Just a while ago, Sony has revealed its Xperia miro on Facebook with little info. Now they have officially announced the Xperia miro and tipo with more details on its hardware and dimensions.
For the Xperia miro, it runs on a modest 800MHz Qualcomm MSM72275A processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage (2.2GB user accessible). Fortunately the storage is expandable via microSD up to 32GB. Over at the front, it has a 3.5″ TFT display that pushes a rather low 480×320 resolution. It comes with a 5MP camera at the back (HD not mentioned) and a front facing VGA camera. It is 9.9mm thick and it weighs 110grams.
For an entry level device, the Xperia miro packs a rather huge 1500mAh capacity battery which is one of the biggest in its class. Sony claims a battery usage life of more than 24 hours for the miro. Considering the better spec dual-core 1GHz Xperia U is priced at RM899, we would expect the Xperia miro to be priced around RM700 range or less. More information on the Xperia miro at their microsite.
Next is the new Xperia tipo which is formerly known as the Tapioca ST21i. Just like the Xperia miro, the Xperia tipo also runs on a 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7225A processor with 512MB RAM and 2.9GB of storage (2.5GB user accessible) that’s also expandable with microSD. The screen is smaller at 3.2″ TFT with 480×320 resolution and the glass is said to be scratch resistant. In terms of imaging, it comes with a 3.2MP camera that shoots VGA video. The Xperia tipo comes in 4 colours – Classic White, Classic Black, Deep Red & Navy Blue.
Despite its low specification hardware, it also runs on the current Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. The Xperia tipo is juiced up with a 1,500mAh battery which claims to provide more than 24 hours of usage. For those that uses more than 1 SIM card, there’s also a dual SIM version called Xperia tipodual. No pricing details were given but both devices are said to be commercially available in Q3 2012.
More information on the Xperia tipo can be found here.
Head after the break for more photos and videos of the Xperia tipo.
The Sony Xperia go is not your high-end handset. Take for example the 3.5 inch display offering resolution of 320 x 480 and a low pixel density of 165 ppi. Or even the dual-core 1GHz ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 CPU with an ARM Mali-400 GPU and the 512MB of RAM on board. Even the pinstriped suits at the FCC could see that this was more of a low to mid-range model even with the water and dust resistant build and the scratch resistant screen. Instead, they probably noticed the 5MP camera that captures video in 720p, and the 4GB of native storage. Android 2.3 is installed out of the box.
While we have no idea when this phone is going to launch, it did visit the FCC, which is often the signal of an impending (although not imminent) release. While the model of the Sony Xperia go examined by the Feds is the international variant and can run on GSM and EDGE with U.S. carriers, the 900MHz and 2100MHz bands supported by the unit spell out overseas 3G connectivity.
Source: ( phonearena.com )
Monday, 14 May 2012
Sony Xperia U Hands-on Review
Posted: , by Ray S.
At a glance, the Sony Xperia U looks more or less like its flagship sibling, the Xperia S, only smaller. It features the same Identity design, and the special coating meant to repel dirt and dust is a welcome addition.
As a whole, we can say that the Xperia U is pretty nice little handset – it's made of plastic, but Sony has come up with a pleasing design, featuring the characteristic transparent line near the touch-sensitive navigation buttons and a changeable bottom part. These bottoms will be available in a number of colors, so that you can choose the one that suits you best. By the way, the above-mentioned transparent line actually illuminates in various colors, depending on how you set it. It can also lights up when you're getting a call, and changes its color according to the picture that you're currently viewing.
What we see on the smartphone's front is a petite 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 480 by 854 pixels. It did look fine while we were testing the handset here at MWC, but for some more in-depth details, we'll all have to wait a bit until we get the chance to review the handset properly.
The unit of the Sony Xperia U that we tested ran Gingerbread, but we really hope that Sony is to out the ICS update as soon as possible. There's been a fair degree of visual customization via the UXP NXT user interface (rolls right off the tongue). First of all, we see a revamped lock screen, as well as new gallery and music player apps. There are more than a few visual tweaks noticeable in Timescape.
Obviously, if HTC manages to pull off its software updating scheme well, its lineup will be a dangerous opponent to keep an eye on. The budget-oriented Xperia U is expected sometime during Q2 of 2012.
Sony Xperia Sola introduces "floating touch" navigation
Hot on the heels of the launch of the Xperia S, Sony has announced a new Xperia phone, the Sola.
What sets the Sola apart is the new "floating touch" touchscreen interface. According to Sony, this allows you to control a cursor without touching the screen itself - you let your finger hover over the panel to move the cursor and select a link, and then tap to launch it. We imagine it would have to be quite sensitive, as trying to move your finger across a phone's screen without touching it is actually quite difficult in practice.
The Sola will also be NFC-enabled, like many new phones, allowing you to trigger actions on your phone, such as toggling Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, by touching an NFC-compatible tag, which can then be placed where you need it. For example, you could associate a tag with turning on Bluetooth, and place it in your car so that when you get in, it turns on Bluetooth and connects to your hands-free headset.
More mundanely, it's got a 3.7in, 480x854 screen which uses Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine technology, and is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM. Sadly, it'll run Android 2.3, with Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" promised for "summer 2012".
