Sony starts rolling out Lollipop OTA for the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual
Sony has at last started rolling out the long-awaited Android 5.1.1 update to all unlocked variants of the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual. In addition to the latest build of the operating system, this upgrade also transports a much-needed patch for the Stagefright security exploit.
All the changes you’d expect to find in the Lollipop software are bundled into this upgrade, including support for multiple accounts, improved notifications, stronger 256-bit encryption, a smoother multitasking experience personal unlocking and Material Design.
As is the norm, the update is being rolled out in stages, but if you don’t feel like waiting for a notification confirming that it’s ready for your device to hit your unit, you could always search for the upgrade manually. To do so, open the Settings app, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”.
Come comment on this article: Sony starts rolling out Lollipop OTA for the Xperia T2 Ultra Dual
IFA Day 1: 4K Smartphones and water-cooled laptops
IFA started with a bang as Sony whipped out the Xperia Z5 Premium, a smartphone that comes with the “world’s first” 5.5-inch 4K display. That was swiftly followed by the launch of Huawei’s Mate S, a phone that’s designed to kill the iPhone 6 Plus by basically copying its every design feature. Then there was ASUS’ new gaming laptop that’s so powerful it needs its own water pump to keep it cool. We took some time to bring you the most exciting announcements from the show floor, so don’t hesitate before hitting that play button.
Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub!
Tags: 2015, asus, Huawei, IFA, IFA2015, MateS, sony, video, XperiaZ5Premium
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact hands-on and first look
After weeks of speculation that included seeing the handsets up close and personal, Sony unveiled their latest flagship devices, and like past years, there’s a smaller “Compact” version. A mainstay of Sony’s smartphone portfolio, the Compact range has traditionally offered most of the flagship specs in a smaller body, but does this year’s Compact follow the same mould? We go hands-on and give you the first look at Sony’s Xperia Z5 Compact.
The first thing you’ll notice is that it looks just like the Xperia Z5 and the Xperia Z5 Premium and just like previous years, Sony is essentially using the Compact name to denote the smaller of the three devices. Like its siblings, the handset comes with a few design changes and tweaks that aim to improve the overall experience.
One of the biggest is the switch to wider power button, which replaces the iconic small circular button used on past Xperia devices. The button doesn’t look as iconic as the round button from before but still retains a unique look. The key change for the switch is the fingerprint sensor, which is now incorporated into the power button. The sensor is ideally placed for you to unlock the device easily just by placing your right thumb on the button and in our first test, it is certainly impressive and a good feature to have.
Like past Sony devices and the rest of the Xperia Z5 range, the Z5 Compact feels really nice in the hand and is easy to handle, with the symmetrical design making the phone very easy to grip. On the design front, the tweaks to the Xperia design strategy have delivered a handset that has an updated design and build but remains quintessentially Sony.
On the specifications front, the Z5 Compact follows the same philosophy of its predecessors by bringing most of the flagship specs to the smaller handset. The biggest change is the drop to 720p resolution on a smaller, more manageable 4.6-inch display, but thanks to the smaller screen size, the drop in resolution isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The Xperia Z5 Compact does however, bring the rest of the flagship Xperia Z5 specs and these include an impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 2GB RAM (which is 1GB lower than the Z5) and expandable storage via a microSD card that’s hidden under a flap on the left of the handset.
The Snapdragon 810 especially is a great move as it means the Xperia Z5 Compact is on par (power wise) with other flagship devices that cost significantly more. The Z5 Compact runs on Android 5.1.1. Lollipop like the rest of the Xperia Z5 family and comes with Sony’s own custom UI on top, which won’t appeal if you’re a fan of the vanilla experience. Sony’s UI does however bring a few useful tweaks including the Small Apps, which lets you run certain applications in small windows on top of the main interface.
One of the biggest improvements in the Xperia Z5 Compact is the new camera, with Sony finally updating its Xperia camera for the first time since the Xperia Z1.
