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Sony Xperia Tablet S review: Sony's second-gen Android slate has a slimmer design, faster guts
More Info Sony Xperia Tablet S official Sony Xperia Tablet S hands-on Sony's Xperia Tablet S gets the full tear-down For Sony, it's all about the presentation. To be sure, since the company put all of its mobile products under one roof, it's achieved more of a balance between style and substance than it did with the original Tablet S and Tablet P -- two devices that had a lopsided emphasis on unique, proof-of-concept designs over user experience. It's fair to say those initial tablet efforts failed to resonate with consumers, leaving the company with little recourse other than an all-out do-over. Which is why the new Xperia Tablet S has a lot to prove: it can't get by based on looks alone. Running skinned Ice Cream Sandwich and packing a quad-core Tegra 3 SoC, this 9.4-incher maintains the same 1,280 x 800 IPS LCD panel used on the first-gen S, and even assumes the same folded-over magazine shape -- albeit, in thinner form. Yes, that full SD slot remains, but you might not need to rely on it now that the tablet comes with up to 64GB of built-in storage. So, will an emphasis on OS, ecosystem (Video Unlimited, Music Unlimited, Crackle, Reader, etc.) and a slimmed-down build make up for the blunders of the first-gen Tablet S? Will a $399 starting price help this WiFi-only tab stand out amongst the Android competition? Stick around as we find out whether this S is more than initially meets the eye.%Gallery-165044%
Sony's stacked Exmor RS phone camera sensors detuned over quality worries
Sony would still like you to get excited about its upcoming Exmor RS stacked CMOS image sensors -- just not too excited. Both the 8-megapixel IMX134 and 13-megapixel IMX135 are scaling back from their original RGBW (red, green, blue, white) coding to an ordinary RGB over concerns that they aren't meeting Sony's "image quality standards" as originally designed. Consequently, either sensor will be less sensitive to light and diminish some of that high dynamic range magic. The company also doesn't want to get our hopes up for a quick arrival on shelves and clarifies that there's a phased launch starting in January. Mobile shutterbugs may be crestfallen knowing that Sony won't have the best possible camera sensor in future Xperia phones, but the honesty at least guarantees that the company gets a timely return on its $994 million investment.
Sony Xperia T lands at the FCC, lets us peek under the hood
There isn't much mystery left to an FCC-bound phone that's already been announced and thoroughly handled, but we must admit that Sony does a pretty good job at making the federal approval documents more exciting than most. How? More often than not, the confidentiality request has already been lifted, leaving us with a user manual and a full trove of teardown photos. Such is the case with the Xperia T, announced recently at IFA 2012. Aside from these additional elements, there likely isn't much for the average gadget-loving American to geek out about -- this particular model offers pentaband HSPA+ / UMTS but lacks LTE, which means it's probably only going to find its way to purple mountains majesty through the efforts of T-Mobile (or importers, worst-case) -- we're still holding out hope for the AT&T-branded version that leaked a few days ago, however. No matter its fate, follow us below for a gallery full of revealing photos. %Gallery-165231%
Sony Xperia T shown on UK's Phones4U... with AT&T branding
Seeing the trademark AT&T globe brandished on the front of the Sony Xperia T may simply pass as a pleasant surprise for US customers if it were leaked through a Stateside e-tailer, but the GSM giant's logo popping up on a UK website is more of a head-scratcher. Yet, as you can see in the shot above, the Phones4U image of the new Xperia flagship (likely the TX, in this case) sports the famous icon below the screen, in place of the traditional Xperia branding. To add more fuel to the rumor fire, the back of the AT&T-ized variant is broken up into three segments, setting it apart from the international version's one-piece. Naturally we remain skeptics on the matter, but the two pieces of evidence at least hold a little more weight than your standard website blunder.
O2 UK denies Xperia Ray, Arc and Neo owners Ice Cream Sandwich
It's bad news for Xperia Ray, Arc and Neo owners on O2's UK network, as the carrier's reported it won't be updating these Sony handsets to Ice Cream Sandwich. O2 claims it has tested three versions of the OS update and decided not to approve it, due to increased hardware requirements resulting in "speed and performance" issues. This is curious, since Sony itself had no problems getting Android 4.0 up and running on the devices -- even if it did take a while. If you know your way around a ROM, you probably stopped scoffing Gingerbread a long time ago. However, if you're yet to tinker and ain't scared by O2's "you can't go back" warnings, an hour or two on some specialist forums should have you sticky in no time (at your own risk, of course). Update: O2's been in touch assuring us the decision was not taken lightly, and that although Sony has released ICS for these handsets, they did so with clear disclaimers on performance concerns (see the Sony source below).
