Sony AirPeak drone makes first appearance at CES 2021

About two months back, Sony announced that it was developing a new flying drone called the Airpeak. This new drone is intended for creators and professionals in the entertainment industry. Now Sony has introduced it at CES 2021 earlier today.

Sony released a few official videos that tell us more about it. For one, powerful full-frame cameras like the Sony Alpha can be attached to the drone, allowing for high-quality video recordings. It also has a gimbal that combines the power of AI and robotics to ensure stable video footages.

Not much else has been revealed, but there are a few things you can spot from the videos. Firstly, the drone has four propellers and what seems like a pair of stabilisers on the sides. If we're not mistaken, the propellers should all have proximity sensors embedded inside. As for the integrated cameras, these are probably to help the drone see where it's going. We're not very sure what the LED indicators are for though.

Now that Sony has taken its first step into the flying drone market, we may see consumer options developed in the future. Having said that, what are your thoughts of the Sony Airpeak? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to TechNave for more CES 2021 news.


Sony Alpha 7 II Full Frame Mirrorless camera with 5-axis OIS officially announced

Sony has made a surprising addition to the Alpha 7 family, with the official announcement of the Sony Alpha 7 II. The new model comes with a number of notable features including the 5-axis Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The company has made some changes in the design too, giving it a better grip and a DSLR like shutter button. The 5-axis sensor shift stabilization is the first of its kind to end up in a full frame mirrorless camera. It corrects movements along 5 different axes namely left/right, up/down along with three different angular movements: tilting up/ down (pitch), swinging left/ right (yaw) and rotating clockwise/ anti-clockwise (roll). This new 5-axis OIS system can reduce shakes up to 4.5 stops using the CIPA standard, which effectively means, it can eradicate shakes when you are holding the camera up to 4.5 stops slower.

The A7 II features the same 24.3MP Full Frame CMOS sensor found on the original Alpha 7 with 117 Phase detect and 25 contrasts detect points. But the new version improves auto-focus responsiveness by up to 30% and object tracking by up to 50%. It also comes with bigger grip and a better positioned shutter release button, which Sony claims decreases camera shake.  However, these changes have increased the weight of the device by almost 140 grams to 556 grams, making it the heaviest camera in the A7 family. No Malaysia release dates or pricing just yet, but the Sony Alpha II will be released in Japan on 5 December followed by the European markets in January 2015. Pricing has not yet been revealed.


Sony Alpha 7 IV release: 33MP image sensor, 759 phase-detection AF points, 4K60P video recording, and more

Looking for a new camera that can deliver better quality? Well, start saving up because Sony has just announced the Sony Alpha 7 IV mirrorless camera. This new model is expected to be officially available here in December 2021, but here are some details for you.

The Sony Alpha 7 IV is a full-frame mirrorless camera with a new 33MP back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor. It also has a 7.5cm touch display, an improved grip, a durable magnesium-alloy chassis, better dust resistance, and more. Moreover, the quad-VGA OLED viewfinder provides 1.6x times more resolution than the Alpha 7 III. Nice!

In terms of features, the new model comes with a wide ISO sensitivity range of 50 to 204800 and a BIONZ XR engine for up to 8x processing speed. It even has an optical 5-axis in-body image stabilisation unit inside, AI-based real-time Eye AF, 4K60P recording at 4:2:2 10-bit, and much more.

At a glance, it's clear that Sony's new full-frame mirrorless camera will deliver lots of upgrades. Sony Malaysia hasn't announced the local price, but you can visit the website for more details about it. Until then, stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this!


Sony Alpha 7R IV with a full-frame 61MP sensor unveiled, along with RX100 VII with the power of Alpha 9

Today, Sony is proud to unveil three new camera gadgets for photography enthusiasts in Malaysia and Singapore - introducing the latest Alpha 7R IV (model ILCE-7RM4) full-frame mirrorless camera, RX100 VII (model DSC-RX100M7). Designed for both professionals and hobbyists of all ages, allowing them to take advantage taking shots what was once thought as impossible.

Starting with the new Alpha 7R IV, it's the world's first newly developed 35mm full-frame back-illuminated CMOS image sensor with a resolution of 61.0 MP! Accompanied by the latest gen BIONZ X image processor, the new sensor can reduce noise and boasts an impressive 15-stop dynamic range at low sensitivities, resulting in smooth natural gradations ranging from deep shadows to highlights. For stabilization, there's a 5-axis Optical In-Body Image Stabilization to capture moving objects even better. Even the shutter unit assembly got re-designed to reduce the slightest movement.

In addition to that, it's also integrated with a Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode which can compose up to 16 full-resolution images. This feature is ideally used for taking any architecture and art photos for colour and detail accuracy. High-speed continuous shooting at up to 10 fps is back as well with full AF / AE tracking for approx. 7 seconds, so as Real-time Eye AF but this time as a new feature for video recording and an advanced Real-time Tracking plus Real-time Eye AF for still image recording (doesn't work for animals, though).

