Sony Xperia Z4 only for Japan, global markets to get another flagship in May

Sony announced its new flagship Xperia Z4 a couple of days back without any fanfare as is usually done in case of flagship, with just a simple press event. The device is also nothing much to get excited about as it has only some minor improvements over its predecessor the Xperia Z3 and looks quite similar too, just a tad thinner and lighter.

The company had mentioned in its press release that the device would be introduced in the domestic market in late summer. There was no mention about its global release. However, new information has come to light which reveals the reason why Sony has opted for a quiet unveiling of the Xperia Z4.

According to the Russian website hi-tech.mail.ru, the Xperia Z4 is meant only for the Japanese market and Sony will not release the device in the international markets in the same exact configuration. It seems that the Japanese tech giant will be introducing a different flagship device for the other countries and Sony’s official announcement for the same will possibly come somewhere in late May this year.

The name of the flagship device will be different but its specs or how different it will be from the Xperia Z4 is not yet known. In all probability, the international version will be presented with only some minor changes like a bump in screen resolution if earlier rumors about two variants of the Xperia Z4 are to be believed. According to info received by hi-tech.mail, the international flagship may be called the Xperia Z3+.

We have already heard rumors about an upcoming new flagship Xperia Z5 sporting the next-gen Snapdragon 820 that is supposed to release towards the end of 2015. We will have to wait and see what kind of device Sony really has up its sleeve for the international markets.

The newly announced Xperia Z4 will feature a 5.2-inch 1920 X 1080 pixels resolution Triluminos display, 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset with Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB of RAM,  34GB native storage expandable up to 128GB, 20.7MP rear camera,  5.1MP selfie camera and 2930mAh battery. It will come with Android 5.0 pre-installed.

Sony Xperia Z4 only for Japan, global markets to get another flagship in May

Sony Xperia Z4 finally announced but only for Japan, sports 5.2” display and Snapdragon 810

Well, after numerous rumors and leaks, the Sony Xperia Z4 is officially here although the Japanese electronics giant has announced it only for its home country Japan at present which is a bit surprising. Also, Sony’s new flagship has only a few noteworthy improvements over its predecessor, the Xperia Z3.

The new Sony Xperia Z4 features a 5.2-inch triluminos display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a pixel density of 424 ppi. Under the hood it has a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core 2.0GHZ/1.5GHz processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage expandable up to 128GB via a microSD slot.

The primary camera will be the same 20.7MP Exmor RS with LED flash but no OIS (optical Image Stabilization) as yet. However, the rear camera has a new “cooking mode” that helps users to take great shots of food. The handset will have a 5.1MP front-facing camera for selfies and video chats.  The smartphone will draw power from a 2930 mAh battery and it will come with Android 5.0 out-of-the-box.

Dimensions of the new Sony Xperia Z4 are 146mm × 72mm × 6.9mm and it weighs 144 grams. This means it is 4mm thinner and 9 grams lighter compared to Xperia Z3. Its frame is made of polished metal and it is IPX5/IPX8 certified for water resistance and IPX6 for dust resistance. IPX5 means it can withstand 12.5 liters/min of water projected from all directions through a nozzle of 6.3mm diameter from 3m distance for minimum 3 mins.  IPX8 means the phone can be submerged in tap water at room temp. up to 1.5 meters for 30 mins.

Sony Xperia Z4 will be available in four color options – White, Black, Copper and Aqua Green. Accessories include a waterproof cover with window available in four colors matching those of the handset. You can receive a call as well as operate the camera and music player with the cover on. The cover is priced at 7,000 yen (about $59) plus tax. A black desktop holder will also be available to hold the phone and charge it.

Sony Xperia Z4 will be available “later this summer” but for now, only in Japan. There is no word from the company about its global release or pricing.

Sony Xperia Z4 finally announced but only for Japan, sports 5.2” display and Snapdragon 810

Sony unveils Xperia M4 Aqua, its new waterproof mid-ranger at the MWC 2015

Sony has officially announced a new device in its Xperia line of smartphones, the Xperia M4 Aqua, at the Mobile World Congress 2015. It is a waterproof device falling in the mid-range category. It has a beautiful OmniBalance design and offers great features at an affordable price.

