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Hello everyone,

As you saw earlier this week, we announced a new addition to the Xperia family - Android smartphone, Xperia Z.

Xperia Z brings the best of Sony’s hallmark expertise (over half a century’s worth, to be precise) in TV, imaging, music and gaming, together for the first time in a mobile device… the result? A superphone.

So, let’s take a closer look at the precision engineered, signature Sony tech in Xperia Z –

5” 1080p full HD Reality Display, powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2

Xperia Z’s 5” is powered by Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, the second iteration of this technology. Images are auto-optimised, with contrast, colour management, noise reduction and sharpness – Reality Display puts it perfectly, content never looked so true-to-life!

Sleek Sony design, with the highest levels of dust and water resistance in a smartphone

With Xperia Z, we’re introducing a unique OmniBalance design that focuses on balance and symmetry – subtly rounded edges and smooth reflective surfaces on all sides.

Premium materials are used from top to bottom, including durable tempered glass for the front and back. Each panel has an anti-shatter film and the skeleton frame is made of tough glass fibre polyamide which has superior mechanical strength for even greater durability…

On durability, Xperia Z runs perfectly even after 30 mins up to 1 meter under water. Someone tells me (the lucky person that did the test), that it can also withstand water jets! The IP55 & IP57 rating means you can use it in the rain, take photos by the pool, blog in the bath, tweet on the toilet…  :)

13MP fast capture camera, with world’s first Exmor RS for mobile and HDR video

Xperia Z’s camera is built with the same modules as those found in top Sony cameras – example smarts include Superior Auto and Exmor RS for mobile…

Superior Auto is used in Sony Digital Cameras; it combines Scene Recognition with high quality imaging technology (HDR and noise reduction) to automatically shoot with optimal settings – meaning the best shots are guaranteed whatever the conditions.

Exmor RS is the world’s first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones – it is an evolution of our Sony image sensor technology, with a next-gen BSI light sensor, so flawless performance remains in lowlight and strong backlight conditions.

1.5 GHz asynchronous quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB RAM

Xperia Z is locked and loaded with Qualcomm’s lightening quick, powerhouse Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. This is an advanced quad core processor that gives you maximum performance and speed without draining battery juice – allowing you to run multiple apps simultaneously, browse the web with no loading time and stream videos without lag.

Battery power efficiency – Super STAMINA

Even though you’ll probably have your phone with you all the time, it’ll be on standby for most of it (actually about 90% of the time, based on some research we’ve done). And you want to save your phone’s juice for more fun things! So we developed Battery STAMINA mode that can improve standby time by four times or more.

Smartphones tend to keep a lot of apps running in the background, even when you are not actually using them. Well, switch to this mode, and your phone knows when your screen is off and shuts down the battery-draining apps you don’t need. Then, the moment you start up your screen again, the apps will resume running. Super smart.

Even better, we’ve made it fully customisable – so if you just can’t live without your Facebook notifications of DMs, no problem. Just choose any apps you want to keep running in the background, and those will remain unaffected. So you can manage your battery life smarter to make sure you’ll always have adequate juice for texting and calls and for more important things like movies, games and music

Sony world of high quality entertainment

Sony Media Applications offer entertainment experiences across a range of Sony devices – Xperia smartphones, tablets and VAIO PCs. As you’d expect, our “WALKMAN”, Album and Movies apps are pre-loaded on Xperia Z, letting you keep all your content in one easily accessible place, and in relevant markets, giving you access to Sony Entertainment Network with its 18 million+ songs from Music Unlimited and over 100,000 movies and TV shows from Video Unlimited.

But that’s not all, no one is making it easier to share content wirelessly than us – we’ve never really been one for cables – so we’ve made it possible to enjoy content with an array of devices through new One-touch functions like screen mirroring, to enjoy your phone’s videos, photos or even apps on your TV screen.

