Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO of Sony, sat down with Jon Fortt of CNBC’s “Closing Bell” at the AllThingsD Digital Conference yesterday to address rumors that the company was “looking a spinoff 15 to 20%” of their Entertainment division, including Sony Pictures and Sony Music.
Remember that Sony 13.3-inch e-ink tablet from last week? The one capable of running for three weeks on a single charge? Despite it not being available till late 2013 to select Japanese universities, Sony is further teasing the technology. This time around, E Ink’s TFT tech, the company and technology behind the flexible display, is showing off the screen’s capabilities, like being flexed while still offering touchscreen capabilities. This makes it a remarkably robust product for those in the medical profession, construction industry, and students who want the familiarity of paper in a digital format, something that tablets still don’t offer. Due to that, the unit itself will be bigger than traditional tablets since it’s meant to replicate a full size A4 paper, but still weigh far less than tablets half its size at just 60 grams.
Oh FCC, how you can ruin many great surprises for companies. Last week, we told you about a leaked video and promotional photo of what appears to be a Sony VAIO Duo 13-inch, the hybrid Windows 8 laptop and slate. Sony already sells the VAIO Duo 11-inch so this latest model seems to offer what we’ve already come to expect from the series with an extra 2 inches of real estate space on your screen. Now, the FCC has all but confirmed the validity of the VAIO Duo 13-inch and a product through their doors means a very high likelihood of a release in the US, and soon.
It’s no secret that Sony is working on a new line of smartphones that will incorporate Firefox OS in 2014. I believe the shift in strategy is designed to help diversify Sony’s mobile portfolio and target more developing nations while lowering the company’s reliance on Android. In fact, in February, Sony showed off the HTML-5-based OS on the Xperia E which houses budgetary specs, exactly the segment the Firefox OS is designed to reach. Since then, things may have escalated a bit between Sony and Mozilla as the latest rumors suggest that the two are working on a premium handset. Li Gong, Mozilla’s senior vice president for mobile devices has gone on record, stating that
Sony is known for quality and user experience. So they are targeting for very, very high (end). We are in joint discussions on the kind of device and what’s the product.
During their CES 2013 keynote, Sony made it clear that NFC will play a big role in their upcoming slate of new products which ranges from tablets, to smartphones, and televisions. The bet is that consumers will be vowed by NFC capabilities like being able to pair devices easily and transfer music from your smartphone to your house stereo with a tap and a click. While big devices will be the hub that support NFC like a 5.1 home theater system, it’s truly on smaller devices where NFC shows its true potential. The Sony SBh50 is the newest premium Bluetooth headset from Sony. A followup to the Smart Wireless Headset Pro, the SBH50 features stereo audio and incorporates a mic and remote with a small OLED display. The headset functionality of the SBH50 is as you would expect though Sony wants to emphasize the premium nature of it, with superior clarity. What makes the SBH50 different than other headsets on the market is the mentioned OLED display.
While the tablet market continues to expand and each week, we seem to hear about a new Android variation, there still remains one true king, Apple. Playing second fiddle to them, Samsung has continued to copy offer new tablets and holds a respectable second place behind the Cupertino based company. Then, there is everyone else. Sony like others has continued to offer one or two tablets a year like the Xperia Tablet S and the soon to be released Xperia Tablet Z. Others like Microsoft are pouring billions into their own tablet initiative with the likes of the Surface and Surface Pro though there is little traction with consumers. While the tablet market is a highly active one, much like the smartphone segment, the game is currently controlled by Apple and Samsung. So how do you win in such an environment and gain marketshare? By offering something totally different and that’s exactly what Sony has announced with their 13.3-inch e-ink tablet.
Think what you may of Windows 8 but the VAIO Duo 11 is one mean machine. The hybrid laptop/slate combination is designed to give you what you want from a notebook in a post-PC era with flash memory, Intel Core i7 Processor, and full touchscreen compatibility. Slide the screen down and your notebook gets transformed to a Windows 8 tablet, all be it a thicker one. Now thanks a leaked video and press image, it seems that Sony is set to followup the VAIO Duo 11 (with an 11.6-inch screen) with a 13-inch variation.
If Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo countdown on May 15th is any indication, Sony is set to announce new Xperia smartphones for one of Japans biggest telecom providers. Just last year around the same time, Sony announced the Xperia GX and Xperia SX which stayed exclusive to DoCoMo and never made their way West. According to the Xperia Blog, rumors peg the Sony Xperia A (SO-04E) launching on DoCoMo and the Xperia UL (SOL22) on AU. It remains to be seen if true, how these models will fit in Sony’s already extensive smartphone lineup though it remains highly unlikely that these devices will make it to European and US carriers.
If you’ve been thinking about getting the Sony Xperia ZL (not to be mistaken with the waterproof Xperia Z), then you’re in luck. On the official Sony website, the company has just price dropped the Android smartphones to $629.99, down from $759.99. If the price still seems high, that’s because till we hear otherwise, Cincinnati Bell will be the exclusive US carrier that will offer the phone for $250 with a two year contracts. The $629.99 instead nabs you unlocked model, compatible with AT&T 2G/3G, T-Mobile 2G/3G, Rogers, and Fido. While a win for consumers, it begs the question, why did the Xperia ZL get a price drop after only a month on store shelves?
The FCC is an important part of the tech world. While it might be invisible to consumers, any device, be it a tablet, smartphone, or portable gaming machine that carries a wireless chip must pass through the doors of the FCC. The latest device to do so is the Sony Xperia Z, the flagship Android smartphone from Sony that was unveiled at CES 2013. While the job of the FCC is to tear apart tech and reveal their internals for documenting, this can also inadvertently reveal carrier praetorships due to the specific wireless chipsets that are be used for compatibility with networks. In the case of the Xperia Z, the documentation alone outlines the carrier support for the Xperia Z which has T-Mobile listed. While not the fanfare we would have liked to see, this also isn’t the official announcement from Sony or T-Mobile. Expect to hear something for concrete in the coming days. But there you have it folks, the Sony Xperia Z gets its first major US carrier which indicates an AT&T version might not be far behind since the two networks share many common networking and spectrum traits. If gutted tech is your thing, after the jump you can find the entire gallery from the Sony Xperia Z FCC teardown.
In hopes that the saying “3rd times the charm” holds true, Sony is opening up the floodgates and is now taking pre-orders for the Xperia Tablet Z. The followup slate to the Tablet S and Xperia Tablet S, the Xperia Tablet Z takes many of the design cues from its predecessors while improving on it in every way. Unlike previous models which were underpowered for their time, the Xperia Tablet Z now packs some of the latest specs which include:
If you’ve been neglecting your Sony Xperia Tablet S or tend to ignore updates, it’s time to fire up your tablet and connect it to the web. After hanging onto Ice Cream Sandwich for a bit too long, Sony is finally bringing Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1) to the Xperia Tablet S. The free update can be accessed from the System Update and takes just under 10 minutes to complete. It should be noted that the update requires that your Xperia Tablet S be plugged in, or have over 30% battery life, with 300MB of free space. After the jump, the Sony Xperia Tablet S Jelly Bean changelog.
The Sony Xperia Z is without a doubt a marvelous phone. The 5-inch flagship Android smartphone from Sony packs the latest technology with a powerful processor, 13-megapixel camera, and a water-resistant body to name a few. For Sony, the success of this phone could determine their mobile strategy while its doom could forever lock Sony out of the top 5 smartphone list. The last thing Sony or any company ever wants to deal with is a defective design or manufacturing process. But that may be exactly what Sony has on their hands. Thanks to a tipster and after our own digging on Sony’s support site, it seems quite a few people are experiencing issues with their Sony Xperia Z speakers.
There is no doubt that the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL are some of the most exciting smartphones that Sony has ever put out. The press and public have agreed with mostly praise and a lot of excitement and hype surrounding the product’s release. If such a phone was release by Apple, HTC, or Samsung, you could expect a big media blitz, followed by carrier partnership which is the life and breath of the smartphone market in the US. Learning from past mistakes and their nearly zero market penetration in the US, Sony finally partnered with a carrier to help bring the Xperia ZL to more consumers while driving down the phone’s cost via subsidy. The only problem is, who the heck is Cincinnati Bell?
Did you know that the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, and Xperia Tablet Z will work natively with Mac? Thanks to Sony’s Bridge for Mac program, the latest Android smartphones and tablets will be able to easily connect with OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and allow you to transfer music from iTunes and photos from iPhoto. With Bridge for Mac coming to v3.2, Sony is improving the software with less lag, better media handling, and new backup and restore options.
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