Next up, a new RX100 VII utilizes the technologies from the Alpha 9 which makes it ideal for vloggers who wishes to have a compact camera that can perform image and video shooting. Powered by a newly developed 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS image sensor and the latest-gen BIONZ X image processor, anyone who gets on hold on this bad boy can take a lot of shooting styles thanks to the flexibility of the ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-200mm8 F2.8-4.5 high magnification zoom lens.

Offering a world-leading 357 focal-plane phase-detection AF points and 425 contrast-detection AF point, the RX100 VII also has the same Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF for humans and animals (well, not all animals), a new Single Burst Shooting Drive Mode up to 90fps, and a Pro-level movie functionality up to 4K with Active SteadyShot and many more.

The Alpha 7R IV's price will only be announced at a later date in August, whereas the RX100 VII will only be around from mid of September 2019 onwards. If you want to know more about these products, you can click on either of the links below to check it out.

Stay tuned for more Sony news at TechNave.com.


Sony Alpha 7S III mirrorless camera on pre-order from RM16599

Sony recently shared some info on their new Sony Alpha 7S III mirrorless camera for better light sensitivity and autofocus speed. Showcasing several works by well-known photographers and videographers, the live sharing also revealed that Malaysians can now get the Sony Alpha 7S III on pre-order from RM16599.

While this initial offering comes with a free NP-FZ100 battery pack and SF-G64T SD card, there’s also a bundle of the Alpha 7S III along with a SEL24F15GM lens along with the aforementioned freebies for RM21699. There’s also a higher-end bundle with the body and the SEL2470GM lens for RM24999.

You can check out more details on the live sharing about the Sony Alpha 7S III in the YouTube video below or check out the pre-order site:


Sony Alpha A6000 announced for April at $800 (RM2654) with lens

Sony has recently come out with the Sony Alpha A6000 mirrorless camera with tech specs and features that are simply awesome at just $800 (RM2654) with a 16-50mm power-zoom lens kit. Drool-worthy tech specs and features for the Sony Alpha A6000 include a new 24.3MP CMOS APS-C sensor with BIONZ X processor and 179 phase-detect and 25 contrast detect AF points (resulting in a crazy 0.06 second autofocus lag). Other notable features include 11 fps continuous shooting with tracking AF, a 100 percent frame coverage OLED viewfinder, tilting 3-inch 921K-dot LCD, pop-up flash, a multi-interface shoe and 1080p at 60fps video recording with 4K still image capture. It seems standard to also include WiFi and NFC with the A6000 and it also comes with a number of apps which include Direct Upload and Photo Retouch apps. Controls and design are spot on. Unfortunately we have no specific Malaysia release dates or pricing but it should reach Malaysia in or after April 2014. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.


Sony Alpha A6500, RX100 V, A99 Mark II are now officially announced in Malaysia

Sony Malaysia has officially announced their latest camera line-up here in Malaysia. Showcasing the brand new RX100 V, Alpha A6500, and also their new Alpha A99 II. Being one of best ASP-C compact camera, Sony starts their presentation by broadcasting live using the new A6500.

The A6500 features a new 24.2-megapixel EXMOR CMOS Sensor, 425 phase detection AF points, 11 frames per second shooting speed, an expanded memory buffer which allows up to 307 shots in a single press of the shutter, and also Sony's IBIS 5-axis optical image stabilisation. Not to forget, it also has touch screen now for easier control over the camera. The folks at Sony also emphasised the capability of 4K recording, despite it oversamples a 6k sensor into a 4k resolution video making it sharp and detail.

As for the younger brother RX100 V, it features a 20.1 megapixel 1-inch Exmor RS BSI CMOS Sensor, Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens equivalent to 24-70mm with a fast f/1.8-2.8 maximum aperture, a Fast Hybrid AF system with 315 focal-plane-detection points, continuous shooting up to 24 frames per second shooting speed with a buffer up to 148 JPEG photos. It also capable of recording high-quality 4K resolution video with incredible 960 fps slow-mo video.

As for the highest end among the other two cameras, Sony also brought back their SLT camera, Sony A99 Mark II. This camera includes features like 5-axis stabilisation system, 4k recording, 12 frames per second shooting speed, ISO range of 100-25600, magnesium alloy body and a 3-inch non-touch tiltable screen.

As for the price details of these cameras, the A99 Mark II will be selling at RM12299 body only, A6500 at RM6499 body only, and RX100 V at RM4599. We also get a chance to test out the cameras ourselves, so here are some of the sample photos from each camera.


Sony Alpha A7 III: The most advanced "Basic" Mirrorless has arrived in Malaysia at RM8999

Sony Malaysia being the number one camera brand here in Malaysia has finally brought in their recently released "Basic" Full-frame Mirrorless Sony Alpha A7 III. Although Sony introduced it as a "Basic Entry Level" full frame camera, it's not as "Basic" as you think as everyone in the industry won't call this a Basic model at all. In fact, it does so much more than the competitors on the market at a much lower price. It will be available here in Malaysia in April for RM8999 (Body Only). So what could this beast of an Entry-Level full frame camera do?