LTE, 4G for super fast entertainment

Snapdragon S4 Pro has a built-in LTE/4G modem, this means fewer dropped calls and speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. Together with Sony’s expertise in radio technology, Snapdragon S4 Pro also ensures better reception in the most remote places.

It also worth noting, Xperia Z and Xperia ZL smartphones will be available across all LTE spectrum bands.

If you have any questions on Xperia Z or design variant, Xperia ZL, feel free to drop them below – and, don’t forget to check out the video above, where Stephen Sneeden, Xperia Product Marketing Manager talked through and demonstrated some of these key features earlier this week.

Over and out.

Ant.

Hello again!

As you will (hopefully) have seen, on Monday at our press conference, we announced our brand new flagship smartphone Xperia Z along with its sibling Xperia ZL.

It was really exciting to see the response from the show floor. With Xperia Z, we have tried to pull the very best of Sony into a new beautiful (and resilient) smartphone design and it felt like people really connected with that. From the camera, to the screen, to the media apps, to the sleek premium look, Xperia Z really is loaded with hallmark Sony design, tech, connectivity and entertainment. All shown off, of course, in the perfect setting – surrounded by its amazing ‘family’ of cameras, TVs, audio products and the like that our Sony colleagues have created.

It was especially good to hear people saying things like “Wow, Sony you have a winner here” and “This is a smartphone worthy of the Sony name”. As a marketing man, I like when people not only love your product, but they also ‘get’ exactly what you were trying to achieve!

Anyhow, that’s enough from me for now but the Sony Mobile news team will continue to bring you more on Xperia Z and ZL from the show floor, so make sure you keep coming back. Oh and follow @SonyMobileNews too for the latest!

Calum

Hey everyone,

Yesterday we ran the first (of two) Xperia Z Twitter chats on @SonyMobileNews, with Lego Svardsater, Product Manager.

If you missed it, we’ve pulled an overview of the session below with some of the discussion themes and Lego’s (expanded) answers.

The second chat kicks-off at 19:00 PST today – be sure to visit @SonyMobileNews and use #XperiaZchat to ask a question.

Hope to see you there!

When is Xperia Z launching in “my country”? (As asked by @efmg, @Raihan_4me, @cold0shoulder, @garyassis and others)

Xperia Z is launching globally this quarter (Q1) – we give local operators and retailers the chance to detail specifics on pricing and availability, so please check in with them for the latest info.

Will Xperia Z receive Android 4.2? (As asked by @AhmedB_0570, @M_Neblas and others) 

Xperia Z launches on JB 4.1, but will receive 4.2 shortly after launch. As always, we’ll share more info on this over the coming weeks on the blog.

Can you tell us about Xperia Z’s internal memory? (As asked by @IceDree, @3bdosama and others)

Xperia Z has 16GB’s worth of internal memory and supports every SD card up to 32GB – lots of internal memory but also the capacity for plenty of extra space should you need it.

How important is the water/dust resistance feature to the overall product? (As asked by @TheJohnRex, @MikespaceOnline, @miffo and others)

It’s a quad-core smartphone with a 5″ full 1080p HD screen, HDR video & a million other features, water and dust resistance is just one of them. Research and feed back from consumers tells us that this is a requested feature in a smartphone, and we feel it really adds a unique aspect to the phone. We have put a lot of effort into including this feature in Xperia Z – without compromising on the stand out design. We believe we’ve simply built an amazing smartphone, that’s also water and dust resistant.

Can I have one? (As asked by @RiceAndChips)

Nice try I’ll speak to the product team and see if we can’t sort a competition or two further down the line…

Can you suggest any Xperia Z functionality that might help with productivity? (As asked by @Xtrifer) 

Battery STAMINA Mode shouldn’t do productivity any harm, it can improve the standby time by four times or more. It’s really intuitive – apps are automatically shut down when your phone’s in standby mode and then fired up again when you turn Xperia Z back on. Having a phone that still works when others around you have run out of juice – that’s productivity for you.