Xperia M4 Aqua is a dust and water proof handset having IP 65 and IP 68 certification, meaning it can go up to 5 feet deep in fresh water (1.5 meters) for up to 30 minutes without coming to any harm.

Let’s have a quick look at the specifications:

• 
  Display: 5-inch HD (1280 x 720p)


• 
  Processor: 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core


• 
  Camera: 13MP rear camera with f/2 lens, 5MP front camera


• 
  Battery: 2400 mAh with a two-day battery life


• 
  OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop


• 
  Colors: White, Black, fresh Coral and silver

Have a look at the Xperia M4 Aqua video here:

Please scroll down for pictures of the handset.

 

And now the detailed info about the specs:

Design and display

The Xperia M4 Aqua has Sony’s OmniBalance design with a plastic body and a tempered glass display. It is lightweight, weighing only 136 grams. The device sports a premium look but comes at an affordable price. It is a waterproof handset with IP65/8 rating and allows you to take pictures while immersed in water.

The handset offers cap-less micro-USB charging. Its dimensions are 145.5 x 72.6 x 7.3 mm and it will be available in four color variations, Black, White, Fresh Coral and Silver. Sony has adopted Google’s material design in the device and it runs the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Processor and other hardware

The Xperia M4 Aqua is Sony’s first octa-core 64-bit smartphone. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor (quad-core 1.5GHz and quad-core 1.0GHz) with integrated 4G LTE connectivity. The Snapdragon 615 enables you to have fast and seamless access to Xperia Lounge. Adreno 405 GPU takes care of the graphics.

The device has a 2GB RAM, 8GB or 16GB flash memory and a microSD card slot for expansion up to 32GB. Its battery is 2400 mAh that lasts for up to two-days on normal usage. You can activate the battery STAMINA mode to optimize its usage and use the ultra STAMINA mode to keep the core functions of your phone running for one whole week.

Camera

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is equipped with a 13MP primary rear camera having Sony’s Exmor RS mobile sensor with F2.0 aperture and ISO 3200 sensitivity. It has a Superior Auto Mode like the Xperia Z series phones have. The Superior Auto Mode automatically senses and adjusts to different lighting conditions giving great results every time. The camera offers 4x digital zoom and full HD 1080p video recording with SteadyShot video stabilization.

The handset has a 5MP front-facing camera for taking great selfies. It has a wide-angle lens with an 80 degrees field of view. You can give finishing touches to your photo with its Protrait Retouch feature. Then there is the selfie editing feature along with the whole suit of Sony’s Xperia camera apps.

Price and release date

The Xperia M4 Aqua will be launched worldwide across 100 carriers in 80 countries, although there is no information whether it will be available in the US. The handset will come with a price tag of about €299 (equivalent to $335) and will hit the stores in the spring of 2015.

Here are some pictures of Sony Xperia M4 Aqua:

Source Sony, Sony Blog

Sony unveils Xperia M4 Aqua, its new waterproof mid-ranger at the MWC 2015

Google releases 4 new ads as Android Lollipop rollout begins on Nexus devices

Google recently announced that the roll out of Android Lollipop has started and it would soon be available on most of its Nexus devices. It has now released four new Android commercials on its YouTube account. As in earlier ads, these new commercials also feature Androidified animated characters.

Each commercial focuses on a different theme. Google seems to have adopted a new slogan for Android – “be together. not the same”. This line appears at the end of each ad.

Take a look at the commercials:

1. Android: Break Room

This ad shows the scene near the water cooler in a break Room and what happens when you look at your smartwatch when you have a full cup of beverage in your hand. Two characters who first look at their watch are shown wearing square-faced smartwatch (Like the LG G Watch) and the third one spilling the drink is wearing a round-faced watch like the Motorola Moto 360 or the LG G Watch R. Then comes the tagline, “all kinds of watches for all kinds of wrists.”