The Xperia Z5 Compact comes with Sony’s latest Exmor-RS sensor and offers 23MP resolution, which is one of the highest on the market. The camera offers f/2.0 aperture – which should hopefully deliver excellent low light images – and the new steady shot stabilisation, which has been present on several of Sony’s point and shoot cameras, should mean that low light images have less noise and more detail. The Exmor-RS sensor also delivers the world’s fastest autofocus on a smartphone camera, at just 0.3 seconds and we’re really looking forward to putting this camera through its paces.
Like past devices, Sony has also packed a slew of features into the camera application, including AR, panorama modes, slow motion, face in picture, and pretty much everything you can hope for to make your smartphone photography experience that much more fun. Sony supplies camera modules to several of its competitors but in the past, its own smartphones have often lacked in the camera department: maybe now, we will finally see Sony smartphones live up to their full potential in the imaging department.
The Xperia Z5 Compact is powered by a 2700 mAh non-removable battery and while this may seem on the low side, it’s worth noting that it is just 200 mAh lower than the Xperia Z5 proper. Thanks to the smaller screen size and lower resolution, the battery on the Xperia Z5 Compact should easily see you through most that you can throw at it and we’d be very surprised if battery life was a problem. Of course, you’ll need to wait for the full review before we know exactly how good the battery life actually is.
Sony devices have traditionally been very small iterative upgrades over the past few generations and while the Xperia Z5 Compact does have significant upgrades over the Xperia Z3 Compact, it does retain some of the things that make Sony devices unique. The symmetrical design and plastic finish are offset by the IP65 and IP68 certification, which means you can use the handset underwater, in the shower or in the middle of a monsoon without worrying about it breaking.
So there you have it, a first look and hands on with Sony’s new Xperia Z5 Compact smartphone. While certain Sony flagship devices have often left us wanting more, the Xperia Z5 Compact keeps up the rich vein of Sony being one of the few manufacturers to actually deliver a flagship device in a smaller body. The range of upgrades, including the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, two-day battery life, waterproof body and ultra-fast camera, mean that the Xperia Z5 Compact offers more value for money than ever before and it is really does live up to its billing as a Compact flagship.
What do you think of Sony’s new smaller flagship, the Xperia Z5 Compact? Let us know your views down below and don’t forget to check out all our Sony (and other OEM) coverage over on our IFA 2015 page.
Sony Xperia Z5 hands-on and first look
After weeks of leaks and speculation, a lot of which turned out to be true, Sony took the wraps off their latest flagships offerings. While the plus iteration, or “Premium” in the case of Sony’s smartphone, seems to be more enticing, the more standard flagship has to lot to offer as well. We go hands-on, and give you the first look at the Sony Xperia Z5!
At first glance, the Xperia Z5 looks a lot like all the other Sony flagships that it follows, which isn’t entirely unexpected, but there are a few new aspects to the design language and features that should sweeten the pot a little, and hopefully, this device will be available in more markets that just in Europe and Asia. Noticeable changes to the design are seen on the side, with a much larger power button being featured now, which doesn’t look as iconic as the signature round button from before, but still has a very unique look.
The reason for this change to a wider power button is the fingerprint scanner that is now integrated into the power button. It is ideally placed to allow the device to be unlocked easily by placing your right thumb on the button, which does seem to be the best way to go about it. In general, the Xperia Z5 feels really nice in the hand, as most Xperia devices do, with the symmetrical design making the phone very easy to grip, and its relatively standard footprint makes for a great handling experience.
On the specifications front, the Xperia Z5 isn’t all that much of an upgrade when compared to its predecessor, the Xperia Z3+, with the latest Sony flagship retaining a 5.2-inch Full HD display, the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 3 GB of RAM, and the availability of expandable storage via microSD card. The Snapdragon 810 does a great job of keeping things smooth and snappy, helped along with the near-stock version of Android 5.1.1 Lollipop that the device is running, which doesn’t feature much extra, other than Sony staples like the Small Apps.
What is obviously the most exciting part about the latest Xperia flagship is the new camera, with Sony introducing a major change in this department after a very long time, and we are really looking forward to putting this 23 MP ExmorRS sensor to the test. What is intriguing to us is that Sony put out there the fact that their imaging department has been one of the best, and Sony has released some great Alpha cameras, so hopefully, we’ll now see some of that quality make its way over to the smartphone segment as well. The Xperia Z5 also features on of the fastest auto-focus capabilities around, and the device did a great job in the short time we got to spend with it. The Xperia Z5 also packs a 5 MP front-facing camera.