Are there any standout camera features – can we see example imagery? (As asked by @AmbroosV, @dhibow and others)

There’s too many to mention But, Superior Auto Mode has to be a personal fave!

Xperia Z’s camera comes loaded with many of the features found in Sony’s cameras – Exmor RS for mobile is also worth highlighting – it’s the world’s first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones. We’ll be posting example shots over the coming weeks, so you can see for yourself!

Can you tell us about the quality of the glass? (As asked by @Rikigusma, @mwuhani3609, @chaibiskutbhai and others)

Unfortunately we can’t/don’t mention supplier brands by name, but Xperia Z uses tempered glass with an anti-shatter film on the front and back. It’s the same stuff that’s actually often used as a substitute in cars and industrial electronics! All in all, specs and strength are equivalent to Gorilla / Dragontail.

Guys,

Along with our new smartphone, Xperia Z, we’re also showcasing cool new additions to our Smart Wireless Music Portfolio that all make use of our NFC “One-touch” function…

Here’s a rundown of what booth goers have been getting to grips with -

Stereo Bluetooth Headset SBH20

Our new easy-to-use, call handling / music device in one. It features both the best of premium Sony audio and comms tech – rich sound, full bass and HD voice support.

Wireless Headset DR-BTN200M

A snug over-the-ear headphone that provides an immersive music experience. One-hand music and call handling controls let you easily adjust sound levels, browse tracks and take calls.

Wireless Speaker SRS-BTV5

A compact but definitely perfectly formed wireless speaker that makes a BIG noise. “One-touch” pairs your Xperia smartphone, letting you wirelessly blast tunes or take calls.

Our accessories aren’t just Smart by name, they’re smart by nature too, designed to complement you and your lifestyle. For us, the smarts are two-fold – our app SmartConnect intuitively kicks-in when you connect an Accessory to trigger different (and customisable) actions. Then, NFC “One-Touch” functionality allows you to enjoy content on a range of NFC-enabled Sony devices

We also announced Charging Dock DK26 for Xperia Z – one for the busy and bustling, it lets you charge Xperia Z without opening the USB protective cover.

What do you think about our latest Smart Accessories?

We ran the final CES #XperiaZchat this past Thursday with Sharath Muddaiah, Xperia Z Marketing Manager. 

Thanks to all who took the time to join the discussion – for those who couldn’t make it, we’ve pulled a roundup together below.

Enjoy.

Is PlayStation Mobile available in every country? (as asked by @odinnot and others) 

PlayStation Mobile is currently available in selected markets, we’ll share more info on rollout in other areas as it happens.

How much will Xperia Z cost? (as asked by @IL_ZoOm, @MaxwellBruka, @Ya7ya_M7md and others)

We give local retailers/operators the chance to inform on pricing and availability specifics, so please check-in with them for the latest details.

How does Xperia Z fare as a gaming device? (as asked by @lovenemesis, @ate_ball and others) 

Xperia Z is PlayStation Certified, and loaded with the latest Adreno 320 graphics chip and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor (clocked @ 1.5Ghz).

In short, this means mobile gamers have both the best in class content and hardware at their disposal for flawless gaming on-the-go.

Will Xperia Z and Xperia ZL launch in Canada? (as asked by @gmpope, @ahamchi and others)

Yep – both Xperia Z and Xperia ZL will launch in Canada. Again, please drop your local retailers a note for the latest on pricing and availability schedules.

When will Xperia Z be available in the US? (As asked by @SifosiD, @snoopster222, @theAndrewHolmes and others)

We’re currently finalising agreements with our partners in the US, and will update you as soon as we can with any developments.

Can we also have one? (As asked by @geovannyht and @Pro0oMan)

Another nice try We’ll look at getting a competition or giveaway sorted over the next few months!