Early benchmark scores are in for the Sony Xperia T, TX and V
We've already benchmarked the Galaxy Note II and the ZTE Grand X IN at IFA, and as the week wraps up we're circling back to test the mettle of other handsets announced here in Berlin. We ran mobile benchmarks on Sony's new flagship Xperia T, the Xperia TX (the US version of the T) and the LTE-enabled Xperia V. All three devices pack dual-core Snapdragon S4 Krait processors clocked at 1.5GHz, and they're currently running Ice Cream Sandwich -- though a Jelly Bean update is reportedly on the way. Meet us past the break for a first look at how these smartphones stack up.
Sony Xperia sola: a pint-sized Android handset with floating touch (hands-on)
Sometimes getting lost in the maze-like sprawl of the Messe can turn up unexpected surprises. In this case, we chanced upon Sony's Xperia sola hiding in plain sight at Sparhandy's booth. The petite Android handset, formerly codenamed "Pepper", was officially announced earlier this spring and even crept up in FCC filings. But until now, we'd never had quality hands-on time with the 3.7-inch Gingerbread device. For its diminutive size, the wee phone sports a 854 x 480 LCD display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core CPU clocked at 1GHz, 5-megapixel rear shooter and NFC functionality for Smart Tag use. As you might expect, the sola fits quite nicely into the palm of your hand, though its tiny screen can pose an issue for those with larger digits. And speaking of touch navigation, this Sony phone separates itself from the rest of the Xperia pack with the inclusion of floating touch technology -- much like the Galaxy Note 2. What's that? Well, turns out this device can detect your finger's presence up to 20mm away from the screen, allowing users to highlight links, but only from within the browser. Apart from that neat touch, which in practice, is a bit awkward to properly use, the phone functions exactly as it should for the low-to-mid range it occupies. Performance is appreciably quick and pages loaded up in the browser in just about 30 seconds time. There's still no word on whether the sola will ever make it stateside, but if you're keen to see that hovering functionality in action, head past the break for a video demo and check out our gallery below. %Gallery-164038% Mat Smith contributed to this report.
Sony Xperia J approved, torn down by FCC in first 24 hours of its official existence
Of Sony's trio of Xperia phones announced yesterday at IFA 2012, we've now seen the smallest and most budget-friendly model -- the Xperia J -- make it through the mounds of red tape and federal approval. Fortunately for us, Sony didn't bother requesting confidentiality on the various teardown photos that typically are kept away from prying public eyes. As always, it's important to withhold any assumptions that this particular device will make it to any US carrier; FCC approvals never offer any guarantee, and the J's lack of LTE isn't going to help matters. Still, this seems like an ideal device for a prepaid operator to pick up, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, gaze upon the full teardown in the gallery below. %Gallery-163875%
Sony's Xperia J arrives in style and on budget, we go hands-on
The Xperia T may have been Sony's flagship phone for this year's IFA, but the company's promised some style for a tighter budget in the form of the Xperia J -- what exactly "budget" means in this case, we're not exactly sure. The style thing we get, however -- the J's a pretty nice-looking phone and clearly in the aesthetic vein of its Sony Xperia brethren. The 4-inch FWVGA display is nice and bright (we had to turn it down a bit, even with that white Sony tablecloth in the background) and fairly shiny, offset by a matte black back. At 9.2mm thick, Sony's talking up the handset's svelte design. And it's certainly slimmer than a lot of handsets we've seen -- though not even close to the slimmest. It's also not the most powerful handset we've seen by any stretch with a 1GHz single-core processor inside, but it does a zippy enough job with the Ice Cream Sandwich it's rocking. All in all, the J seems like a fairly solid choice for those who don't want to shell out an arm and a leg on its bigger brother -- although we'll hold off full judgment until we figure out exactly what "budget" means. Check out our hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-163660%
Sony Xperia Tablet S hands-on (video)
Sony officially launched its new tablet here at IFA -- and it's keeping that folded-over profile. Happily, it's running Android ICS. We've just spent some time with the Xperia Tablet S here in Berlin and it's looking like Sony wants this to be the center of your media-consuming world. The new tablet pals up with the company's range of phones, bearing that familiar Xperia branding on a freshly hewn metal slab. Yes, the new tablet sidesteps the plastic build of Sony's last two tablets going for a solid metal build. Fortunately, it feels just as light in the hand, while that folded design also remains well-balanced. We're particularly pleased with the tactile finish on the folded-over surface of the tablet -- it's very grippable. Internally, we're dealing with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, while a 10-inch 1,280 x 800 IPS display will be showing off all that media and gaming content. Browse our gallery of images below and check out our hands-on video and first impressions after the break. %Gallery-163657%