Looking at the camera application, Sony continues to pack the camera software with a slew of features, with everything from AR, panorama modes, slow motion, face in picture, and pretty much everything you can hope for to make your smartphone photography experience that much more fun. We have seen some fantastic flagship smartphone cameras this year, and we can’t wait to see whether this Sony camera can provide the quality to compete with the high standards that have been set so far.
As mentioned, Sony also introduced a plus iteration of their current flagship, dubbed the Xperia Z5 Premium. No one was able to get their hands on this device at the press event, but we do have a meeting with Sony coming up soon where we will be able to bring you a much closer look at this phone.
Of course, the big news with this smartphone is its 4K resolution display, which results in an absolutely mind-boggling pixel density of 801 ppi. This is obviously the highest resolution we’ve seen till date on a smartphone, but what Sony is doing with the Xperia Z5 Premium, as they have done with some of their TVs as well, is that the phone itself is going to upscale all of the media content, so it has a sharper look to it. A high resolution such as this does bring up concerns with regards to battery life, but the 3,430 mAh battery that the device packs, compared to the 2,900 mAh unit of the Xperia Z5 proper, should allow for at least average battery life, helped along with the slew of battery saving modes that Sony bakes in to their devices.
So there you have it for this first look at the Sony Xperia Z5! While the Xperia Z5 isn’t a major departure from the Sony standard, new elements like the fingerprint scanner and updated camera package does bring the device more in line with the current crop of smartphone flagships, and we can’t wait to put the Xperia Z5 through its paces as we give it the full review treatment. Stay tuned with Android Authority for more great coverage from Sony, and everything else that is on offer at IFA 2015!
Sony Xperia Z5 UK pricing: that 4K display will cost you £699
With its mobile division not enjoying much success over the past couple of years, Sony knew it needed to wow consumers with its latest round of Xperia smartphones. Yesterday, the company hoped to do exactly that by unveiling the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and the Xperia Z5 Premium, the last of which being the world’s first 4K smartphone. So far, the only hint we’ve been given regarding pricing is that it “will reflect the premium quality” of the Xperia range, but today the Japanese phone maker has lifted the lid on what that pixel-rich screen will cost when it hits the UK.
Let’s start with Sony’s new flagship, the Xperia Z5 Premium. According to the company’s official website, unlocked black, gold or chrome models will set you back a cool £699. If 4K displays aren’t your thing, you’ll pay £100 less for the Xperia Z5 at £599, with the lower-specced Xperia Z5 Compact costing £549. That means Sony’s top two smartphones cost more than their iPhone 6 equivalents, although Apple is expected to unveil new hardware in the coming days.
It should be noted that while Sony has set its own pricing for the trio of new Xperia handsets, third-party retailers are already undercutting them. Clove, for instance, has priced pre-orders for the Xperia Z5 Premium at £629, the Xperia Z5 at £525 and the Xperia Z5 Compact at £439. If other retailers match Sony’s guide price, it’s going to be very tough for the company to improve its languishing sales, especially with increased competition from Apple, Samsung and increasingly powerful handsets from the likes of Motorola, OnePlus and even WileyFox.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Tags: android, mobilepostcross, pricing, shop, sony, xperia, xperia z5, xperiaz5
T-Mobile has no plans to carry the Sony Xperia Z5 line
Sony announced their new flagship lineup at IFA 2015 on Wednesday. Among them are the new Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium. The lineup is notable for featuring one of the only flagships on the market with a screen smaller than 5″ (The Z5 Compact) and the first phone with a 4K screen (The Z5 premium). But if you were hoping to pick one of these up at T-Mobile, you may be out of luck.
Sony hasn’t been the most popular phone manufacturer in the United States partially due to lack of advertising but also because of a rocky relationship with carriers. We’ve seen a few releases on T-Mobile and one on Verizon Wireless but they’re far from the likes of Samsung, LG, and Apple who have people lining up on launch day to pick up their device. Hopes were high that T-Mobile would be carrying the Z5 lineup since Big Magenta carried the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Sony Xperia Z1 before that but it looks like that won’t be the case.