How does the screen fare against Xperia P? (As asked by @hippie403)

Xperia Z’s screen is every bit as bright as Xperia P’s – and, this time around we’ve introduced full HD Reality Display too

Can you tell us a little more about the glass? (As asked by @mwuhani3609 and others)

We can’t comment on supplier brand names, but Xperia Z uses durable tempered glass that has equivalent specs to Gorilla/Dragontrail.

When will different carriers get the coloured versions of Xperia Z? (As asked by @paulcusentino, @lovenemesis and others)

Xperia Z’s colour range will vary by both market and carrier – more details on this will be announced over the coming months. Again, for more details on this, please drop your local operators a note.

Can you shoot video underwater on Xperia Z? (As asked by @Marcello__D and others)

Sure – we’ve used Xperia Z to capture video underwater, the results were sweet. We’ll look at sharing some of this footage further down the line on the blog.

What is Xperia Z’s battery life like? (As asked by @Midou2FR and others)

Battery life depends on how you use the phone, it can be influenced by how heavily you use more demanding functionality (movies, games, apps etc). But, our new Battery STAMINA Mode is cool in that it automatically shuts down apps when the phone is in standby mode, and then reboots them when you flick the screen back on. All in all, it can extend standby mode by four times or more… which doesn’t do battery life any harm

Hello again

As well as meeting our retail and operator partners, part of my time here at CES has been spent talking to the media and tech blogging community. 

I was with some bloggers yesterday, who were talking about the balance between enjoying all the high-end functionality you get in a smartphone and having the battery life to enjoy it all. As ‘power users’, they often felt frustrated after enjoying mobile entertainment, (video and games especially), but then not being able to maintain enough juice to do things such as texts, mails, calls or updating their blogs or social networks.

It’s a common concern. How do you confidently use your smartphone for stuff you love to do  (like watching/shooting HD video, music streaming, high-end gaming) while still making sure you save enough battery for the basic, ‘old-fashioned’ stuff you need to do – like take calls and send texts!

Battery technologies have come a long way in recent years and of course continue to improve. But let’s be frank, balancing battery size and capacity to ensure your smartphone experiences are as good as they can be, remains a consistent challenge for us manufacturers.

Well, we think we have gone one better.

We recognised that people don’t use their phone all day long, and in many cases it can spend up to 90% of the day on standby, in your bag or pocket. The thing is, a lot of your apps will continue to run in the background, using up your battery. To tackle this, Battery STAMINA Mode was born.

The premise is simple – by saving power consumption when you don’t need it, Battery STAMINA Mode lets you get the most out of your battery life when you do need it. Your phone knows when your screen is off and shuts down the battery-draining apps you don’t need, then starts then up again when the screen is back on. But, “What about my email/DMs/Facebook notifications!?” I still want to know when I get those!” I hear you say. Well, here’s the clever bit… it is fully user-customisable. You simply check the apps in the menu that you do want to keep running in the background (like Twitter, Facebook etc.) so you can decide. Need all the power you can get? Turn them all off. Can’t miss that important mail? Turn just the mail on. Simple – and smart.

If you want to see more, we’ve made a video that tells you all about it, so be sure to check that out above. See you tomorrow!

What do you think – how important is battery power to you? Do you prioritise or ‘budget’ your mobile battery power?

Calum

Hey guys,

Right after Monday’s press conference, we caught up with some of our media and blogger friends at the Sony booth, who gave us their first hands-on impressions of our new Android smartphone, Xperia Z.

Check out the video above, and be sure to let us know your first impressions in the comments below.

Ant.

Angry Birds Roost broke on to the scene late last year and brought the famous flying birds to Lumia screens all over the globe. Recently, a new update to Angry Birds Roost hit the Windows Phone Store, bringing with it a tie in to the world’s top fan site for Angry Birds: AngryBirdsNest.com.

With the new version of Angry Birds Roost, there is a new leaderboard that’s powered by AngryBirdsNest.com. You can see top scores and ranking by each game that’s available in Roost and search for ranking by a user name.

