Sony’s Xperia series smartphones — the flagship XZ Premium, the smaller XZ, and the large XA1 Ultra — now feature impressive imaging capabilities, including an option to shoot video at 960 frames per second to enhance the phones’ slow motion capture feature. The lens improvements adjust the lighting to better illuminate nighttime scenes and all images are displayed in ultra-high definition 4K. Beyond the camera, Sony struck a deal to stream Amazon content on Xperia phones without the need for clunky third-party apps. Continue reading Sony Smartphones Tout Premium Cameras and 4K Displays

On December 13, Sony plans to release the Xperia Ear on Amazon in time for holiday gift shopping. Priced at $200, the device, which will also be available eventually at Fry’s Electronics, Abt and B&H, will compete with Amazon Echo and Google Home — but in a form factor that resembles a Bluetooth earpiece. Sony had originally said it would release Xperia Ear in the summer, but then pushed the release date. The earpiece, available in black, is a companion to Xperia smartphones. Continue reading Sony Slated to Release Xperia Ear Wearable Digital Assistant

In 2016, Aerosense, jointly owned by Sony and robotics firm ZMP, plans to launch a commercial drone service targeting construction, logistics and agriculture industries. A prototype of an airplane-shaped drone was unveiled this week. The drones, which will be capable of capturing HD images and transmitting them to the cloud, will rely in part on the mobile phone and digital camera technologies developed for Sony’s Xperia smartphones. Analysts believe the unmanned aircraft industry may be worth $82 billion in the U.S. by 2025. Continue reading Sony and ZMP Team Up to Offer Commercial Drone Services

Crime drama “Powers” — adapted from the popular comic of the same name by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming, and starring Sharlto Copley, Eddie Izzard and Michelle Forbes — is a new PlayStation original series. The show is available exclusively on Sony’s PlayStation Network, and can be viewed only via the PlayStation game console and select Xperia phones and Bravia TVs. The series will be an interesting test subject in brand convergence between Sony Pictures and the company’s PlayStation division. Continue reading Original Series ‘Powers’ Launches on Sony PlayStation Network

YouTube has unveiled the “YouTube WatchMe for Android” project, which provides app developers with the ability to integrate live streaming into their Android apps. The open source project is available on GitHub, but so far, the project only offers a reference app where a user simply presses a button in the app to start and stop broadcasting. Eventually, YouTube plans to develop a toolkit that will help developers include a broadcasting capability for their own apps. Continue reading YouTube WatchMe Project Brings Live Broadcasting to Apps

As official partner to the Consumer Electronics Association, senior editors from Engadget selected finalists for this year’s Best of CES awards. At the end of the week, they had selected winners across 13 categories, in addition to a ‘Best of the Best’ winner — the Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ prototype. Engadget also announced that the People’s Choice Award went to Razer for its first wearable device, the Nabu, which registered nearly 50 percent of the more than 54,000 reader votes. Continue reading Engadget Announces the Best of CES 2014 Awards Winners

Sony’s new flagship Android phone, the $650 Xperia Z1, is now available in the U.S. The 5-inch phone features a massive 20.7-megapixel camera and can attach additional lenses. The company is also introducing its 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra, with a 4G LTE option, and its $200 SmartWatch 2 this week. The SmartWatch 2 will compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, the Pebble, Qualcomm’s Toq and a slate of new wearable devices expected to launch soon. Continue reading Sony Launches Pair of Xperia Android Phones and SmartWatch 2

Engadget writes about its favorite devices and trends to come out of last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. While there weren’t many debuts of flagship products compared to previous years, some devices still stood out, including the new LG handsets, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, and HTC’s recently launched One smartphone. Regarding wireless products, Engadget calls this year’s MWC one big “NFC love fest.” Continue reading Engadget Review: Best of the Best at Mobile World Congress

Sony unveiled its new Android device, the Xperia Tablet Z, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. The company claims it is the world’s thinnest 10.1-inch tablet at just 6.9 millimeters and that it is waterproof in up to three feet of water for 30 minutes. On the inside, it has a quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 1920 x 1200 display running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Continue reading Mobile World Congress: Sony Intros Thinnest 10.1-Inch Tablet

The Sony Entertainment Network debuted on Friday in North America. Available to European territories since December, the new content hub has expanded to Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. The network collates all of Sony’s media offerings into a single online storefront, featuring full PS3 games, downloadable games, music, movies, TV shows, avatars, add-ons, season passes, special deals and more. Continue reading Sony Entertainment Network Now Available in North America

Since 2008, Sony has attempted to gain a foothold in the smartphone market, trying everything from a mobile gaming phone built on their PlayStation brand to enlisting James Bond to market the Xperia TL. The company’s latest offering in the flagship Xperia line, the Z, might not need 007’s help to take on Apple’s iPhone and make waves in the ever-growing sea of Android phones. Continue reading CES 2013: Sony Mobile Dunks 5-Inch Xperia Z Android Phone

Kazuo Hirai — who last spring was named Sony Corp.’s president and CEO, succeeding Sir Howard Stringer — opened Sony’s press conference, noting that his focus remains on digital images, games and mobile, as well as turning around Sony’s TV business. As expected, Sony put emphasis on its commitment to 4K, highlighted by the unveiling of a prototype 56-inch 4K OLED display. It is also expanding its 4K TV line with LED displays up to 65-inches. Continue reading CES 2013: Sony Shows 4K OLED Display, Emphasizes 4K Efforts

The long-awaited Sony Ericsson Xperia Play — or “PlayStation Phone” as it’s been popularly dubbed — will finally be available starting May 26 for $199.99 from Verizon Wireless (with two-year service agreement). Pre-orders for the PlayStation certified smartphone began yesterday.

The Play features a 4-inch 854 x 480 multi-touch display, 5 megapixel camera on the back (plus front-facing VGA camera for video chats), and runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon II processor with 512MB of RAM. The system is based on Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” with some Sony Ericsson customizations. The specs also list support for Google Mobile Services, including Google Maps, Gmail, Google Talk and access to 200,000 apps in the Android Market. The phone will come preloaded with seven games, including: Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior (check out the video demo), Madden NFL 11, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Star Battalion, The Sims 3, Crash Bandicoot and Tetris.

The Play device features a sliding screen that reveals touch-sensitive directional pads, a dual analog touch joystick and shoulder buttons for playing games. Verizon says more than 50 games will be available at launch time from the V CAST app store.

Related Los Angeles Times article (including Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior video demo): “Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, a.k.a. the PlayStation Phone, hits Verizon on May 26” (5/17/11)

Related IntoMobile review (including 11-minute video demo): “Hands-On: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play” (5/20/11)

Related Sony Ericsson press release: “Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY to be the official mobile handset of Major League Gaming” (3/1/11)

Related In-Game article: “Sony’s PlayStation phone is for real” (1/26/11)