The build and design make the A7 III feels great in the hand compared to its predecessor. Sony has finally moved their movie recording button to a much more easy to reach position. It accepts dual media slots but with only one slot supporting UHS-II type SD memory SD cards. One of the biggest complains from previous Sony camera is their battery life. Sony has listened to their customer and give us a new Z Series battery, NP-FZ100. With CIPA measurement, it can now shoot up to 710 shots per charge. Sony also compensates their confusing menu system by adding "My Menu" for users to set up their own menu items up 30 of them.

The newly developed 24.2MP back-illuminated Exmore R CMOS image sensor is paired with a front-end LSI that doubles the readout speed of the image sensor. With new updated BIONZ X processing engine, the processing speed has been boosted by approximately 1.8 times compared to its predecessor A7 II. With all the components work together, it allows the camera to shoot at faster speeds while enabling a wide range of ISO from 100 - 51200 (expandable to ISO - 204800 for still images) and an overall 1.5 stop improvement in image quality. Hence, the camera is capable to capture up to 15-stop of dynamic range making it the perfect camera for filmmakers that always chase for more DR value to achieve that sweet cinematic look. The wide DR also gives more versatility in post-processing to photographers that often shoot landscape or back-lit portraiture. The A7 III can also output 14-bit RAW format even in silent and continuous shooting modes. As part of most Sony High-End camera, it is also equipped with a 5-axis IBIS that Sony claimed to get 5.0 step of shutter speed advantage.

The Sony Alpha A7 III, otherwise known as Baby A9 features the same AF system that includes 425 contrast AF points that work with a 693-point focal-phase detection. With the AF system covers approximately 93% of the frame, it allows the camera to tracks moving a subject accurately even at the most difficult moment. The Eye AF feature, even in AF-C mode works extremely well for situations where the subject is turning around, looking down or otherwise obstructed. Check out a couple test shots below:

After testing out the AF system pairing up with the 10 fps continuous shooting, the camera performs really well when it comes to tracking the subject. With much-improved blackout time from using the EVF, tracking a subject is actually pretty easy with this camera. As you can see from the images above, it sticks on the subject even when there's a foreground subject being introduced to the shot.

Getting a full fame camera that supports 4k used to be super expensive but it stops here. Sony has definitely brought the "Entry Level" standard up a bar. On the A7 III, we're getting full 4K video recording with no crops at all on most video setting. The camera uses full sensor readout to collect 2.4x the amount of data and oversamples it to a 4K footage.

The A7 III now supports S-Log 2 and S-Log 3 as well as An HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) picture profile for instant HDR workflow. It can also record up to 120fps slow-mo video at 1080p.

As a filmmaker/photographer myself, I could see a huge potential that many will jump ship to the Sony Alpha A7 III. It offers everything that we need while keeping it at a rather low price. But could it be the only camera that we need for the next couple years? We'll need to find it out, perhaps I could tell you guys the answer when we get ourselves a review unit. So make sure to stay tune on TechNave for more upcoming Sony Alpha news.


Sony Alpha NEX-C3 Camera Review

Sony has added the NEX-C3 to its range of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The C3 features the same 16.2MP seen in the SLT A35, again promising improved battery life. The latest model is directly aimed at offering a compact-camera-like experience to users looking to upgrade to a large-sensor camera. It also features the 'Picture Effects' processing filters that will be available to NEX-3 and NEX-5 owners as a firmware update.

The C3 is the smallest NEX camera body yet, and NEX cameras are the smallest interchangeable lens cameras available – even smaller than Micro Four Thirds. This is the case even though the NEX sensor is full APS-C sized, the same as in mainstream DSLRs.

But though the body size of NEX cameras is positively tiny (as small as some pocket digicams), the lenses are constrained by the laws of optics because they must cover such a large sensor. In other words, though Sony has done their best to slim down NEX lens barrels, and uses very elegant-looking stainless steel construction, these are still largeish lenses, especially when compared to Micro Four Thirds.

To make the C3 even smaller Sony has made a few design changes, not all of which I think are for the good. The SD card slot no longer shares the battery compartment, having its own bottom panel door. This is fine as far as it goes, but it does mean that if the camera is on a tripod or a mount accessory is attached, it will have to be removed.

The more cramped grip of the C3 as compared to the NEX-5 means that one is forced to hold the camera more tightly, and I constantly found myself accidentally pressing the bottom soft key with my palm, something that never happened with the NEX-5. Plainly put, I feel that in its pursuit of making NEX cameras smaller, with the C3 Sony have gone too far and compromised hand-holdability.

The NEX bodies are very small. But as already mentioned the lenses are still APS-C sized. To keep them within reason in terms of size they have modest maximum apertures. Even the pancake 16mm is just an f/2.8.

Of course the C3 has a 16MP sensor, and the NEX's sensor is also significant larger, which means better image quality. Right? Well, yes, but....

The but is that when working in anything but bright outdoor conditions one is going to have to shoot the C3 at a higher ISO, because the lens is slower. A full two to three stops slower. So indoors, instead of ISO 400, for example, the C3 would have to shot at ISO1600 to ISO 3200, thus cutting its larger sensor advantage considerably.

I expressed dissatisfaction with the original NEX user interface, as did virtually every other reviewer. Sony was pretty quick to try and address these complaints with a firmware update, but in my view it still didn't solve the main problem, and that's one of overall usability.