Also, you can enter your top scores achieved in the game. Additionally, there are walkthroughs for each level that originates from AngryBirdsNest.com that provide a guide for when you get stuck.

To find more about Angry Birds Nest, I sat down with Greg Shepherd, founder of the site, who built it from the ground up.

Building the Nest

When Shepherd’s then two-year-old son discovered his mobile phone, he instantly became addicted to Angry Birds because of the fun sounds and engaging game play. As a result, Shepherd became addicted too and wanted to build a website dedicated to the Angry Birds game.

He then reached out to Rovio, and the Finish game company (then still only 10-15 employees) endorsed Shepherd’s efforts and even provided assets to help him get started.  Shepherd was driven by passing each level with the maximum amount of stars, finding all the golden eggs and building walk-throughs for the public.

Not being happy with just a static site dedicated to game play, Shepherd introduced the leaderboard and the community started to come to Angry Birds Nest as a result. Now, with Angry Birds Nest, players can compete with each other across platforms and across the board.

According to Shepherd, Angry Birds Nest has been online for a little more than two years. It’s evolved ever since it’s debut and there are now more than 30,000 registered users. It’s an active community, drawing millions of page views per month from across the globe.

“We’re a dedicated team that works hard to provide something different in the community gaming space – both for Angry Birds players and Nest members.”

Integrating with Angry Birds Roost on Lumia

Last summer, Rovio and Nokia approached Angry Birds Nest about integrating it with Angry Birds Roost application. As time marched on, we decided to enhance the experience by integrating the leaderboards and walkthroughs.

Shepherd built an API that enables the Angry Birds Roost app to integrate with Nest’s leaderboard. He also upgraded his site and optimized the leaderboard structure to accommodate the increase in traffic from Nokia Lumia owning Angry Birds players.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to welcome new players even if it meant some investment was required to serve that.”

“We’re the only site that has coverage from A-Z in the Angry Birds Roost app. For example most of the walkthrough videos come from the AngryBirdsNest site – that’s pretty exciting,” says Shepherd.

Have you tried the new Angry Birds Roost?  Have you posted a new high score, yet?

If you love music, you’ll love Nokia Music‘s hip-hop documentary, Spit Gold Under An Empire—part of the New American Noise series. It tells us that Brooklyn is the true home of underground hip-hop. In fact, hip-hop is the scenery, the energy and the vibe of Brooklyn, quoth one on-screen aficionado. And it’s not just the contemporary underground scene: the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is now into its ninth year, and the borough is at the heart of hip-hop legacy, with artists like Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Mos Def, Busta Rhymes and MC Lyte all calling it home.

But hip-hop’s not exclusive to Brooklyn, so we thought we’d cast our eyes over the rest of NYC to see what the score is.

 The birth of hip hop

Happily, we came up trumps. Heading north to the Bronx, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is the spot where some say it all began. In August ’73, DJ Kool Herc, aka Clive Campbell, hired the rec room in this high-rise to host his little sister Cindy’s back to school party. While their parents served snacks, Herc took the opportunity to début his new technique—two decks, a mixer and a rapper. Hip-hop was born! Guests at this original gig are rumoured to have included Grandmaster Flash, KRS One, Afrika Bambaataa and Kool DJ Red Alert.

The World’s in Harlem

 Scooting over to Harlem, we find the old site of the Harlem World Club, a legendary three storey disco with a hundred-foot bar in the shape of a lightning bolt, officially called the Harlem World Cultural and Entertainment Complex, but known to the hip-hop crew that frequented it simply as ‘The World’. Harlem World opened in ’78, and everyone who was anyone in the burgeoning hip-hop scene hung out there: Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, The Cold Crush Brothers, L.A. Sunshine and the Treacherous Three and more. In ’81, The World hosted some of the most famous hip-hop MC battles, when Kool Moe Dee took down Busy Bee, and The Fantastic Five beat The Cold Crush Brothers. Check it out!

