Tablets

iF Design Awards Celebrates 26 Sony Products

by Jonathan Nolan | Mar 4, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony has proven itself once again in design terms, with no less than 26 of its products earning the seal of approval from the iF Design group, with three products earning a gold award. In individual company achievements, Sony ranked the third highest awarded company, ahead of rivals Apple and LG.

iF is an international group that recognises excellence in product design. It is their aim to “strengthen public awareness of design” and their logo has been an illustrious global standard of design for over sixty years. This year’s event took place on February 28th in Munich, Germany.

It probably surprises few that Sony would do well with awards for design. The company has always raised the bar with iconic and effortless designs with current class-leaders in the Xperia Z2, the PlayStation 4 and the luxury X9000A Bravia TV line to name but a few.

Read on to find out which Sony products earned gold and which two awards come at a bittersweet time.

Sony Stereo Microphone STM10 Brings Better Audio Recording to Your Xperia Device

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 26, 2014 | 1 comment

In addition to announcing the Bluetooth Speaker with Magnetic Charging Pad for their line of Xperia smartphones and tablets, Sony has also revealed the Stereo Microphone STM10. This new accessory, which slides into the device’s headphone jack, allows owners of the Sony Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet to record audio in superior stereo. The STM10 is a high sensitivity stereo condenser microphone with a 90 degree tilt function, allowing you to adjust your area of focus.

Sony Announces Bluetooth Speaker with Magnetic Charging Pad BSC10 for Xperia Smartphones and Tablets

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 25, 2014 | 4 comments

Hot on the heels of announcing their next flagship Android smartphone and tablet, the Xperia Z2 and the Xperia Z2 Tablet, Sony has unveiled a new accessory that can accommodate both devices. Dubbed the Magnetic Charging Pad BSC10, this Bluetooth dock is designed as a dual-purpose audio and charging accessory for your Xperia device. As you’d expect from the name, the dock has built in speakers, a feature that allows you to stream audio from you Xperia device, be it music, movies, games, or YouTube videos. Sony has also included NFC for easy pairing, a feature that’s built into most of their new fleet and most definitely in their flagship products. But the Sony Magnetic Charging Pad is capable of more than that.

Meet the Flagship Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet With a Quad-Core Processor; We Have Specs

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 24, 2014 | 0 comments

If you thought that Sony was only going to announce one flagship product today then you need to think again. Along side the Xperia Z2, the companies newest Android flagship smartphone, Sony also announced the Xperia Z2 Tablet. As you’d expect, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is the companies next flagship Android tablet. Following in the footsteps of the Xperia Z2 which built upon the success of the Xperia Z1, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet takes most of its cues from the Xperia Tablet Z though the improvements are quite noticeable for those looking for minimum weight and maximum power.

Lets talk Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet specs, after the jump.

According to Sony, “Something Extraordinary is Coming” (video)

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 21, 2014 | 0 comments

If Sony is to be believed, than “something extraordinary is coming” is coming from the company’s growing mobile division. Building up to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which kicks off next week, Sony has begun sending a teaser email to its customers with the mentioned tag line and a video which can be found after the jump. The preemptive email also depicts dancing and photography which fall in line with previous rumors about Sony focusing heavy on the optics of their upcoming flagship Android smartphone. It’s expected that during the MWC, Sony will release the Xperia Z2 (code named Sirius D6503) as the Xperia Z replacement with features like 4K video recording and 15.5-megapixels in 16:9 aspect ratio photography. For reference, Sony’s current flagship model, the Xperia Z1 is only capable of taking pictures at 8-megapixel in 16:9 mode. But that’s not all from Sony.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z2 Pictures Get Leaked, Weight Revealed

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 18, 2014 | 9 comments

The saying that when it rains, it pours has a special meaning around here. Usually, when a Sony product is leaked, it’s only a matter of time before a fury of information is revealed about it. Early yesterday, we brought you the leaked specs for the Sony Xperia Tablet Z2, the companies next flagship tablet which boasts a more powerful processor with a lighter and thinner design. Now, new pictures have begun to circulate about the Xperia Tablet Z2 with confirm that the name will be as we’ve reported. It also seems that Sony will be offering the tablet in black and white though it remains to be seen which territories the color variants will be offered in.

The Xperia Tablet Z2 is also taking a cue from the Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra and, Xperia Z1 Compact by featuring magnetic charging pins versus the plugin USB of its predecessor. Another missing piece of information had been the tablets weight. While we new it featured a thinner profile, it’s now believed that the Xperia Tablet Z2 will weigh in at 426g for the Wi-Fi model and 439g for the Wi-Fi+LTE model. In comparison, the current Xperia Tablet Z Wi-Fi edition weighs 495g. After the jump, we have a few more shots to share with you.

Leaked: Next Generation Sony Xperia Tablet Z2, We Have Specs

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 17, 2014 | 0 comments

With the Sony Xperia Tablet Z (pictured above) having been in the market for nearly a year, it was only a matter of time before we started to hear murmurs about a follow-up tablet. Now, new leaks point to what will likely be the next generation Sony Xperia Tablet Z2. Tablets, like smartphones at this point, have already matured, so don’t expect a shocking difference from one generation to the next. Still, it doesn’t mean that the Z2 won’t be a worthy upgrade with more RAM and a faster processor.

After the jump, let’s talk about the leaked Sony Xperia Tablet Z2 specs.