The concept behind the NEX cameras was to produce a camera that provided advanced user features, but aimed at the point-and-shoot user moving up. To accomplish this the number of external controls was reduced to a bare minimum, and various control selections made accessible behind pretty icon-based menus.

Regrettably, that had the effect of placing various selections and controls in six different icon accessed sections, each separated from the other by one having to navigate through a central menu screen. Every time  a change is made to a function the user is dropped back to the central menu. Want to experiment, and try things a couple of different ways? Back through the main menu each time. Annoying and frustrating!

Overall I find the NEX interface to be the least friendly and most unintuitive of any current camera. It neither aids the beginner not comforts the more advanced user.

One of the most interesting new features on the C3 is the addition of "Peaking" when a manual focus lens on an adaptor is mounted. The peaking controls are found on the Setup menu, and include the choice of edge colour (Red, White and Yellow), and level of sensitivity, (Off / Low / Medium and High). Peaking, if you're unfamiliar with it from the video world, shows a shimmering outline on the parts of the image that are in sharpest focus.

Also, as an aid to focusing with non-AF lenses, when a lens adaptor is attached the bottom soft key automatically changes to MF Assist, and screen magnifications to assist focusing of 7.5X and 15X are available. This combined with Peaking provides the best focus assist capability that I've yet seen on a new generation camera.

There's good news. The new firmware found on the C3 will be available as an update for current NEX-3 and NEX-5 owners, so if you are keen to have Peaking this will be available for your previous NEX camera around the same time that the NEX C-3 is announced.

This mode allows users who aren't interested in working on the images with a computer to create a number of interesting effects, including ones named Retro, Pop, Posterized B&W, Posterized Color, Toy, Hi Contrast B&W, Hi Key, and Partial Red, Blue, Green and Yellow.

These later effects are well done, with just objects in those colours being displayed in colour, and the rest of the image in B&W.

I've made no secret of the fact that I really dislike working with cameras without eye-level viewfinders. Optical, reflex, electronic – I don't that much care – as long as there's something that I can use so as to shoot with the camera up to my eye, rather than at arm's length with an LCD screen.

The Hoodman Hoodloupe can theoretically do the job, but its much too large for use with a camera as small as a NEX C3, and it requires annoying rubber straps to attach. But there is a solution. It's small, relatively inexpensive, and works well enough that it should be provided by Sony with every NEX camera sold (at least until they get around to providing an accessory EVF).

The Clearviewer is the best solution that I have found. It looks a bit Rube Goldbergish but it works surprisingly well, and folds out of the way when not needed. The only time that it fails is outdoors when the sun is at 90 degrees and washes out the screen. But moving ones hand a bit to block the sun works fine. The ClearViewer is a simple yet brilliant solution. Highly recommended.

Be aware though that because the C3's SD card slot has been moved from its spot inside the battery compartment to a separate one close to the tripod socket, unlike on the NEX-3 and NEX-5 the Clearviewer needs to be removed to charge cards.

I know that this will annoy a lot of people, but I'm going to take a pass on shooting high ISO noise and other test images for the article. The truth of the matter is that this sensor is Sony's latest; the same one found in their new A35, as well as the Pentax K5, Nikon D7000 and Sony A580, all highly regarded when it comes to image quality.

The Sony NEX-C3 continues the move toward smaller and smaller compact system cameras, with a build and software design that works well.


Sony Announces the Xperia SP

After the Sony Xperia Z, there are still quite a few premium-level smartphones in the Xperia range especially now that Sony have released the Sony Xperia SP. Focusing on the upper end of the mid-range market, the Xperia SP features a design slightly different from the flagship Xperia Z model. This includes an aluminum chassis and buttons along with the a transparent belt on the lower part of the chassis, the Xperia SP looks cool. Some tech specs for the Sony Xperia SP include:

The different design makes it a striking choice apart from the flagship Sony Xperia Z especially those looking to get an LTE phone with a near phablet-size screen. The better processor and GPU also guarantee better overall performance. The slightly larger battery and STAMINA battery saving mode also means this smartphone should last for quite some time. Pricing in Malaysia has yet to reach us but the Sony Xperia SP was priced at £359 (RM1694) in the UK. Check out our more detailed Mobile Mega Mall spec sheet here.[source lowyat.net]


Apple Glass could cost ~RM2173 according to new leaks

While we don't expect to see the Apple Glass anytime soon, the rumour windmill has begun picking up information steadily over a couple of days already. According to ever-reliable Jon Prosser, we have gotten some new juicy details about the Apple Glass. Without further ado, here's what we know so far.

According to Jon, he said that the Apple Glass' lenses will be able to show display and a user can control certain action and task by gestures. We don't know if this means using hand or head gestures, but from our last rumour news, it is the latter. Interestingly, there won't be any cameras but the glass will rely on a LiDAR sensor which is seen on the latest Apple iPad series.