Lesson in lyrics

While West Coast artists like N.W.A. and Dr. Dre began to catch up on the hip-hop scene in the 1980s and 1990s, NYC never lost its edge: Nas’s Illmatic (1994) was called poetry, hailed as a masterpiece, and credited by the New York Times as ‘a milestone in trying to capture the ‘street ghetto essence”. And lest you think that the ghetto isn’t your bag, think again! Columbia professor Dr Christopher Emdin and Wu Tang Clan member GZA are working right now with hip-hop lyrics website Rap Genius on a pilot project to use hip-hop to teach science to kids in ten NYC public schools. They’re interested not only in the music’s rhymes, but in its social practices and values. GZA told the New York Times that when he was a kid, hip-hop “was always about crafting the best rhyme in the most articulate, witty or smart way. For us, it was always about educating the listener.”

And if you want to be educated, make sure you check out Nokia Music’s NYC hip-hop documentary, New American Noise: Spit Gold Under An Empire, by director Emily Kai Bock—and tune in next week for another instalment of USA musical history!

Starting life as an Xbox console RPG, Doom & Destiny has set its sights on targeting a new, more mobile, audience, by becoming available on your Nokia Lumia.

Released in 2011, Doom & Destiny (the console version) has proven to be a successful Role Playing Game (RPG), receiving four stars out of five from over a thousand reviews and ratings from players.

The Windows Phone version has received much of the same praise, receiving four and a half stars out of five, but from a markedly reduced rating count. However, it’s only been available for a couple of months, so that’s to be expected.

When you first play Doom & Destiny, you’ll notice it has a Japanese feel to it, quite similar to Final Fantasy of the 16bit era.

As you start out, you discover that you play a group of four friends who love RPGs, which is ironic, considering you’re playing one. The opening scenes find you looking for a friend who’s gone missing in a fantasy world full of danger, mixed in with some comedy along the way.

OK, maybe comedy is too strong a word to use, but they try.

As you look for your lost friend you encounter beasts that must be slain. Fortunately, each of your friends has a specialty. The warrior, magus, ninja, and of course, the pirate, all have their own abilities that will prove useful on the battlefield.

Well, I’ve yet to find the strength in the pirate, but the magus has a kick-ass magic missile!

As you navigate this dark, mystical environment, you will find items that will be useful; such as pizza for restoring health, and wine which does the same. But you’ll also find weapons in the form of old bones, a hammer or a shovel – even a 2×4 plank of wood. If you can swing it, it’ll knock the head off of a killer-skeleton – so use it.

At many points in the game you’ll read tombstones, or posters, that will often have funny, witty, light-hearted text on them, often causing the characters to back and forth with a whimsical banter. Sometimes it misses the mark, but mostly it’s a nice break from slashing monsters and wandering around a dungeon hacking monsters.

Although, hacking monsters if quite fun. Once locked in combat, you decide whether your characters have enough health to stay and fight or to escape. You can also choose whether to use your weapons or to use any skills you may have; like those magic missiles I mentioned earlier.

Nokia Lumia 620

Our newest Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

The family is growing.

Controlling your characters is somewhat, erm, different. For the most part, moving around is really simple. Just place your thumb somewhere on the left side of the screen and move it in the direction you want to go, as if you were using a control stick on for Xbox controller.

Picking up items and interacting with the environment is easy, too. Just press somewhere on the right side of the screen.

However, looking at inventory items and character info can be a little tricky. Rather than pressing the screen with your right thumb, you need to plant it down and flick left, right, or down. Each movement will perform a different task, and once in that menu, you’ll need to use the left thumb to scroll between items.

That said, the game is quite fun and totally worth the FREE price tag that Doom & Destiny is marked with. Just ignore some of the typos you’ll find in the game.

Doom & Destiny is available for Nokia Lumia 800, Lumia 900, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920.

What do you think of Doom & Destiny? Let us know, using the comments section below.