05.Sony: Only Xperia Z series smartphones to get Android Lollipop

Sony has confirmed that the Android 5.0 (Lollipop) update will be rolled out only for Xperia Z series smartphones.

Replying to a Sony Xperia M2 user on the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, Sony tweeted that the Android Lollipop will be released only for the Xperia Z line up of devices. This means other Sony smartphones including the Xperia T2 Ultra, the Xperia M2 Aqua or the E series smartphones won’t get the latest update to Google’s mobile operating system.

“Hi. We can advise that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is going to be released for the entire Xperia Z series only, we do apologise.” Sony tweeted.

The tech giant also apologized for not updating its non-Xperia Z devices with the latest Android iteration.
However, there’s still a ray of hope for other Sony smart phone users as while responding to the same user, but on a different query, the tech giant has suggested that the update might also be rolled out to other Sony devices, but didn’t specify when or which devices exactly.

“We can’t comment on upgrades for further products at this time – please stay tuned to our blog for the latest information,” the tweet read.

The company has already started rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop for its Xperia Z lineup including the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1S, Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia Z2, Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3v, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact starting February.

Source:

http://www.techienews.co.uk/9724587/sony-xperia-z-series-smartphones-get-android-lollipop/

08.M.W.C. - Honorable mentions:

Huawei's circular Android Wear watch is fine, but nothing special. Unless! Unless it turns out to be dirt cheap. We'll see!

Huawei's Android Wear Watch Is Handsome, But Still Too Bulky

Huawei is launching not one but three wearables this year at Mobile World Congress, and the new…Read more

Sony's Xperia Z4 tablet is about as slick and slim as 10-inch Android tablets get, if you are still into 10-inch Android tablets. Also, it's vaguely Surface-y with its new keyboard accessory!

Xperia Z4 Tablet: Slick and Slim, With Laptop Aspirations

There's a new tablet in town. It's the new Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet and yeah, it's…Read more

LG's mid-ranged smartphones are going to have slightly curved screens, which is a way to make mid-range a little more fun.

LG's Bringing Curved Screens To Its Cheaper Phones, Because Why Not

That curve on LG Flex's screen might seem like a total gimmick, even if it's pretty rad.…Read more

Meanwhile, Sony's new Xperia M4 Aqua is everything a cheap phone should be. Waterproof and two day battery, count me in. 

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Hands-On: Proper Waterproofing, Two Day Battery

With the Xperia Z4 smartphone nowhere to be seen at MWC 2015 (even if its tablet cousin is knocking …Read more

BlackBerry teased a phone with curved edges and a slide out keyboard. OK! Sure!

Blackberry Is Bringing Back the Slider Phone Because Sure Why Not

When square phones don't quite work and suing Ryan Seacrest is taking too long, what's a…Read more

HTC's new One M9 seems like a fine little improvement on its existing flagship, but with nothing super special or exciting to speak of.

HTC One M9: Definitely Better But So Much the Same

This is the new HTC One, the third in a line of phones that got Android devices to adopt metal…Read more

You can read about allllll of our Mobile World Congress coverage here.

Sony Xperia Z4 specs, price & release date rumours - better camera coming

Sony's latest smartphone could be just around the corner. Here's everything we know about the Xperia Z4 so far

We were hoping that Sony's excellent Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact might put an end to its biannual release cycle, with six months between handsets simply not giving the company the time to add enough new features between launches. It doesn't look like that will be the case, though, and the rumour mill is already in full session for what we can expect from Sony's next flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z4 (assuming Sony will be sticking with its current naming convention, of course). Here's everything we know about the phone so far.






Sony Xperia Z4 release date
Sony's announcement times have varied over the years, but considering the Xperia Z2 was launched at MWC last year, with the Z3 following six months later, it's highly likely we'll see an official launch of the Xperia Z4 at the same event this year. This means that we can expect to the see the phone in March 2015. That timing certainly fits recent information, which shows that the phone has already been approved by the Japanese Internal Affairs and Communication Ministry, which oversees telecommunications in Japan alongside other parts of the Japanese government.

