Sony's yearly report is in: Here's the plan department by department!

   Sony's annual report which shows us the state of affairs within the company has been released today! In recent years things haven't been too great, but for once there's a few little hints here and there that things might be starting to turn around!

   The good news for Sony was that the company is profitable again! This was mainly down to the film and financial services departments of the company as well as lots of asset sales! Sony still seem to be struggling with consumer electronics, but we'll go into that in a bit more detail now!

The Sony Xperia Z!

   In the smartphone and tablet department things have been going well and the company is looking to build on their solid position with, 'accelerate the speed with which it develops and rapidly delivers compelling products to customers,' so essentially Sony want to cut down their development time to get products to market sooner, which is a solid thing to do given that the flagships for this year are rocking Qualcomm's older Snapdragon S4 Pro processors instead of the new Snapdragon 600's which everyone else is deploying!

   The story is somewhat similar when it comes to computers, but the real focus will be on a new realignment which will see the company prioritizing profitability over increasing sales, which makes sense because Sony's laptops tend to target the higher end at the moment any way!

   Imaging has always been a particular strength of Sony and the company seem to know it. There are plans in place to 'reinforce the professional camera line-up centring on 4K-compatible cameras, as well as cameras for cinematography.' The Japanese company are also looking at new revenue streams with things such as security, sports and medicine being the starting point for this. On a more mundane level consumers can expect compact cameras with 'enhance image quality... reduced size and weight, and higher-powered zoom,' all of which sounds pretty good to us!

   Gaming is an interesting topic at the moment too, especially with yesterday's reveal of the Xbox One, the ball is firmly back in Sony's court to see what they do with the PS4! There's not too much detail in this report, but the guys do say that it will arrive in time for the holidays this year and the aim is to offer 'a quality gaming experience only possible through a dedicated gaming system, and will also enable smartphone and tablet users to share in the enjoyment of PS4, even without owning one themselves.'

The battle will be over the next generation of consoles as Sony focus
on gaming and Microsoft go after living room domination!

   The PS Vita will tie in quite closely with the PS4 and owners of both will be rewarded with exclusive content and there will be some interesting price reductions on the Vita, as well as some
more compelling games coming in the near future, especially focused around software downloads instead of physical game sales! The PS3 will be supported for a few more years, but there's not really much doing there now as the focus is shifting to the PS4!
 
   And finally, when it comes to the TV business, things aren't looking great, but the company is pledging to continue to work on their 'Full HD TV models, while also expanding its 4K LCD TV line-up'. There will be a renewed focus on emerging markets because that's where the growth is at the moment with the hope that cost saving can bring this department back into profitability over the next few years!

   If you're interested in checking the report out in more details then head over to Sony's website here and let us know what you think about Sony's future in the comments below!
Via Engadget.

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Sony's Xperia Z might've looked different: We prefer the other option!

   Some things are quite fascinating when we get to see how a smartphone progressed through the design stage to how they actually look now. So when the XperiaBlog was showing these pictures of the Xperia Z, embedded below, we were quite interested. 

   As you can see, the first picture, which is still on Sony Mobile Hong Kong's Facebook page, quite clearly has those simple drilled metal holes which sounds comes out of, whereas the actual device, in the 2nd picture, has those slits which look to be covered in some sort of material. 

   The guys suggested that the subtle design change was probably down to the waterproofing which Sony wanted to offer and that seems to make sense to us! We're interested to know which speaker option you prefer though. Do you prefer the drilled metals holes or the slits? Let us know in the comments below!
Via XperiaBlog.

The Render.

The Reality.

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31/07/2012

Sony planning a Tablet S refresh!

   Mobiflip has today outed a new Sony Xperia Tablet. The picture above shows that the device is essentially a Tablet S refresh; sporting exactly the same iconic wedge design of the Tablet S. 

Looks like Microsoft's Surface tablets has a bit of an influence too!

   This time, however, the tablet is set to be slimline and splashproof, complete with Tegra 3 and a 9.4-inch 1280 x 800 display. The new tablet will be 11.85mm at its thickest point according to mobiFlip‘s premature documentation. This would overall add up to a 42-percent trim down, Sony claims, and this one will be made of aluminum rather than plastic!

   On the camera front there's an 8-megapixel main camera which is paired with a 1-megapixel front facing camera, and there’s also a docking stand with three USB ports and an HDMI connection. Sony also throws in a clever Guest Mode, which allows for a separate interface – with limited access to apps and other data – for visitor use of the tablet, while keeping full Ice Cream Sandwich functionality locked away.

   Interestingly the presentation also includes projected pricing; $449.99 for the 16GB model, rising to $549.99 for the $32GB, and $649.99 for the 64GB. The carrying cover will be $59.99 ($20 more for the leather version) and the keyboard cover will be $99.99.

   As for docks, the Dock Speaker will be $119.99, the Docking Stand $99.99, and the Cradle $39.99. A Simple Stand – propping the tablet up at a choice of three angles – will be $24.99. The HDMI cable will be $29.99 and the USB Host cable $19.99.

   When this device launches we'll see if it's possible to get a review to compare with the Tablet S and see if it's a worthy successor!

Sony's update saga.

   Sony, Sony, Sony... What're we going to do with you eyy? 

  Today we've been told not to rule out Jelly Bean updates coming to any of their current devices. This news has come after they said their 2011 line up, which includes the Arc S and Mini Pro, would not be getting the update! Apparently we shouldn't rule out the possibility of these devices getting Jelly Bean just yet; the company said;

“We are actively investigating Android OS upgrades for all devices, but in the meantime, our Ice Cream Sandwich rollout for Xperia S and 2011 Xperia smartphones continues as planned.”