Jon Prosser has provided new details today on the upcoming Apple AR glasses. They will reportedly be called “Apple Glass” and could be announced as soon as later this year. pic.twitter.com/7xwNfn5ZRt

The user interface has a new name too called Starboard (originally, it was called realityOS) and all the data will be processed on the iPhone series. Wireless charging is available and the glasses might make its debut in between Q4 2021 - Q1 2022. In terms of cost, it's said to cost $499 (~RM2173) plus the cost of prescription lenses. Yikes, that's one expensive glasses there.

Lastly, Jon said that the Apple Glass was supposed to appear in this year's annual Apple event in September but with the on-going pandemic, it was pushed back until next year. Since this is just a rumour, do take it with a pinch of salt. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Sony Bravia A1 Series announced in Malaysia starting price at RM16999!

Sony Malaysia today announced new 4K HDR A1 series designed to deliver ever wider brightness range and higher contrast here in Malaysia. The A1 is the first 4K TV without speakers. It features OLED as display device, X1 Extreme Processor, Object-based HDR remaster,Super Bit mapping, and Dual database processing. The A1 also feature Acoustic Surface that mounts four actuator to emanates sound to the entire screen. Resulting perfect unification of picture and sound that conventional TVs cannot deliver.

The A1 series will comes in 65-inch and 55-inch. As for pricing and releases date details, both will be available from June 2017 onwards and priced at RM29999 and RM16999 respectively. Check out the video below for more information!


Sony Bravia X80H Malaysia release: 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos compatibility with price starting from RM3099

If you've finally decided that it's time to invest in a 4K TV, Sony has a new option for you. Today, Sony Malaysia announced that the Bravia X80H 4K LED TV is now available for pre-order directly at the Sony Stores in KLCC and the Curve or at selected Sony Centres. It will be available in 49-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch sizes.

The Bravia X80H has a lot of offer. Its X1 4K HDR processor does as its name suggests, delivering full 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution and support for HDR10. In addition, it has Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos compatibility, super-thin bezels to optimise the viewing experience, and Motionflow of up to 50Hz for smoother visuals in action scenes. You can also find a plethora of content through the Google Play Store through apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

According to Sony Malaysia, the new model will officially be available starting from April 2020. Will you be interested in getting one when April comes? What else do you want to see from a more budget-oriented 4K TV? Comment on this topic on our Facebook and remember to follow us on TechNave.com for more tech news. Bravia X80H retail prices:


Sony CAS-1, a compact Hi-Res audio system for your music pleasure

The Sony CAS-1 is a new Hi-Res compact desktop audio system by Sony for music lovers all around, it is capable of producing exquisite audio detail and suits those who want to experience high-quality music they desire. Equipped with dual amplifiers and a main unit which can be adjusted through settings, the goal of such design is to deliver the ultimate sound quality according to the user’s preference. It’s available in Malaysia from December 2015 onwards at Sony Stores and www.sony.com.my for RM4199.

The system is able to deliver your music collection in beyond CD quality, as the system supports Hi-Res Audio in both DSD and PCM formats, including FLAC, WAV or AIFF files of up to 24bit/192kHz quality. The Sony DSEE HX technology can be used to upscale compressed audio files, such as MP3, to near Hi-Res Audio quality, thus releasing a rich and full-bodied sound.

The CAS-1’s dual amplifiers can also act as an independent speaker, each of which is tailored towards the specific requirements of speakers or headphones. Inside it, lies a Sony S-Master HX Hi-Res Audio amplifier supported by a bass reflex port,  that can enhance the sound by reducing noise and distortion. even when listening at close range. And together with the headphone amplifier with a built-in Sony’s DAC from PHA-2 that contributes hi-res audio, these components allow the CAS-1 to produce a balanced, powerful and precise sound.

CAS-1 can be connected through Bluetooth, NFC, and your smartphone via Song SongPal app. Two USB (USB-A and USB-B) ports are also available for Hi-Res Audio format playback.

To find out more about the Sony CAS-1, visit their website to learn more.


Sony CEO claims that the PlayStation 5 is up to 100x faster than previous generation consoles

Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida stated that the upcoming PlayStation 5 performs up to 100 times faster than previous-generation consoles, which is largely thanks to the high-performance SSDs it comes with. But that’s not all, the CEO also mentioned that the new console is much more immersive thanks to better 3D sound effects, rumble effects and more.

Furthermore, it seems that Sony wants to focus more on first-party games (such as Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushima) in order to have them fully utilize all the features that are available on the Sony PS5. On another note, Kenichiro Yoshida noted that Sony is also keen on other aspects of the Playstation ecosystem, such as Cloud gaming, mobile gaming, and more.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on the Sony PlayStation 5 being up to 100 times faster than previous generation consoles? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 officially announced

Ever wanted a better camera for your smartphone but didn't want to buy a new smartphone? Well now you can, as Sony officially announce their Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 wireless lens cameras. Designed to be paired up with your smartphone (and probably tablet) it is basically the telescoping zoom part of a digital camera with wireless and NFC capabilities. The lens cameras mark the first of the QX series in Sony's Cyber-shot range and they can be used with any iOS and Android smartphone. Confirming many of the tech specs and features from past leaks and rumours the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and QX10 have the following tech specs:

Both the QX100 and QX10 have a shutter release button, memory card slot and rechargeable battery so you can do blind shots if you want. Both connect wirelessly, support NFC and can either be attached to a smartphone or a tripod. Already a sample video shot using the QX100 has come up and it shows off awesome sharpness and low-light picture clarity. We definitely want one but the price is steep at $500 (RM1647) for the QX100 and $250 (RM824) for the QX10. So far there aren't any exact release dates in Malaysia just yet but according to Sony, it will be available later in September 2013. For more information check out the Sony site.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100  / QX10 highlight video

A sample movie using the DSC-QX100 showing off awesome low-light video capture

Update: A leaked press release shows complete tech specs of the two Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX lenses below:


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 Camera Review

The world's slimmest digital compact camera!