According to PhoneArena, the phone has been approved and will be available on Japanese networks NTT, DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank. All carrier versions will support Voice-over-LTE, too. With this in mind, it shouldn't be too long before the phone starts appearing before other regulation authorities. Judging by how long it took for the Xperia Z2 to make it to the UK, we're expecting a release date around April.

However, according to XperiaBlog, we may not see a new Sony flagship phone at MWC at all this year, with Sony supposedly concentrating on a summer release window instead. However, no sources have been cited in this case, so we're taking this as pure speculation for now. 

Sony Xperia Z4 design

Source:
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-phones/1402492/sony-xperia-z4-specs-price-release-date-rumours-better-camera-coming

ET deals: Sony Smartwatch 3 fitness tracker for $225

Sony’s latest smartwatch is still pretty new and hasn’t really been discounted yet. So we were excited when we found we could lop 10% off the price of this fitness-friendly watch with a coupon code, bringing it down to just $225.
The new Sony Smartwatch 3 runs Android Wear, so it can be utilized by anyone with an Android phone with Android 4.3 or later installed. A particular highlight of this watch is that it’s the only Android Wear watch to include a built-in GPS, making it ideal for runners and others who want to track their location precisely through apps like RunKeeper or the included iFit. As for the specs, this watch uses a 1.6-inch screen with a 320×320 resolution and a transflective LCD that reads well in direct sunlight. It also packs a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 512MB of RAM that will deliver smooth performance, and 4GB of built-in storage for apps, music and more from Google Play. 


Source:
 http://www.extremetech.com/deals/198595-et-deals-sony-smartwatch-3-fitness-tracker-for-225

Sony Reveals Spotify-Powered PlayStation Music

Get ready to rock, gamers. Spotify is headed to Sony's PlayStation Network.
Sony today announced it is shutting down its current Music Unlimited service and replacing it with a new music destination in partnership with Spotify. Dubbed PlayStation Music, the new offering will roll out this spring in 41 markets, initially for PlayStation consoles and Xperia smartphones and tablets.
Spotify on PS Music will offer more than 30 million songs and 1.5 billion playlists.






Sony said Spotify will be "deeply integrated" with the PlayStation Network, offering some unique benefits to users. Gamers will, for instance, be able to link their PSN account with Spotify, and subscribe to the streaming giant's Premium service through their PSN wallet.
Another cool feature — those on PS4 will be able to use Spotify while playing games. This means you'll be able to soundtrack your gaming sessions with your favorite songs playing in the background.




Source:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2475944,00.asp

Sony launches Android 4.4.4 KitKat, new software 18.5.A.0.26 for Xperia E3

TOKYO: Sony has published the open source code for a new firmware for the mid-range Xperia E3 smartphone, which was launched with OS version 4.4.2.

The software version noted for the new firmware is 18.5.A.0.26 for Xperia E3 D2202 (HSPA+) and version 18.5.B.0.26 for the dual SIM variant called as Xperia E3 Dual. Head over to Sony mobile developer site to know more about the release.

According to the screenshots shared by XDA members who have installed the firmware on their Xperia E3, it updates the smartphone from previous Android 4.4.2 to Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

Sony is yet to make the update public, and the open source builds are for internal use only. The new firmware is now available for download.

“This firmware is not out yet, it will roll out probably in the next weeks, the file on the link is only the open source archive,” anticipates XDA member, adrianocolvero.

Check out the following FTF download link if you want to try out the new firmware for Xperia E3. Renowned developer, Jozinek has shared the FTF file for the firmware.

You can download this on your Xperia E3 using Sony flash tool. But proceed with extreme caution since this is not official update.

Source:

http://customstoday.com.pk/sony-launches-android-4-4-4-kitkat-new-software-18-5-a-0-26-for-xperia-e3/

NSA program reportedly helped US gather evidence against North Korea in Sony hack

A program implemented by the National Security Agency to help the U.S. and its allies track the computers and networks used by North Korean hackers was critical in gathering information that led Washington to conclude Pyongyang was behind last year's cyberattack on Sony Pictures. 