   So there we have it. Don't give up hope just yet! The only thing we know for certain at the moment is that Sony don't know what they're doing just yet! The company is still in the midst of their ICS rollout so you can't blame them for not being entirely sure yet! We do expect their most recent crop of NXT devices will be getting updates, but probably early next year!

In other news:

• Nintendo needed their 3DS XL to do a good job on the sales front. Initial tips look good with the device reportedly shipping 200,000 units in the first 24 hours after it's launch!
• RIM are reportedly cutting 3000 jobs on August 13th, sorry guys, the company just can't stop the rot.
• Microsoft has integrated Facebook tagging into Bing search results.
• Samsung is reportedly working on a new 11.8″ 2560×1600 tablet.
• Samsung‘s product lead has lashed out at Apple‘s design patent case, describing the jury trial as “fighting over rectangles” and "defying common sense" and to be honest we have to agree!

And finally, Microsoft has launched Outlook.com as a Gmail competitor! It looks eerily familiar!

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13/06/2012

Samsung working on a Facebook competitor?

   Samsung is rumoured to be creating its own social network. A network designed specifically to tie in with existing devices and services. The new social network, which has been code named “Samsung Facebook”, has the mammoth expectation of becoming a competitor to Facebook over time. The network will be accessible on smartphones, cameras, and televisions. Samsung is looking to incorporate more social features into their arsenal something which would build on the well received ChatOn messaging service, which is available on all mobile operating systems at the moment.

   The Korea Times has said that Samsung will utilize a powerful cloud computing platform in order to make the service availability as widespread as possible. There's not an official name for this yet, but Samsung is currently making progress on its Family Story system, which hopefully will become the framework of this new platform. Family Story was first shown to us back at CES 2012; it's designed to share photos, reminders, memos and a whole host of other useful things via Samsung smartphones and televisions.

   Family Story is projected to be completed by the end of the year, with the service going live during the first quarter of 2013. The Korea Times said: “The eventual goal is to expand our social media service across different devices from different companies across different mobile platforms. That includes cameras, televisions and blue-ray [sic] players.” This could be a very exciting platform indeed!

The limited availability of iOS6.

   Apple had their brief little pop at Android mid-week about how many users have received the latest build of the OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, but Apple chose to omit that while iPhone 3GS and 4 owners will get a version of iOS 6, they won’t be able to use all the features, they would expect. In the companies finest small-print, on the iOS 6 preview page, Apple has revealed that FaceTime over cellular will only be available to the iPhone 4S and the new iPad, while 3GS owners will also have to make do without Shared Photo Streams.

   As well as these 'little details' it's been announced that the original iPad won’t be getting iOS 6 at all and will be stuck on iOS 5, while the iPad 2 won't get any Siri functionality, unlike the new iPad on iOS 6. Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation, features in Apple’s new Maps app, which replaces Google Maps in iOS, will be be available on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and newer.

   The list of features the iPhone 3GS won't have is the most extensive; VIP list support, VIP/Flagged smart mailboxes, and Offline Reading List, on top of the previously mentioned features, are only on the iPhone 4 or later, and iPad 2 or later. Apple’s plans for Made for iPhone hearing aids will require the powers of the iPhone 4S. Sorry to be the one to burst the bubble but it's better to know sooner rather than later, right?

Three announces EU Roaming deal to beat them all!

   One of the newest and most forward thinking UK mobile carriers, Three, has taken it upon themselves to challenge to extortionate data roaming charges that people have become wise to when travelling abroad. 

   Their solution is the new Euro Internet Pass. A service which offers unlimited data in most EU countries for £5 ($8) a day. The new add-on will support most of the popular European holiday destinations, such as France, Germany, Greece and Spain. The only slight downside here is that that tethering isn't included in the deal, but the company has said that “The pass was designed for browsing, so streaming may not be as good as it is on our UK network, and, tethering isn’t included.” 

   There's also been warnings that set-up may be a bit of a pain for first-time users, it'll require a combination of turning on data roaming but (initially) turning off push notifications so you can avoid charges until the day-pass realises it has started:

   “To activate the pass, firstly make sure data roaming is enabled. You’ll then also need to turn off your push notifications  (they’re the things that tell you stuff like when you’ve got an email, when it’s your turn in a game or when someone’s tagged a pic of you). They need turning off to avoid out of bundle charges while you’re setting up the pass. How to do it differs from phone to phone, so make sure you’ve worked out how to sort it before you go away. Then just click on the link in the SMS. Follow the simple steps to buy the pass and then you can go wild online until midnight that day (UK time)” 

   A full list of supported countries (and principalities) is below:

 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (incl. Azores & Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Balearic & Canary Islands), Sweden, Vatican City and Monaco.

    Not supported:

Aaland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey), Croatia, Cyprus (North), Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Georgia, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Martinique, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Reunion, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Turkey, Netherlands Antilles and the Rest of the World.

In other news:

• Nintendo are reportedly working on a Nintendo 3DS successor!
• Nokia are again trying to sell their luxury brand Vertu, this time it looks like they have a buyer and we'll keep you updated as to whether they manage to complete this deal.
• Apple's new Retina displays (2880x1800 pixels, 220PPI) for their laptops cost $150 each so that's one of the reasons the Macbook Pro's have shot up in price.
• AMD have licensed ARM's Cortex A5 technology to enhance their security on x86 based architecture.
• It's been reported that Microsoft is charging $85 for each Windows RT license, which'll make most Windows tablets inaccessible.
• Sony have announced two new phones today; The Xperia Miro and the Xperia Tipo. The later of which is a dual sim phone, whereas the former is a mid-range phone. Click on the name of each phone for a full information list.
• Windows Phone 8 is rumoured to have Skype integration and the inclusion of a whole host of Nokia exclusive apps such as their mapping technology. Keep it locked to TheTechFella for all the latest news.

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