Sony delays Xperia Android 4.0 ICS update, now starting from mid-April

Sony Mobile has confirmed that the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for 2011 Xperia handsets will start from mid-April 2012. The first phones to get the update will be the Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray. This rollout will continue over 4-6 weeks.

Following on from these handsets, the second wave of updates for the rest of the 2011 Xperia range will start from end of May/early June. This includes updates for the following handsets: Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia mini, Xperia mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. The Xperia S will see an upgrade “from the later part of the second quarter”, therefore don’t expect it before June 2012.

Sony Mobile had originally stated that the ICS update for the Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray would commence from end of March/early April. They also communicated that the rest of the 2011 line-up would get Android 4.0 from end April/early May. This implies around a month’s delay for some Xperia handsets.

Sony confirmed that the update will take place via PC Companion/SEUS and Bridge for Mac only. There will be no OTA updates and no notifications either. The reason behind this is that they want users to make a conscious decision when upgrading to ICS given that it is a significant revamp and that it “may impact performance in some user scenarios” given that it requires more resources.

Via Sony Mobile Blog.

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[NEWS]Sony Mobile files patent for a “sensor-equipped” display

Following on from last week’s news that Sony Mobile was looking to secure a patent to control your mobile via “head movement”, it now has another up its sleeve. Sony Mobile has filed a patent for a sensor-equipped display. This basically includes a light-transmissive display made out of an opaque material behind which a sensor would sit.

The idea is that you could place a sensor such as a front-facing camera, proximity sensor, illuminance sensor or fingerprint sensor behind the display. As the display is light-transmissive it would be able to detect light passing through it. This would mean that Sony could use more real estate for the display and less for worrying about room for the sensors that normally sit at the top of the phone. We don’t know how well this would work in practice but it sounds very interesting nonetheless.

Via Unwired View.

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[NEWS]Sony announces Xperia neo L for the Chinese market

Today Sony Mobile announced a new addition to its Xperia smartphone line-up. The Sony neo L is a mid-range device that is based on the neo V and is destined for the Chinese market.

The Xperia neo L will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at launch (a first for Sony) and can easily be confused with the neo V as they share similar looks and specifications. However, the neo L also borrows a few design elements from the Xperia PLAY, sans the PlayStation certified joypad.

Under the hood of the Sony Xperia neo L sits a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon processor and an Adreno 205 graphics chip bundled with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone is built around a 4-inch LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels.

At the back, the Xperia neo L carriers a 5MP snapper capable of shooting 720p videos, while a VGA front-facing camera enables video calling. At 120.0 x 61.0 x 12.8mm, the neo L is slightly longer, but slimmer than the neo V.

Here are some hands-on photos of the neo L courtesy of Sina to help you see how the device really looks.

   

Sony stays mum on pricing and time of availability of the neo L, but it has been revealed that the Chinese market will get it first. Whether it'll be also the last is anyone's guess for now.

Source | Via

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Sony Tegra 3 slate benchmarked, Tablet S successor on the way?

If you're looking to benchmark tools for hints at Sony's next slate, then you're looking at a little number that calls itself the V150. According to the NenaMark Android GPU benchmarking tool, this 1.4GHz tablet rocks a 1280 x 752 display and Android 4.0.3. An Nvidia Tegra 3 helps this slate achieve a benchmark score of 59.70, which is well above the Tablet S' 42.89 average. Considering that Sony's lastwedge-shaped wonder has already seen a sizable price drop, it's looking like the firm may be gearing up to announce its replacement. We're reluctant to make the call with only a single benchmark score to go by, but we won't stop you from speculating.

Netbook News

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Sony MT27i ‘Pepper’ makes brief appearance

There was a good chance that Sony Mobile was going to announce the rumoured Sony MT27i, codenamed Pepper, at the recent MWC tradeshow in Barcelona. It never came to pass, however it seems that its launch is still scheduled for some point in the future. The picture you can see below apparently was captured from a brief appearance on the Sony Mobile China website.

You can see that the design looks very similar to the Xperia NXT devices, however this particular handset does not have the transparent bar. It also clearly uses capacitive buttons (larger than the one on the Xperia S) and has a dedicated camera shutter key. The Sony MT27i ‘Pepper’ is rumoured to sport a 3.7-inch display with 480 x 854 resolution and be powered by a 1GHz dual-core ST-Ericsson U8500 NovaThor chipset. It is believed to come with 8GB of internal storage, 512MB RAM and a 5MP camera. The image also highlights it will come with NFC functionality.

Via IT168.com.

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