Sony Xperia T flagship unveiled at IFA 2012: offers 4.6-inch HD display, 13MP camera and NFC
The Xperia T, formerly codenamed Mint, rumor and leak victim since January, has officially broken cover. Revealing its 4.55-inch face to the crowds in Berlin, the Reality Display packs a 1,280 x 720 resolution and offers what Sony is calling the "best HD experience on a phone to date." The company claims you can view vids in full 1080p HD quality, though we're still waiting to receive additional clarification on this statement. (Update: Sony clarified that it was merely referring to the 1080p video recording capabilities of the phone.) The Xperia T runs on Ice Cream Sandwich, but we're told it will be upgraded to Jelly Bean shortly after launch. It also features a 13MP fast capture camera and boasts a feature Sony is calling Sleep to Snap, which means you can go from a black screen to taking photos in an instant. What else does this new flagship offer? A one-touch function with NFC which you can use to tap to connect to other Sony devices, a 60-day premium trial of Music Unlimited and a new tier called Access which will be available in Europe for 0.99 Euros per month and will deliver full access of the service to PCs and the PS3. The T -- which will be known as the TX in select markets, and should be launching globally over the next few weeks -- also sports a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260A Snapdragon S4 CPU, pentaband UMTS / HSPA+ radios, a front-facing cam with 720p video capture, MHL connectivity, FM radio, 16GB onboard storage and an 1,850mAh battery. Dimension-wise, the T will weigh 4.9 ounces (139g) and come in at 9.35mm thick. Lastly, the new Xperia flagship will be available in black, silver and white hues (while the TX appears to come in pink as well). Pricing is still an unknown, but as we've seen before, it may largely depend on the market anyway. We'll keep you posted as more details come in. %Gallery-163659% %Gallery-163662% %Gallery-163658% Brad Molen contributed to this post.
Sony Xperia Tablet S official: slimmed-down design, Tegra 3, IR remote and Android 4.0, starts at $400
Looks like those leaked slides showing Sony's Xperia-branded tablet were right about pretty much everything. (Well, everything except the price, anyway). The company just formally announced the Xperia Tablet S and, as rumored, it features a Tegra 3 chip, Android 4.0 and up to 64GB of built-in storage. Like last year's Tablet S, it has that distinctive folded-over magazine shape, except this go-round it's made of metal, and measures between .35 and .47 inches thick (the weight, too, has dropped to 1.26 pounds, down from 1.31). Sony also kept the Tablet S' IR emitter, which allows the tablet to double as a universal remote, and this time you can program shortcuts to do things like watch sports. Rounding out the spec sheet, there's a full-size SD slot, a 9.4-inch (1,280 x 800) IPS screen and a 6,000mAh battery promising 10 hours of runtime. As we mentioned, the tablet will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, but Sony is promising an upgrade to Jelly Bean as soon as it can optimize all its custom apps. And indeed, there are quite a few specialized applications here. For starters, there's a new Watch Now app that allows for live TV-viewing (cable subscription required), with the option to "check into" shows and share comments on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, Sony added a Guest Mode that lets you create custom user profiles, forbidding the use of certain apps -- a handy parental control tool, we say. Naturally, Sony also threw in Music and Video Unlimited, where you can buy content from Sony's vast movie and song catalogs. Finally, the tablet comes with 5GB of space in PlayMemories, Sony's new cloud storage service. The tablet will be available September 7th, though Sony is accepting pre-orders starting today. It will start at $400 for the 16GB model, with the 32GB going for $500 and the 64GB for $600. And yes, as those leaked slides indicated, there will most certainly be accessories. For starters, there's that optional Surface-like keyboard we heard about, priced at $100. There's also a three-position stand, with HDMI output and a USB adapter for a charging. That, too, costs $100. Sony is also selling a charging cradle ($40), a plain-Jane stand ($25), a dock speaker ($130) and a carrying case, priced at either $51 or $80, depending on whether or not you get it in leather. We very much expect to get some hands-on time at IFA, so stay tuned for first-hand impressions.
Sony Mobile moving HQ to Tokyo, cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden
Sony's slow and painful transformation continues with a restructuring of its newly-minted mobile division. In October, it's moving its headquarters from Lund, Sweden (presumably a holdover from its Ericsson days) to Tokyo -- for deeper integration -- and repurposing the duties of its facilities in Tokyo, Lund and Beijing. As part of the changes, Sony Mobile will slash 15 percent of its workforce, with 1,000 employees being let go by the end of March 2014, in a trend we've seen across the industry. Most of those affected are in Sweden, with 650 on-site staffers and up to 450 consultants being shown the door.