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 digital camera is based around a 16.2 effective megapixel, backside-illuminated Sony Exmor R CMOS image sensor, coupled to a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar-branded, prism-folded 5x optical zoom lens. Actual focal lengths range from 4.7 to 23.5mm, yielding a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 26 to 130mm. The maximum aperture varies from F3.5 at wide angle to F4.8 at telephoto, and helpfully, the DSC-TX55 offers Sony's Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, useful for combatting blur caused by camera shake.

Compared to the preceding TX100V model, the TX55 has a much slimmer body, at just 12.2mm excluding the sliding lens barrier. To give an idea of just how thin that is, Sony describes the TX55 body as being somewhere between the thickness of an AA battery (13.5 to 14.5mm, as defined in ANSI standard C18.1M), and that of a pencil (typically around 7mm), although it's a little closer to that of the battery than the pencil. According to the company, the Sony TX55 is the world's thinnest camera with an optical anti-shake function.

On the rear panel of the Sony Cyber-shot TX55 is a 3.3-inch XtraFine Organic LED panel. This display serves as the only method of framing and reviewing images, given that the Sony TX55 doesn't feature an optical viewfinder. Courtesy of a touch panel overlay, it also allows for control of some camera functions through the LCD itself. A new high-speed linear contrast detection autofocus system allows the DSC-TX55 to achieve a focus lock in just 0.1 seconds, according to Sony.

New for the Sony Cyber-shot TX55 is a Clear Image digital zoom function that's based around what Sony terms as "By Pixel Super Resolution" technology. In essence, this is a smarter version of the traditional digital zoom which compares images to a built-in database of unspecified size, and then uses pattern matching techniques to make better assumptions during interpolation of the zoomed image area. Using the function, Sony allows up to a 2x digital zoom, rather than the more typical 1.4-1.5x. When grabbing still frames during video capture, where Sony ordinarily allows up to a three megapixel image to be saved without digital zoom, the Clear Image digital zoom function will allow up to a 12 megapixel capture to be interpolated.

Where the preceding TX100V model offered video capture at up to high-def 720p (1,280 x 720 pixel) resolution, the TX55 now offers 1,080i (aka Full HD; 1,920 x 1,080 pixel) interlaced video capture at a rate of 60 fields per second. Image stabilization during video capture now offers an Active mode, but it's not the same technique used in other cameras with Active Optical SteadyShot. Instead of increasing the correction range available in the lens, the TX55's Active mode instead combines both true optical and software digital stabilization techniques simultaneously to provide a greater level of correction while retaining the same stabilization mechanism (and hence, not increasing lens assembly size).

Another feature new to the Cyber-shot line is Picture Effects, as seen in Sony's recent NEX and SLT interchangeable lens camera designs. The Sony TX55 provides picture effects including HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Toy Camera, Pop Color, Partial Color, and Soft High-key. Each effect can be previewed on-screen before capturing an image. A Superior Auto mode automatically detects the scene type, and can not only select settings appropriate to the scene being photographed, but can also enable multi-shot image capture modes automatically.

There's also an Intelligent Sweep Panorama HR (High Resolution) function in which a series of photographs are captured and stitched automatically by sweeping the lens across the scene, with frame content analyzed when capturing and stitching images, avoiding chopping up larger moving subjects. The maximum output size in Intelligent Sweep Panorama HR mode is 42.9 megapixels. The TX55 also includes Sony's 3D Still Image and 3D Sweep Panorama functions, which use some clever mathematics to recreate a 3D image from a single lens, saving the result as a multi-picture object file that contains two separate JPEG images, one for each eye.

Images and movies can be recorded on MicroSD or MicroSDHC cards, or on Sony's own proprietary Memory Stick Micro (Mark 2) cards, which use the same controller type as in Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo cards, and are said by Sony to be the fastest micro memory cards. Information on battery type, connectivity, and internal memory--if any--wasn't available at press time.

Like every other camera under the sun, the true worth of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 will depend on its picture quality. But its small size looks promising, and the list of features jammed inside this compact snapper is not to be sniffed at.


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX30 Camera Review: Quality and creativity at your fingertips

The Sony Cyber-shot WX30 is a new super compact, curvaceous camera. The Sony WX30 offers a 16 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, Full HD AVCHD movies, 5x optical zoom and a 3 inch touch screen LCD. New ‘By Pixel Super Resolution’ technology boosts the zoom range to 10x without any loss of quality, and the WX30 can also capture 12 megapixel-level still photos during Full HD video shooting.

