPA radio, ensuring the global model will play nice on AT&T's 3G service, at least, when it launches later this year. We've got more details (especially on that display) after the break.
Sony Xperia ZU specs reportedly leak: 6.44-inch display, 2.2GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera and 3,000mAh battery
Given the quantity of rumors that are floating around, it's hard to think that we won't be seeing a Sony phablet intermediate-size phone/tablet device in the near future. One of the folks over at ePrice is claiming that the Xperia ZU (for "Ultra") will come with a 6.44-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS LCD display with a pixel density of 342ppi. Internals-wise, it's said to run a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and a 64GB microSD card slot, as well as a 3,000mAh non-removable battery. On the imaging front, there's a 8-megapixel Exmor RS sensor primary camera and a 1.3-megapixel Exmor R up front. The same tipster let slip that the ZU won't come with a stylus, but will be receptive to third-party styluses and should arrive on June 25th, so we'll be waiting for an invite to Sony's July 4th Paris launch with bated breath.
Sony Mobile event invites tease sizable surprise, could mean Xperia Z Ultra
Several French sites report receiving invites (shown above) to a Sony Mobile press event promising a surprise of size while showing off a device's slender side profile and a stylus. The reference could be a teaser for the rumored Xperia Z Ultra, believed to be a Sony competitor to the Galaxy Notes of the world featuring a 6.44-inch 1080p display and possibly a Snapdragon 800 CPU inside. The buttons also seem to match another leaked image, and invites have also gone out for events in Germany and China on June 25th, while the message itself encourages recipients to "note" it in their calendar.
