Xperia S (Nozomi) - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Sony Announces Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) For The Xperia P, go, And E Dual - Rollout Starts This Week; Xperia S, SL, acro S, ion End Of May

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Device Updates, News, Sony, Xperia Acro S (Hikari), Xperia Go (Lotus), Xperia Ion (Aoba), Xperia P (Nypon), Xperia S (Nozomi)

Last Updated: April 26th, 2013

It's been a long time coming, guys – we've definitely seen our fair share of upset Xperia P owners who've been waiting for this update. But, the good news is that it's finally here, and the P is joined by the go and E Dual.

According to the Sony blog, the 4.1 update not only brings Jelly Bean, but also a slew of new enhancements that Sony has been working to "blend" with the OS. Among these new features, you'll find updated versions of WALKMAN, Album, and movies; a way to make your battery last longer with "Battery STAMINA Mode," a more customizable launcher, more home screens, and more.

Nov

Sony Xperia S No Longer An "Experimental AOSP" Device, Project Moved To GitHub

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Sony announced today on it's official Sony Mobile Developer blog that the Xperia S "experimental AOSP support" project, first announced by JBQ back in August, is no more. It was an interesting idea, to be sure - a non-Nexus device that would be supported both with the help of members of the Google developer community, as well as AOSP maintainer JBQ, on the AOSP main branch.

The project did see some success, too - Android was booting, and according to Sony, Wi-Fi and sensors were up and running. Unfortunately, because of proprietary software binaries that by definition could not be part of AOSP (which requires legitimate open source code only), it seemed unlikely audio and mobile network modem functionality could be achieved in that environment.

Sep

Sony Releases Xperia S Binaries For Use In AOSP Support, Will Get Devs Far Enough 'To Boot Up And Reach The Homescreen'

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, News, Sony, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Last Updated: September 4th, 2012

In a gesture of good faith, Sony, on its developer blog, has announced the company is releasing the software binaries for the Xperia S. It has done so explicitly in support of Android developer JBQ's "experimental" support for the device in AOSP (found here). If you're unfamiliar with the project, we covered it earlier this month when it was announced.

Download: Xperia S software binaries

The software binaries Sony released consist mainly of drivers for the hardware on the Xperia S's chipset. These binaries allow developers to get that hardware to function with non-OEM software. Manufacturers are generally under no obligation to make these binaries public, because they typically fall under the "proprietary" umbrella.

Aug

Sony Xperia S Added To Android Open Source Project As First Experimental Device

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News, Sony, Xperia S (Nozomi)

The head of Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP), Jean-Baptiste Queru, made an interesting proposal recently. He added a new device to the AOSP repository, but this is no Nexus variant. Queru created an empty git project for the Sony Xperia S, but he needs the community to get behind the initiative. This will be the first device not designed under Google's supervision to be supported under AOSP, and that could be a big deal.

AOSP has been getting more robust as time drags on. Back in the pre-Froyo days there was only a little usable code posted for hardware targets, but more recent Android releases have included exact source files.

Aug

Sony Teases Dark Silver Version Of The Xperia S, Says To 'Keep Your Eyes Peeled'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia S (Nozomi)

It looks like the Galaxy S III isn't the only device getting a makeover in the color department: Sony just announced that the Xperia S will be available soon in dark silver. The device is currently available in both white and black, so if you have some sort of phobia against the extreme color palate, then this new version may be the answer to your I-want-an-Xperia-S-but-hate-black-and-white prayers.

Unfortunately, Sony failed to mentioned when exactly this new color option will become available, only suggesting that we "keep [our] eyes peeled."

Specs:

4.3-inch 1280x720 display
1.5GHz dual-core processor
32GB built-in storage
12MP Exmor R camera
NFC
Android 4.0

Sony

Jun

Android 4.0 Now Available For The Sony Xperia S

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Say what you will about Sony and its mobile products, but the complete transparency regarding ICS updates on the 2011 Xperia line has been nothing short of impressive. In their most recent blog post, Sony has detailed the ICS update for the Xperia S, which is rolling out now.

The update features a new features a new suite of entertainment apps: Walkman, Album, and, Movies. According to Sony:

The “WALKMAN” application blends the best of signature Sony audio technology with social features; to discover the music your friends like and share personal favorites. Facebook integration gives you a visual way to interact with content – accessing album art, artist images and information, directly from Gracenote®

The “Album” application brings new intuitive ways to sort and browse high quality photos and videos in blazing speed, as well as providing instant viewing, commenting and sharing of photos on Facebook and other online albums, leveraging the great camera capabilities of Xperia S

The “Movies” application streamlines the playback and viewing of movies in high quality audio and video, whilst using intelligent database search to grab movie posters and information for a richer experience

The update also brings all of the goodies that come along with ICS, like resizable widgets, improved lockscreen, mobile data usage control, and more.

Apr

[Video] Watch America's Got Talent Finalist Team iLuminate And Labrinth Rock The Socks Off Sony's Xperia S Launch Party

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sony, Videos, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Team iLuminate, one of the most visually impressive and creative dance troupes who just happened to ~~win~~ be one of the finalists in America's Got Talent last year, recently joined Labrinth in this stunning performance at the Sony Xperia S party. There really isn't much to say here - just watch:

I've been a huge fan of iLuminate, and while this isn't by far their most original performance, it was still quite a treat. Plus, Labrinth isn't so bad either.

As a bonus, here are some videos you absolutely need to watch:

Mar

Sony Releases Open Source Archive For The Xperia S, Includes Handy Build Instructions

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, News, Sony, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Sony released the Xperia S open source archive today, providing all the tools necessary to build a kernel and start cooking up ROMs for the Xperia S from Sony's source code. In a post to Sony Mobile's developer blog today, the company also noted that the opening of the Xperia S archive marks the first time Sony has published source code for a product built around Qualcomm's Snapdragon S3.

The post goes on to advise that in order to flash the software, users will need to complete a few extra steps and run a special script (which is linked, along with a proprietary firmware file, in the original post).

Jan

Black Sony Xperia S UK Release Date And Price Announced By Clove, Available For Pre-Order Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Sony unveiled a couple of new handsets at CES this week - one for the US market (Xperia Ion) and one for the international market (Xperia S). Both are powerful devices and should be the first to be released under the Sony name (not Sony Ericsson), and the latter is now available for pre-order from Clove UK for £467.99 with an expected release at the beginning of March. While the Xperia S will be available in both black and silver, the pre-order is only available for the former, as the latter will be exclusive to Phones4U initially.

Jan

[CES 2012] Video Hands-On With The Sony Xperia Ion And Xperia S, Including Their Speedy 12MP Rear Cameras

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony, Videos, Xperia Ion (Aoba), Xperia S (Nozomi)

We stopped by the Sony booth earlier this morning at CES, and got some hands-on time with the very first Sony smartphones (Sony-Ericsson is no more, subject to regulatory approval) - the Xperia Ion and the Xperia S. While these devices were designed before the Sony Ericsson breakup, they'll be marketed as Sony devices when they hit retail channels.

First up is the Xperia Ion, announced a couple of days ago by AT&T. As you may already know, Sony's upcoming flagship device (headed to AT&T in Q2) will be powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4G LTE, and features a 720p display with a truly impressive 12MP rear shooter.