 

2. Android: Garage Band

This video shows a band playing music and it is being recorded with a camera. One member of the band is over enthusiastic and inadvertently knocks over the camera. After a short pause, they continue to sing and the tag line “awesome cams for awesome hams” shows up on the screen.

 

 

3. Android: Scary Movie

In this video, a lady is shown sitting in an airplane watching a movie on a tablet in her lap. Two men sitting on either side of her, watch it by looking over her shoulders and a third person watches from behind. The movie seems to be a scary one because all of them jump at the same time. The tag line “bigger screens for bigger screams” shows up on the screen.

 

 

4. Android: Slightly Longer Road Trip

This commercial shows many people traveling in an RV of the 80s era, all grooving to the song  “Whoomp there it is” by Tag Team. Their vehicle stops at a toll booth and the toll tax collector also joins up with them, dancing to the song and then comes the tag line, “be together. not the same”.

 

 

All the four ads are quite appealing. Will they inspire you to buy an Android device?

 

Source YouTube (Android) Via PhoneArena

Google releases 4 new ads as Android Lollipop rollout begins on Nexus devices

New Android 5.0 Lollipop Developer Preview Out Now for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7

Android unveiled Android 5.0 or goes by the name “Lollipop” earlier this week.  Now, the version is available to be downloaded for developers to start getting ready for the final release of the upcoming operating system.

Lollipop is considered a huge release for the app developers. There are more than 5000 new APIs, the new Material Design visual style, power saving mode and enterprise features that the developers can make use of.

Google has also published a set of preview images for Lollipop on Nexus 5 and Nexus 7. The new developer preview is based on build lpx13d. However, the first new devices with Android 5.0 OS are not expected to be launched in the nearer dates. The developers will need to ensure that everything is working properly before the launch of Nexus 6 or Nexus 9.

Today’s SDK release is following the Android L Developer preview SDK which made available right after Google I/O. Since the L Developer SDK preview was released, there has been changes on the various APIs and behaviour thus if you are using it, you should update now to test your apps and also to take advantages of the new features.

To get the latest Android 5.0 SDK:

1. Start the Android SDK Manager.


2. Go to Tools -> SDK Tools -> SDK Platform Tools à SDK Build Tools.


3. Select All under Android 5.0 section and click install packages.


4. Accept the licensing agreement and click install.


5. if you previously installed the Android L Preview SDK, select all those packages in the SDK Manager and click on Delete Packages.

And you’re set to go!

New Android 5.0 Lollipop Developer Preview Out Now for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7

Wi-Fi Assisted Phone Calls And IM Are Coming To T-Mobile Nexus 6

T-Mobile confirms that the new WiFi calling feature will be coming to phones running the latest version of Android. This feature is expected to be active in 2015. T-Mobile will be using an OTA update to push this feature to supported devices running the new Android operating system.

The WiFi calling feature enables people to stay connected to the network through WiFi even when the cellular signal is too weak. This means that as long as you are near a WiFi hotspot and your phone is connected to that hotspot, your call should continue without any interruption.

T-Mobile’s Nexus 6 owners will be the first to get this WiFi calling feature. They will be able to make calls and send text messages through WiFi. So, if you are in a basement or in another place where signals are usually non-existent, then this should be a useful feature for you.

T-Mobile plans to launch the Nexus 6 on November 12th. This phone will be available for 24 monthly installment payments of $27.08 and only a 0$ down payment. When you add it up, the total cost of the phone over a year comes to to $649.92

Here’s the official announcement by T-Mobile:

“Shipping with Android 5.0, the new Nexus 6 gives customers the latest and greatest Google mobile experience, and seamless integration with the apps they love. Plus, this hot new smartphone is expected to support Wi-Fi Un-leashed beginning in early 2015 with an over-the-air update– making it the first-ever Nexus device that will support Wi-Fi Calling thanks to enhancements in Android 5.0.”

Wi-Fi Assisted Phone Calls And IM Are Coming To T-Mobile Nexus 6