Cyber-shot™ from Sony with up to 10x Clear Image Zoom in maximum resolution and artistic Picture Effect mode  * Highest-resolution Exmor R CMOS Image Sensor yet (16.2 effective megapixel) with Full HD AVCHD movie  * Clear Image Zoom up to 10x with new ‘By Pixel Super Resolution’ technology  * Shoot 12 megapixel-level still photos during Full HD movie recording  * DSC-WX30: First W series Cyber-shot™ from Sony with 7.5cm (3”) wide touch-screen  * Intelligent Sweep Panorama HR mode, 3D Sweep Panorama and 3D Still Image  * Exciting in-camera artistic treatments with Picture EffectSony DSC-WX30: Xtra Fine LCD

Super-compact and sleekly curvaceous, the Cyber-shot™ WX30 offers an equally tempting range of imaging options for stills, Full HD video and 3D shooting. It’s also the first-ever Cyber-shot™ WX-series model featuring a spacious 7.5cm (3”) Xtra Fine LCD wide touch screen for beautifully simple fingertip operation.Sony DSC-WX30: Images & Video

The camera features a highly sensitive Exmor R™ CMOS sensor with 16.2 effective megapixels resolution. Whether you’re shooting still images or Full HD video, you’ll be rewarded with incredible image detail and ultra-low picture noise – even in low light conditions.

The Cyber-shot™ model introduces brand-new ‘Clear Image Zoom’ that boosts magnification without lowering pixel count in the final image. Exclusive to Sony, ‘By Pixel Super Resolution’ processing further extends the camera’s 5x optical zoom range, allowing full-resolution 16.2 megapixel images with a maximum 10x zoom.

Sony DSC-WX30: By Pixel Super Resolution

‘By Pixel Super Resolution’ technology also significantly boosts still image quality during movie recording. At a touch of the shutter button, ‘Dual Rec’ grabs detail-packed 12 megapixel-level still photos without interrupting Full HD video shooting.

Newly enhanced with additional electronic image stabilisation for vertical and horizontal handshake correction, SteadyShot Active Mode*** compensates for handheld camera movements during Full HD video shooting. You’ll enjoy crisper, blur-free movie clips at all zoom settings, even if you’re holding the camera while walking.Intelligent Sweep Panorama also features HR (High Resolution) mode, letting you capture breath-taking 42.9 megapixel panoramas. Just sweep the camera: then enjoy the results on your connected HD TV, or zoom in with PlayStation®3 to reveal the finest details.

3D Still Image captures dramatic 3D photos without needing a big, bulky camera with stereoscopic lenses. Just press the shutter button once: 3D Still Image grabs a pair of frames in quick succession, estimating depth information to create a dramatic three-dimensional still image. Other 3D shooting options include 3D Sweep Panorama and Sweep Multi Angle.

Making its Cyber-shot™ debut on the TX55 and WX30, Picture Effect broadens everybody’s artistic options with an exciting range of in-camera image treatments. You don’t need special editing software: just press the shutter button. A choice of seven Picture Effect options includes HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Toy Camera, Partial Colour, Pop Colour and Soft High-key.Both digital cameras make it simple for anyone to achieve DSLR-like picture quality without fuss. Superior Auto mode recognises a wide range of shooting situations, adjusting exposure and other settings for more professional-looking images with low noise and high dynamic range.


Sony DualSense will be compatible with Windows and Android out of the box

There's less than a month before the next generation of the Sony PlayStation 5 launches and people have questions about them. Some of us wonder: "Can I use the new controller with my PC or smartphone?" And it looks like the answer is "Yes".

We're not too sure about the Xbox Series X's controller, but a reviewer has found that Sony's new DualSense controller can be used with Android devices. Austin Evans got the controller ahead of the launch next month and unveiled it in an unboxing video. A few things were immediately noticeable, including the fact that it's not exactly pure white in colour and how there's no USB Type-C cable inside the box.

The DualSense can be paired to a PC with the help of a USB Type-C cable and third-party software. While the z-axis (L3/R3) doesn't seem to work, it's a fully functional controller on a Windows PC. Evans also connected it with a Google Pixel 5 and it worked out of the box. However, features like the haptic feedback don't work in both cases.

If you're planning to purchase a Sony PlayStation 5, then you may love that the DualSense controller can be used on so many platforms. Having said that, do you use a wireless controller when playing mobile games? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Sony ECM-W2BT & ECM-LV1 coming in May 2021, targets video content creators

Vloggers and YouTubers need more than just a good camera. If you want to improve your production quality, you definitely want to avoid scuffed audio. In that case, you'll need a good microphone, such as the ECM-W2BT and ECM-LV1 from Sony.

First, the ECM-W2BT is a wireless microphone that comes in two parts - a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver's Multi Interface Shoe allows it to docks to a variety of different cameras, such as the Sony A7s. As for the transmitter, it uses an advanced omnidirectional mic to capture crisp audio. With Qualcomm's aptX Low Latency codec, it can record high-quality audio wirelessly and at low latencies.