According to Sony, the Xperia Sola will be available in a choice of black, white or red at some point in the second quarter of this year. As a side note, the Sola will be marketed as the Sole in Italy - "sole" means "sun", whereas "sola" means "only". In China it will be known as the MT27i - yawn.
The Xperia P is one of the better handsets from Sony Mobile's lineup this year. The smartphone has a great build quality and the WhiteMagic display is one of the best displays you can use outdoors.
The good
Beautiful design and brushed aluminum chassis; good build quality; bright 4-inch display; above-average camera.
The bad
Runs Gingerbread (Android 2.3); non-removable battery; lack of expansion slot; suffers from "death grip".
Announced at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, the Sony Xperia P was one of two handsets announced at the tradeshow. The other is the Xperia U and together with the Xperia S, these three handsets feature Sony's NXT design. This means that all three handsets look pretty similar--you'll note the flat front screen and curved back, as well as the transparent lighted band located at the bottom.
Design
Compared with the Xperia S, the slightly smaller Xperia P seems much easier to hold, and the brushed metal feels good in our hands. The 4-inch display also makes the P usable with just one hand, while size-wise, the smartphone is just slightly wider than Apple's iPhone 4S.
Unlike the Xperia S, the P does not come with plastic covers for its ports. The rear cover is also non-removable. This is no big loss, since the removable rear of the Xperia S only lets you access the microSIM card slot; the Xperia P's uses a slide-out microSIM tray located on the left side instead, and is a more elegant solution.
Located above the microSIM tray are the micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports. On the top is where you'll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, and finally, on the right are your power, volume and camera shutter buttons. We note that the handset's speakers are located on the right--an interesting design choice, to be sure.
The handset sports a 4-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels) display, and comes with Sony's new WhiteMagic display. Sony claims the display is bright enough that you can view the screen comfortably even in direct sunlight. We found this to be true, when we used the phone outdoors-- we had no issues reading on the Xperia P's bright display.
The P features the same transparent lighted band at the bottom, and has the three icons for Back, Home and Menu. Instead of the Xperia S's annoying button placement (the keys are located above the icons), Sony has made the P's buttons on the lighted strip itself, which makes so much more sense.
Weighing at 120g, the Xperia P feels light enough in our hands, though its 10.5mm depth means it is much thicker than most phones. Lastly, the handset comes with a non-removable 1,500mAh battery.
Features
Unlike the smaller Xperia U, Sony has included built-in NFC for the Xperia P. This will allow you to make full use of the Xperia SmartTags the company is touting. These programmable NFC tags will allow you to quickly launch apps and services by simply tapping your Xperia P onto the tag. However, no SmartTags are included in the package. See our Xperia S review for more about this feature.
Other connectivity features include HSPA, Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi. The handset comes with 16GB of onboard storage, though only 13GB is available for use.
The Xperia P does not come with the latest Android operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich) at launch. Instead, it runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) but Sony has promised that an update for the handset in the future.
That said, Sony has added tweaks to enhance the user experience. Like in Android 4.0, you can create folders by dragging apps on top of another and the company has also added notifications for messages on the lock screen (you can also slide the message to unlock your handset and jump straight to reading it.
The 8-megapixel camera uses Sony's Exmor R, which is a backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor. There was no shutter lag. The Xperia P's shutter button also lets you take a picture even if your phone is locked by holding down the button, which launches the camera app and immediately snaps a picture. We note that the white balance isn't adjusted properly when you use this feature. The shot after that will look better as the handset would have some time to adjust correctly. However, that takes away from the immediacy of this feature.
We found images taken by the Xperia P's camera to have lots of detail, but colors do seem a little washed out. In low-light situations (and with flash turned on), there still seems to be quite an ample amount of noise. For a midrange handset, the Xperia P's camera seems above average in our books.
Performance
While it does not have a quad-core processor as we've seen in the latest high-end smartphones, the Xperia P's dual-core 1GHz processor was more than sufficient to keep things running smoothly.
The smartphone lasted us for a day at moderate usage, and that's on top of our usual test settings with two Gmail accounts, Facebook as well as Twitter set on push. It may be a good idea to carry around a battery charger, especially since you won't be able to swap in a spare battery if you run dry.
Lastly, there's no issue with voice quality and call reception. However, there seems an attenuation issue when it is used indoors. When the phone is gripped with the palm touching the back (see below), the signal bars seems to fall off, but we note that you're still able to make calls but data is affected--web pages' loading time slowed down to a crawl. The speaker located at the right side was loud enough to be heard, and we didn't think the location affected the quality of the audio.
Here's how you can do the "death grip". (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia P is strangely a more compelling device compared with the Xperia S. We found it to be the better handset, especially when it comes to build and battery life. Though the screen resolution is not as high as on the S, the WhiteMagic display works as advertised, which means you won't have problems using this smartphone outdoors. In Singapore, the handset is currently only available from telco SingTel, and retails for S$248 (US$197) on the cheapest monthly plan. We've reached out to Sony for more information on regional pricing.
Outdoor test shot. Click for original image. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)Macro test shot. Click for original image. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)Indoor test shot. Click for original image. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)Indoor test shot with flash. Click for original image. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia) Article Source - CNET Asia