Sony quietly outs Xperia SL: dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3, four hues
That oft-rumored successor to the Sony Xperia S smartphone, the Xperia SL? Sony's now officially listing the 4.3-inch GSM device as "coming soon" on its website, along with full details and specs. As it turns out, the initial leaks were correct -- the SL is a slight refresh of the S, differentiating itself with an additional duo of color choices (silver and pink), a faster dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 CPU and Android Ice Cream Sandwich (up from a 1.5Ghz processor and Gingerbread). Aside from all that, it's the same media-focused phone, loaded with the same 720p display and 12.1-megapixel shooter, that we reviewed in March. We can't say we're overly excited, but you'll find more info from Sony at the source link below if you're interested. [Thanks, Olmar]
Sony LT25i Tsubasa pops up in benchmarks, may swell the high-speed Xperia ranks
Add another future Sony Xperia model to a rapidly growing pool. The LT25i Tsubasa (not to be confused with the ST25i/Xperia U) has been caught by Tencent in AnTuTu and NenaMark2 tests, seemingly running the same mix of a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, a 720p screen and Android 4.0 that we've seen in the upcoming Xperia T (LT30p). So what's different? There's rumors of in-cell touch to keep the display thin and vivid, but even the unverified source isn't certain that it will become a reality. The crew at Xperia Blog also claims that there will be international LTE and HSPA+ models along with China- and Japan-specific editions. Assuming the details are at all consistent with the truth, having the Tsubasa arrive on the scene mostly hints that Sony might be readying a broader speed-up of its roster than we first thought.
New Sony Xperia T photos bare all, show its 'Mint' condition
If we didn't know better, we'd say that Sony was playing some sort of protracted game of hang-man with its Xperia line. S... P... U... and now possibly T? It's the phone bearing that latest letter in the cryptic message that we see before us today. In fact -- thanks to nixanbal.com -- we can see it from pretty much every conceivable angle. The S4-powered droid -- complete with foldout memory card slot and protruding camera -- is tipped to be announced pre-IFA, so we'll no doubt have the full skinny then. In the meantime head past the break -- and then tap the source -- to see the minty-phone in all its glory.
Sony Xperia SL shows up in multiple colors, allegedly sports a beefy 1.7GHz processor
Sony's been under the microscope for all the wrong reasons lately. Today, however, the spotlight's focusing on the rumored successor of that lovable Xperia S. According to the reliable folks over at ePrice, the upcoming Xperia SL has been tweaked in a couple of ways since its last showing; not only popping up in different (and more subtle) livery, but it's also received a decent speed bump with the alleged inclusion of a dual-core, 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 CPU -- which is slightly different than the 1.5GHz chip previously reported. Either way, this Xperia SL cup will remain half full for the time being, as other useful details like pricing and availability are still widely unknown. [Thanks, Joseph A.]
Sony rep confirms some 2011 Xperia handsets won't be tasting Google's Jelly Bean
Some of you might be familiar with Sony's earlier struggles to successfully (and in a timely manner) deliver Google's Ice Cream Sandwich to a slew of Xperia handsets. And, as we all know, Android 4.0's no longer the freshest treat around, thus the Walkman maker will now have to answer all the Jelly Bean questions to come. The first one to do so was a resident Sony mobile expert on the company's UK Facebook page, revealing that the Xperia Arc S and the itty-bitty Xperia Mini Pro won't be receiving the latest and greatest OS from Mountain View. Meanwhile, he also stated there's nothing buttery in the works for the elegant Xperia S, though he did say "ICS should now be approved" for the device. Perhaps this is a sign it's time to start looking for an upgrade, no?
Sony Xperia tipo sidles into the FCC, inspires yawns
Another day, another FCC filing. This time, though, the documents on offer aren't tipping us off to the impending arrival of some wunderphone -- it's just Sony's recently outed Xperia tipo. The diminutive 3.2-incher -- set for an official Euro bow this August -- is no screamer with its 480 x 320 TFT display and lone 800MHz Snapdragon CPU. The ICS handset's real claim to fame is its availability in single- and dual-SIM flavors. And based on the radios outlined in the corresponding Commission docs -- GPRS/EDGE/GSM 850 and 1900; WCDMA 850 and 1900 -- this modest phone could see a low-end berth on AT&T. Excited? Neither are we. Still, you can peruse the user manual, take a tour of the phone's inner workings and parse through dense legalese at the source link below.
Sony's upcoming ST26i smartphone could hit the market under Xperia J name
As is often the case, once you make your first unannounced, unexpected appearance, more are likely soon to follow -- and that's what's happening with Sony's forthcoming slab, the codenamed ST26i. Unlike last time we saw it in most of its glory, though, now it's only showing up in full text mode, revealing what could be its official moniker once it finally launches. According to a leaked doc acquired by the folks from Xperia Blog, Sony's purported 4-inch handset could snatch up the Xperia J nametag after making the transition from the more subtle and discrete ST26i title. Unfortunately, no other fruitful details were revealed in the process, but something tells us now it's only a matter of time before this ICS-filled Xperia J gets past its rumor phase and becomes something more concrete.
