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Sony and Verizon just scrapped the Xperia Z4v's US launch
Sony makes a mean smartphone, but it could never quite crack the macadamia nut that is the US mobile market. For while there it seemed like it had another fighting chance in the Verizon-only Z4v, too. Not anymore. After much hemming and hawing about its release date, a Sony spokesperson confirmed in an email that Sony and Verizon aren't bringing the Z4v to America after all. Way to keep us hanging, guys.
Twitch game streaming comes to Sony's smartphones
Sony is launching a new app that'll let you broadcast streams of your Android gaming to the internet, straight from your smartphone. Screen Recorder has been built to connect to both Twitch and YouTube's Twitch-like live service, letting everyone across the world watch as you play mobile Minecraft. The app works with the company's Xperia Z3+, Z4 and Z4v, as well as the Xperia Z4 tablet that we reviewed last week. It's certainly a big coup for Sony as it continues to revive its formerly-flagging mobile division, since Twitch's spectator-only mobile app has nearly 35 million installs. Tempting even a small proportion of mobile gamers to buy a Sony smartphone would do some impressive things to the bottom line.
Sony's tweaked Xperia Z4v has a better screen and a wider waistline
Remember when Sony cooked up a new flagship smartphone for Japan called the Z4, then renamed it the Z3+ when it came time to take it overseas? Yeah, well, it's finally coming to the United States with a little help from Verizon, and it has another name for us to try and keep straight. Meet the Xperia Z4v. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a straight-up rebrand of an existing phone, but that's not quite true -- it's a chubbier version of a phone we've already met with a better screen, to boot.