Sony 3rd Quarter Financial Results: PS4, Xperia Strong, TV Divest, PC Sold

by Jonathan Nolan | Feb 6, 2014 | 9 comments

The financial results for the past three months of Sony Corp. were released today, forecasting a net loss of 110bn yen ($1.1bn) for the financial year ending March. This a revision downward from a previous prospect of 30bn yen profit.

The company reported a significant boost to sales and operating income, lifting the stock price. PS4 and Xperia smartphone and tablet sales were strong, as expected. All segments reported increased year-on-year sales and operating revenue, except for devices.

Sony has bit the bullet and sold of it’s PC business and is pushing out the TV division to a wholly-owned subsidary. This leads to impairment charges and write-offs with 5,000 job cuts planned before the end of the 2014 financial year. The PC business is sold to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. to “enhance the autonomy of the business”.

Read on the for full story.

Xperia ‘Sirius’ Flagship and ‘Castor’ Appear at FCC; ‘Sirius’ Gallery

by Jonathan Nolan | Feb 5, 2014 | 5 comments

Rumours are becoming more certain now as the ‘Sirius’ and ‘Castor’ devices appear with the FCC communications body in the US. Just in time for Mobile World Congress in Spain too.

The FCC details reveal something we didn’t expect about the ‘Sirius’ smartphone – it’s compatible with the three major US carriers. Sony is keeping to its word then, the US won’t be left out at launch.

Leaks have appeared of what is claimed to be the ‘Sirius’ and the images certainly appear like an updated Sony model. Check out our full gallery on this.

Separately, another source indicates that the Sirius and Avatar models are different phones and confirms that the Sirius will appear at MWC while the Avatar is a different model due to take over the reigns as flagship in the second half of 2014. MWC is very soon so we will know for sure then.

The new flagship will be joined by a shiny new tablet codenamed Castor and this also passed through the FCC. Given the industry awards that Sony’s flagship smartphones and tablets receive, the judges might want to sit down for this.

Read on for a closer look.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Gains Wi-Fi Only Option

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 21, 2014 | 0 comments

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a fantastic ~~tablet~~ ~~smartphone~~ phablet. Beautiful in design and rich in power. As a recap, the Android-powered phablet offers a monstrous 6.4-inch display with a 1080p resolution on Qualcomm’s latest 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800, with 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, and 4G LTE connectivity. In fact, the unit is regarded highly enough that Google recently launched their own version, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition which is spec for spec the same as the original, minus any custom software that Sony offers on the Android unit. Seeing how big the unit is, Sony has decided to offer it with a Wi-Fi only option, making it a true tablet.

Sony to Launch 2-in-1 Flash Drive for File Transfers Between a PC and Android Devices

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 31, 2013 | 5 comments

If you’ve ever wanted to easily transfer a file between your PC (Mac, Windows) and Android device, or files between your Android smartphone and tablet that didn’t rely on the cloud, then you’ve been out of luck till now. Sony has announced a new dual 2-in-1 flash drive which houses a micro USB port on one end and a full-size USB port on the other end. This new dual USB drive will allow you to easily transfer files between devices without the need of the cloud, Bluet00th, or Wi-Fi. Now let’s talk details, including price and availability.

Sony VAIO Tap 11, Flip 13, and Flip 15 Prices Revealed

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 22, 2013 | 22 comments

At the Berlin IFA 2013 conference, Sony announced a whole host of new laptops and tablets, including the VAIO Tap 11 series, designed to take on the Microsoft Surface Pro. As a recap, the VAIO Tap 11 is an 11-inch Windows 8 tablet with dual speakers with a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display and is configurable with up to a 512GB SSD drive and Intel Haswell Core i7 Processor. While at the conference we learned everything could about what the tablet could offer, Sony was mum on its release date and price tag. Now thank to Sony, we can report on the series release date and price.

The Sony VAIO Flip PC, a Hybrid Notebook/Tablet

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 12, 2013 | 19 comments

We’ve all been there. Should I take my laptop or tablet with me? Although it’s very much a #FirstWorldProblem, it’s one nonetheless. With the VAIO Flip PC, Sony looks to remedy this problem by giving us a hybrid notebook/tablet that can give you something from both worlds while creating an entirely new product category. So what exactly is the Sony VAIO Flip PC? Let’s talk details.

Sony VAIO Tap 11 Image Gallery

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 5, 2013 | 1 comment

Sony VAIO Tap 11_04

If you’ve been drooling over the Sony VAIO Tap 11, the company’s first foray into the Windows 8 tablet world, then you won’t want to miss our gallery that will only further entice you. As a reminder, the Tap 11, as the name suggests is an 11-inch tablet with a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display and offers Haswell chip (Core i3, i5 or i7) with 128GB to 512GB of solid-state storage. The Tap 11 also features a new keyboard with more depth than the Surface Pro from Microsoft will still managing to be thinner. After the jump, our VAIO Tap 11 image gallery awaits you.

Sony Announces VAIO Tap 11, Takes On Surface Pro from Microsoft

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 4, 2013 | 3 comments

Despite the lukewarm responses to Windows 8 tablets, Sony is finally expanding its mobile fleet beyond Android by announcing the VAIP Tap 11. If you’re at all familiar with the Surface Pro from Microsoft, the VAIO Tap 11 takes most of its cues from that design. Sony would argue however that their tablet not only offers superior specs, but some fresh features as well like an all new attachable keyboard with thicker keys for easier typing while the entire product all together is no thicker than the Surface Pro. Interested? Yea, us too so lets talk details.