Sony launches new Xperia phones in PH

Sony launched its newest set of Xperia handsets in the country on Wednesday, months after the consumer electronics giant’s buyout of its mobile phone venture with Swedish company Ericsson.

The four new smartphones make the most out of Sony’s existing technologies, allowing users to integrate content with the Japanese company’s televisions, tablets and laptop computers.

Takao Kuroda, president and managing director of Sony Philippines, said they want to “align and leverage these assets” and provide “a lifestyle that extends beyond smartphones” under the company’s new unit, Sony Mobile Communications.

“We possess an important distinction. No one else has the same range of product categories in combination with the magnitude of our entertainment services,” Kuroda said.

“We will unify the user experience across screens with one Sony look and feel. This doesn’t only provide a nice look, but simplifies the lives of the consumers who are using several Sony devices and services,” he added.

Sony’s new devices cater to different market segments, from the high-end Xperia S and Xperia P to the lower-priced Xperia U and Xperia sola.

Each handset makes good use of Sony’s trademark technologies, such as the Bravia engine used in high-definition liquid crystal display televisions, and WhiteMagic, which promises the “brightest viewing experience.”

Patrick Larraga, head of Sony Philippines’ mobile division, said the company is moving away from Ericsson’s “corporate” phones to create more consumer and entertainment products.

The new handsets even come with “SmartTags,” or small tokens that allow users to change smartphone settings with just a swipe.

“Sony itself is a very strong consumer brand,” Larraga told ABS-CBNnews.com. “The new phones have a new design language, very differentiated from Sony Ericsson.”

The phones

All of Sony’s new handsets are powered by the Mobile Bravia engine and run on Google’s Android operating system, with each having its own set of unique features.

The Xperia S is already available in the country, while the three others will be launched in the coming months.

Mainly a gaming smartphone, Xperia S is Sony’s second PlayStation certified handset. The first one is the Xperia Play, which was released last year.

The Xperia S also has a high-definition resolution screen, and front and back cameras. It is priced at P27,990.

The Xperia P, on the other hand, features the WhiteMagic display, and is priced a bit lower at P22,990.

The Xperia U has Sony’s xLoud and 3D surround sound audio technology, and other photo features. It is the cheapest among the Xperia handsets at P13,990.

The Xperia sola, meanwhile, is the first to have Sony’s “floating touch” technology, which allows users to surf the Internet by moving their fingers above the screen.

The phone is priced at P16,990.

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The new iPad is official, with Retina display, LTE and A5X CPU. Available March 16th!

New iPad: The Third Generation

The new iPad is here. Apple's new tablet computer has arrived and its ultra-sharp 2048 x 1536 pixel Retina display is enough to set it apart from anyone else. It's almost like looking at a glossy magazine page.

It also has much more powerful guts, with a much faster processor, graphics and more memory. And it's 4G ready.

 

Retina display

The Retina display looks gorgeous. The screen has a 264 pixels per inch. That's a total 3.1 million pixels in a full color IPS screen. The image color seems a lot better too. They say it has 44 percent more saturation than the IPS technology they were using previously.

Apple claims that it is still a Retina display because, when you held it at a normal distance, you just can't see the pixels. That distance is 15 inches. For the iPhone, which has a smaller screen, it is 10 inches. I can't wait to test this thing with all my comics (I wonder if Marvel will have to upload them all again).

They demonstrated it running a new version of Autodesk Sketchbook Ink, a new painting app that is vector-based and resolution independent. It actually seems like you are painting on a real page.

Processor and graphics power

The processor is an Apple-designed A5X, which includes a quad-core graphics module. It's going to need all the graphics muscle if it has to push those 3.1 million pixels.

According to Apple, it's twice as fast as a Tegra 3 and has "four times" the graphics performance. Hot damn.

 

New camera

The new iPad has a new camera on the back: has a 5-megapixel job with a side-iluminated sensor, a 5-element lens and an infrared filter. It's basically the same configuration as on the iPhone 4S, with three fewer megapixels. Serious specs for a tablet camera—you can expect to see more people carrying around iPads taking pictures of things. And Apple also left the VGA FaceTime camera in the front. Great.

 

1080p video recording

The rear camera, which Apple calls the iSight Camera (the front-facing one is the facetime camera), is capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second, which obviously looks razor sharp on the iPad's display. The video, like the iPhone 4S, is also stabilized.

Apple says it has temporal noise reduction, which is a rather clever technique that greatly reduces the noise of video by comparing what pixels actually move and guessing what is noise and what is actual detail.

  

Dictation

The new iPad's operating system offers a new microphone button, which will allow you to dictate emails, presumably using technology related to Siri. There was no actual mention of Siri assitance.

 

4G LTE connectivity

Apple says the new 4G LTE connectivity will give you 21Mbps on HSPA+ networks, 42Mbps on DC-HSDPA and 73Mbps on LTE. Of course, these speeds are theoretical. It will run on both AT&T and Verizon networks. According to Phil Schiller, the new model "has the most wireless bands that has ever shipped."

 

Memory and other guts

Apple is not mentioning actual specifications for the guts of the machine, but it's pretty clear that the memory—not the storage, but RAM used for running the OS and the applications—has increased too, if only to handle the new resolution.

Mike Capps, from Epic Games, says that it has more memory than an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3. Presumably, his comment refers to graphics memory. We will know soon how much this is exactly.

 

Physical specifications

Surprisingly, they have kept the package practically just the same as the previous version: only 0.03 inches thicker than the iPad 2 at 0.37 inches (9.4 millimeters). The weight is only 1.5 pounds.

 

Launch date

You will be able to get it on March 16, but the preorder starts today. It will be available in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia on the same day.

The price is $499, $599 and $699 for 16, 32, and 64GB. If you want 4G LTE, you will have to spend $629, $729, and $829.

 

One more thing

The name. Did you notice it? The name is not iPad HD. It's just iPad. Which demonstrates two things.

Complete Tech Specs from Apple

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