The New York Times first reported that the NSA began placing malware in North Korean systems in 2010. Originally, the purpose of the surveillance was to gain insight into North Korea's nuclear program, but the focus shifted after a large cyberattack on South Korean banks and media companies in 2013. 

Fox News has confirmed that investigators have since concluded that the hackers spent more than two months last fall mapping Sony's computer systems and planning how to attack it. 

Source:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/19/nsa-program-reportedly-helped-us-gather-evidence-against-north-korea-in-sony/

Some Sony Xperia Z3 Owners Complaining of Fragile Screens and Glass Back

Over the years Sony’s brand has be defined by quality, both in build and user experience.  This lends itself to essentially every industry Sony gets itself into, from gaming to mobile and everything inbetween.  Since the launch of the Xperia Z series and the rebranding that the Xperia lineup went through in the process, Sony’s Xperia lineup of phones has featured a glass back in addition to the traditional glass face of smartphones.  While this makes the device very pretty it also presents a problem: hit it too hard or just right and that glass is going to break.

We’ve seen this problem with anything else made from glass, whether it be a car windshield getting hit by a pebble and shatterinig or something else just as seemingly ridiculous, glass isn’t exactly the best material for resiliency.  The original Xperia Z was thus known for getting its glass cracked easily, and over the years Sony has improved the build quality of each and every Xperia handset up to the most recent Xperia Z3, which features more rounded edges made of material that’s supposed to accept crashes a little better than the previous generation.  Unfortunately some users are now reporting that there may be a defect in Sony’s design, as claims are being made that screens are cracking for no good reason.

Source:
http://www.androidheadlines.com/page/2

sony smart watch 3

Sony Xperia USVerified account‏@SonyXperiaUS

#TuesdayTip: Make the #SmartWatch3 your own. Hold down on the watch face to reveal a range of customizable options.

Source:

https://twitter.com/sonyxperiaus/status/549989553898262528

Sony's next phone is hidden in the eye of the beholder

In preparation for the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony has released a video teaser for its next Xperia smartphone. With the device likely to be revealed in full during the company's CES press event at 5PM on January 5th, the video reiterates the number 5 more than once, and, just to make sure the point about Android 5 is missed by no one, even includes a big red lollipop. In spite of the Xperia Z3 only being a few months old, having launched this September, Sony looks set to replace it with a new, even thinner handset, which the teaser suggests will place an emphasis on vibrant and colorful visuals — whether with new display technology or an improved camera.


Source:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/30/7467389/sony-xperia-ces-2015-teaser-video

Green Version Of The Xperia Z3 Compact Joins Clove’s Lineup

Everyone has heard of Sony, this Japan-based giant has released a bunch of compelling devices last year, and one of those was the Xperia Z3 Compact. This is a smaller version of Sony’s flagship, the Xperia Z3, but unlike other manufacturers, Sony didn’t downgrade its specs (too much) along with its size. This handset has almost identical specifications as its bigger brother, save for the screen resolution due to a smaller screen size, 1GB less RAM and of course its size and battery are different. Many people like this handset because they can get a smaller-sized Sony flagship here, which is completely understandable, not everyone wants a huge phone.


Source:
http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/01/green-version-xperia-z3-compact-joins-cloves-lineup.html

Sony giving users membership extensions, discount after holiday PSN outages

Sony is trying to make amends with PlayStation Plus subscribers who were affected by disruptions to its service over the holidays.
The company announced in statement Thursday that users who had an active membership or a free trial on Dec. 25th would be granted a membership extension of five days. Users will also be offered a 10 per cent discount code on a PlayStation Store purchase later this month.
The disruptions began Christmas morning when eager video game players may have been unable to access online gaming systems.


Source:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/sony-giving-users-membership-extensions-discount-after-holiday-psn-outages-1.2169169