A spokesperson has told CNET that the country’s third largest carrier has no plans to carry the device. If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer, things got a little more hazy for you too. Verizon was supposed to launch the Sony Xperia Z4v this summer. We haven’t seen it come out yet and now with the newest lineup announced it would appear that the Z4v would be obsolete by the time that it hit the shelves.
Sony releases their flagship on a roughly 6 month update cycle. This is somewhat normal in Asia but here in the States where 2 year contracts are still very much a thing, even though carriers appear to be doing away with them, it’s too fast for many to be comfortable with. Are you going to pick up a phone on a 2 year contract or agree to finance it over 2 years when there will be 3 or 4 revisions by the time you’re done paying on it?
Sony Mobile’s CEO recently said that they’ll never leave the mobile business. And that’s excellent news because they make fantastic hardware with near stock, or completely stock in some cases, Android but if they ever want to gain a foothold in the US, changes will need to be made.
The post T-Mobile has no plans to carry the Sony Xperia Z5 line appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Sony settles with employees affected by massive data breach
Sony Entertainment has reached a deal with its employees affected by the security breach that rocked its world in 2014. If you recall, that incident led to several waves of data leaks, including unreleased movies and juicy emails between its execs. Turns out the hackers also snatched present and previous employees’ information in the process, because some of the affected individuals reported seeing their info for sale on the internet. Others claimed that someone tried to use their credit cards to make purchases — in short, the data breach made them easy targets to identity thieves and credit card fraudsters.
A number of people brought their complaints to court, and since there were quite a few of them, their attorneys proposed filing a class action lawsuit against the company. Sony attempted to block the lawsuit by claiming that none of the complainants suffered financial loss. Since the judge denied the request for dismissal, the company probably decided that settling the issue out of court would be the better option. It might take a while before we hear the settlement details, however, since both parties still need to prepare and submit documents for approval.
It’s still unclear who’s exactly responsible for the attack, but investigators suspect North Korea, as the hackers specifically demanded Sony to cancel The Interview’s showing, among other reasons. That’s the same Seth Rogen and James Franco starrer about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Source:
Bloomberg, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
Tags: databreach, hack, law, lawsuit, sony, sonyentertainment
Sony unveils the Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium with a 4k display
Leading up to IFA 2015 there have been a ton of Xperia Z5 leaks. Finally, we get to see the real thing. We already knew roughly what we were going to get with the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact, but one we didn’t hear as much about was the Xperia Z5 Premium with the world’s first 4k display.
A big Z5 feature is a new large 1/2.3 Exmor RS™ for mobile 23MP sensor and F2.0 G Lens. Sony says this is the fastest autofocus smartphone camera in the world, which takes only 0.03 seconds. That is faster than the blink of an eye.
Just like in previous models, the Z5 will have a very clean and elegant design with a combination of metal and glass, while keeping it’s waterproofing. It has a 5.2″ 1080p display and will come in White, Graphite Black, Gold and Green.
It’s smaller variant, the Z5 Compact has a 4.6″ 720p display, making it easier for one handed use. It comes in Yellow and Coral, in addition to White and Graphite Black.
All the new Z5’s will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, a 64 bit octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM (2GB on Compact), quick charge, and new battery standby features that are capable of two days of use. A fingerprint reader is also built into the power button making it easy to find and use.
The real excitement is for the Z5 Premium edition. It is the world’s first 5.5″ 4k display smartphone. That gives it a pixel density of 806 ppi. To make sure everything always looks good, Sony have stated that it will upscale all your content. That means everything from photos, Netflix, YouTube, and more, will all look great on it. The camera is also capable of recording 4k and being able to watch it in 4k right on the device. To power everything, the battery is 3430 mAh and also capable of lasting two days. Internal storage is only 32GB, but supports microSD cards up to 200GB. More than enough space for all those 4k videos. As for colors it comes in Chrome, Black, and Gold (see picture at the top for colors).
Source: Sony
Come comment on this article: Sony unveils the Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium with a 4k display
Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium availability – what we know so far
Sony took the stage at IFA 2015 and announced its latest smartphone series this morning. This includes the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium. We can finally put the rumors to rest and focus on the facts. Now that you know all the details, we are sure your plan is to buy these smartphones as soon as they become available… but when will that be?
