sony - 5/16 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

'Anatomy Of A Hoax' – Source Of Sony Nexus X Fake Comes Clean [Updated x3]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Leaks, News, Rumors

UPDATE 3: EVLeaks has now rescinded his previous statements.

I made a mistake. I've seen proof that the AP team worked hard to debunk - not perpetrate - this hoax. I hope they will accept my apologies.

— @evleaks (@evleaks) October 20, 2012

While we don't appreciate the manner in which EVLeaks (and others) initially approached this situation with conspiracy theories, baseless accusations, and speculation, we appreciate EVLeaks' withdrawal of previous comments, and our readers' support through the entire episode. Going forward we will continue to maintain our standard of ethics while delivering newsworthy content.

UPDATE 2: The original hoaxster, Ti Kawamoto has just tweeted another confirmation:

@teamandirc @evleaks Yeah, it was me who produced the fakes, not @androidpolice..

Oct

Sony Confirms 2012 Smartphones Will Receive Jelly Bean In 2013, 2011 Devices Are Stuck On ICS

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Sony

Straight from the horse's mouth is always the best way to hear about updates, even if it's less-than-stellar news. Today, Sony confirmed its schedule for Jelly Bean updates on its line of phones. For starters, the recently-launched Xperia T and Xperia TX will be upgraded "from mid-Q1 2013." This will put the latest and greatest from Sony a solid six months behind Android 4.1's initial launch and, if our guess is correct, at least a few months behind the possible release of Android 4.2.

After that, the rest of Sony's 2012 lineup, including the Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go and Xperia J will all be upgraded to Jelly Bean sometime next year.

Oct

These Photos May Not Show A Leaked Sony Nexus After All – Here's Why

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Leaks, Rumors, Sony

Earlier today, a couple of rather exciting photos found on Picasa began hitting news sites showing what could be a leaked device called the Sony Nexus X. Of course, during Nexus season, any rumor or glance at a possible new device is always exciting, but sometimes it's worth while to take a step back and consider whether what we're looking at is actually what it appears to be. Our penchant for putting leaked images under the microscope led us to do a bit of investigating.

After taking a look at the Nexus X photos, we have some doubts about their validity.

Oct

Sony Xperia T Joins CyanogenMod 10 Roster, First Experimental Nightly Build Already Live

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, News, Xperia T

Moments ago, CyanogenMod's Google+ page announced that Sony's Xperia T, the flagship device we first covered during IFA 2012, is joining the CyanogenMod device roster, offering a link to the device's Gerrit code review page and a quick James Bond reference.

What's more, the Xperia T's first (experimental) nightly build is already live in CyanogenMod's download center.

If you've got an Xperia T and have been itching for CM goodness "shaken, not stirred," keep a close watch on get.cm (linked below) for the latest nightly builds.

Definition: A "nightly" is a bleeding edge release that is built on a daily basis, usually at night after a full day's worth of new code has been committed.

Oct

What We Use: The Apps, Tools, Devices, And Other Stuff Liam Can't Do Without

Posted by Liam Spradlin in What We Use Series

With another week comes another entry in our new "What We Use" series. This time it's my turn. I may not have an eternal turtle or a crazy-sophisticated head razor, but the fourth time's a charm, right? Here's a rundown of the hardware, software, and miscellaneous whatnots that help me do what I do.

The Hardware

My Laptop

Unlike my colleagues, I rely primarily on my laptop. Having found myself either in class or overseas during the past four years, re-upping my old desktop build was neither cost-effective nor practical, so I opted for a beefy laptop solution. Currently I'm running a Sony Vaio S with 8GB RAM, an Intel i5-2439M at 2.4GHz, and a 15.5" 1920x1080 screen.

Oct

PlayStation Mobile Review: An Overpriced, Disjointed Gaming Platform With Digital Schizophrenia

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in App Reviews, Reviews

I'm going to start this review out with a gigantic disclaimer: I used PlayStation Mobile on a rooted Nexus 7, per Artem's instructions, hardware that it wasn't technically designed for. The service should run on just about any (rooted) Android device, as well as natively on most recent Sony phones and tablets. At least some of the games in the store are also available on the PlayStation Vita. Other Android users are having trouble (even I had to flash to a stock, rooted backup), so stability and performance may certainly have been somewhat off while I used the service.

Even so, PlayStation Mobile, or at least the Android version, is awful.

Oct

Sony Forced To Halt Sales Of The Xperia Tablet S Due To A Manufacturing Flaw, Turns Out It Isn't 'Splash-Proof' After All

Posted by John Thompson in News, Xperia Tablet S

Just a month after releasing its new 'durable and splash-proof' Xperia Tablet S, Sony has found that some units have gaps between the screen and the aluminum case, making them particularly vulnerable to water damage.

The issue has been caused by a manufacturing flaw at the Chinese plant where the tablet is produced, and as a result, Sony has chosen to temporarily stop selling the device until the problem can be resolved.

Although the Japanese company is trailing behind competitors, such as Samsung, in the tablet market, 100,000 units of the Xperia Tablet S have already been sold across Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Oct

PlayStation Mobile Opening Today For Certified Devices

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News, Sony

Right on schedule, Sony's PlayStation Mobile is going live today, bringing PlayStation titles to certified devices and – of course – PS Vita.

While, at the moment, Sony's list of certified devices is limited primarily to Sony's own Android phones and tablets, more devices – including some from Fujitsu and Sharp – are expected to gain certification in the near future. HTC's One line is already on the list, with "details to be announced later on."

Sep

Official CyanogenMod 9 Nightlies For The Sony Xperia Ion Now Live At Get.CM

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia Ion (Aoba)

Getting tired of running the stock OS on your Xperia Ion? If so, official CyanogenMod nightlies are now available for the device (codenamed aoba). The first CM9 build hit get.cm just a bit ago, so you're only a download away from having one of the smoothest, best supported AOSP ROMs on the planet.

Definition: A "nightly" is a bleeding edge release that is built on a daily basis, usually at night after a full day's worth of new code has been committed.

It could oftentimes be unstable and not properly tested, lacking any changelogs, but eventually evolving into alphas, betas, release candidates, and finally stable releases.

Sep

Sony Begins To Roll Out Ice Cream Sandwich For The Xperia Go, Sola, And U, Coming To Global Markets "Over The Next Few Weeks"

Posted by John Thompson in Xperia Go (Lotus), Xperia sola (Pepper), Xperia U (Kumquat)

Following the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Xperia P last month, Sony is now rolling out the same software to the Xperia Go, Sola, and U.

The rollout for all three devices is beginning today and continuing over the next few weeks in global markets, so keep an eye on your notifications if you're eager to update your software.

As well as updating users' devices to Ice Cream Sandwich, this latest update also comes with new Sony media applications, including a new Walkman app.

Some of the cool features and functionality you can look forward to include:

New ways to experience your tunes, images, videos and films with Sony’s media applications – “WALKMAN”, “Album” and “Movies”

Extended standby mode, increasing standby time by up to four times (depending on user-profile and data consumption)

Lock screen with improved functionality

Resizable widgets for improved personalization

Improved control of your mobile data consumption

Recent Apps button for a clear overview of your applications

In order to update your phone, you'll have to connect to a PC or Mac.