While not all information about this has been uncovered, we do know quite a bit about the phone’s release window and different market availability. Let’s run you through the details, shall we? By the way, this post will continue to be updated as soon as we learn more, so keep it bookmarked!
General availability
Sony is keeping it pretty hush on the pricing, but they did mention the Xperia Z5 family will be priced competitively with other premium handsets. This likely means they will range somewhere between $500 and $700? I would think so.
As for the actual launch, the Japanese manufacturer confirmed we can expect the Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact by October, which is pretty soon. Xperia Z5 Premium customers will have to wait a bit more, though, as the larger handset is expected to launch in November.
United States availability
Sadly, us USA residents are left in the dark; at least for now. Sony has announced no release information for these handsets yet. The same applies for American carriers. We are sure at least one (if not all) of these handsets will make it to the stateside, though. After all, the Japanese manufacturer is good friends with T-Mobile and Verizon.
We’ll definitely let you know as soon as we find out more!
UK availability
Any of our British readers looking to get a new Xperia Z5 series smartphone? We have both good and bad news for you. Let’s start with the bad: we have no details on the Xperia Z5 Premium release. The good news is that you will have plenty of options for the other two handsets, though.
The Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact will be available from EE, Vodafone, Virgin, Three and O2.
EE – This carrier is not wasting any time. They plan to offer the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact in Graphite Black. Not a fan of the classic look? You can also opt for a golden Xperia Z5.
Virgin – Aside from the Graphite Black Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact, Virgin will also offer a couple other colored handsets. Namely, the Xperia Z5 in Green and the Z5 Compact in Coral.
Vodafone – Of course, Vodafone couldn’t stay behind. These guys are looking to cater to the public with Graphite Black versions of both the Z5 and Z5 Compact. Just like Virgin, this carrier couldn’t stay behind and decided to also put the Green Z5 and Coral Z5 Compact in its shelves.
Three – This mobile service provider will be less colorful, but that should be OK for most of us. They will have the Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact in Graphite Black. A Green Z5 will also be added to the collection.
O2 – Yes, O2 is also offer the same two handsets in Graphite Black. In addition, the Z5 can be purchased in Green and the smaller phone in Yellow.
Canada availability
There’s no details on a Canadian release, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these devices reaching our northern neighbors soon. Likely within the same time frame as the USA.
Online availability
Of course, there will be plenty of online availability for all Sony smartphones. If you can’t get one officially, you will likely be able to import any of these phones from a plethora of websites. Sony is closing its online stores, though, so you likely can’t get these new Xperia Z5 handsets directly from them.
Know any others?
We try to keep our eyes everywhere, but we know sometimes you catch some details faster than us. Have you heard any more details on availability in your own markets? Please do hit the comments and let us know!
IFA 2015: The Sony Xperia Z5 is now official, features world’s fastest autofocusing camera
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After several months of not very well kept secrets, the Sony Xperia Z5 is now official after Sony announced its latest flagship at IFA 2015 in Berlin. Not much about the device is particularly surprising, but we were interested to see more of Sony’s new camera which it kindly obliged. The focal point of Sony’s Xperia Z5 presentation was the 23MP Exmor RS camera which features on its whole Xperia Z5 family line and boasts the world’s fastest autofocus, requiring just 0.037 seconds. Having used last used the LG G3’s laser focus, I can tell you that a fast focusing camera makes all the difference. Check out Sony’s feature video on the new camera:
This marks the first time that Sony has overhauled the camera since the Z1 and makes the Z5 seem like a worthy upgrade for the first time in years. If you’re interested in the device’s other specs – which we know you are – you’ll be looking at a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display powered by a Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB RAM. 32GB storage, IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance, and a 2,900mAh battery that Sony says will last two days rounds out the pretty ordinary specs. Oh, and the power button now also has a fingerprint scanner built into it, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Sony says that the Xperia Z5 is going to be available in October in four colours, including White, Graphite Black, Gold, and Green. What do you think about the Sony Xperia Z5 now that it’s official?
Source: Sony Mobile via XperiaBlog
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AIVAnet 