Then there's the ECM-LV1, a compact stereo lavalier mic that can be paired with smaller devices. It comes with a windscreen to minimise background noise when recording outdoors, as well as a 360-degree rotatable clip to keep it secure. From what we understand, you can use this with a camera, laptop, or voice recorder. The 3.5mm audio jack could mean that you can use it with a smartphone too, which would be great.

Sony has confirmed that the ECM-W2BT will retail for RM929, while the ECM-LV1 will be priced at a more modest RM129. With that said, what kind of microphone do you use for video recording? Do let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for other news like this.


Sony Electronics presents new compact zoom DSC-HX80 camera with 18.2MP Exmor R CMOS Sensor


Apple Glass development reaches new milestone as the lens component enters trial production run

The launch window of the upcoming augmented reality (AR) headset from Apple has been speculated a few times. Some say it's expected to launch in 2022, while others say it'll arrive sometime next year. It's still hard to say which would be the accurate prediction, but sources claim that Apple is ready to start a trial production for one of its key parts - the semitransparent lenses.

According to MacRumors (via The Information), Apple and Foxconn are ready to shift the lenses - that are to be used for the headset - from the prototyping phase to trial production. This could mean that the two companies are confident that their prototype now works and want to test it in larger batches. Allegedly, the lenses have already entered what's known as the engineering validation test (EVT) phase in May.

This phase is when a product's design is finalised and Apple can start testing whether it's suitable for mass production. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that the actual product is ready to launch soon. Allegedly, progress for AR and VR projects at Apple have been affected as the development teams are divided on whether to focus on delivering greater performance with an external hub or have all components contained inside the headset.

If Apple wants to retain the slim form factor we've seen in previous renders, then having the headset connects wirelessly to an external processing hub makes more sense. But what are your thoughts about this? Do let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman Review

If you are one of the Sony Ericsson faithful out there you probably know that the other day the company unveiled a new Android smartphone, the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, which is the first global Walkman handset for Android.

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman: Design & Build

This device comes in Black or White and comes equipped with earphones and a 2GB memory card as standard. As with many Smartphone’s the Live with Walkman is slightly bigger than your basic phone, but it will still nicely fit in your pocket as it measures 106 x 57 x 14mm and it only weighs 115 grams.

As the name of the phone suggests it does come with a walkman built in, but this is a major improvement on previous walkman phones. Sony have included their Xloud system and Qriocity content. As well as being a great walkman phone, it has a great link with Facebook, this allows you to skip from anywhere on the phone straight to Facebook and update it whilst on the move.

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman: Navigation & Battery

A nice little feature added by Sony Ericsson is Wisepilot, there own satellite navigation system. With all these great apps and features obviously they will require plenty of power which the phone delivers but it also means that it will drain a battery, but this device has a great 1200 mAh battery which gives users 6 hours talk-time, or 17.5 hours of music listening time and 6.5 hours for watching videos.

So to conclude, this new Sony Walkman device will provide hours and hours of music, has expandable memory to increase the already big 2GB of space for the storage of a lot more music. As well as its brilliant music capabilities as you would expect from a walkman phone there is plenty of apps available for download from the Android market, this could be one of the best new android phones to come on the market.


Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman Review

The Sony Ericsson Company has launched Mix Walkman mobile phone. The Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman is a smart phone with an addition of a walkman system.

The Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman has been pictured as an entertainment device which concentrates obviously on the delivery of music. This phone features the Walkman player which enables the user to easily sort their music into playlists, artists, albums and tracks etc. The Mix Walkman phone has a function called Zappin, this plays the chorus of each song as the user is searching for their favourite tunes, enabling them to recognise their collection a lot easier.

If you’re feeling in a bit of a creative mood the Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman also has an inbuilt karaoke feature. This feature utilises the stereo speakers and microphone allowing you to select your track and start singing. It does this by cleverly muting the vocals of your selected track, but quite how often you would use this function after the novelty wears off we are not too sure.

As you would expect from the Sony Mix Walkman phone it has a 3.5 millimetre Jack which allows you to use headphones of your choice and to enhance the music experience It also has an inbuilt FM radio. For identifying those songs you just can’t recognise the Sony Mix Walkman has inbuilt TrackID™ which can recognise any piece of music from a small sample whether you’re listening to it in a club, your kitchen or in a shop.

Transferring your favourite media to the Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman phone is made easy with the MediaGo™ function. This enables you to drag and drop your favourite music, video or pod cast files straight to your mobile device. The rest is done for you automatically converting the files for optimum quality on the handset.

The screen featured on the Sony Mix Walkman is a 3 inch TFT touchscreen with a resolution of 400 × 240 pixels. There is a watered down version of the corner U. I. system enabling the user to select popular functions and keep them to hand in the corners of the home screens for easy access. This enables an intuitive navigation experience allowing the user to easily select media and functionality within the phone. However this corner U. I. system only allows for one function per corner unlike the Sony Ericsson android™ system which allows for four applications in each of the four corners.

Although the Mix Walkman phone uses a Sony Ericsson operating system and not the android™ system of more exclusive smartphones it does contain certain social networking applications. These applications include Twitter™ and Facebook™ so you can stay in touch with your friends at all times. With the Mix Walkmans inbuilt 3 MP camera and camcorder you can easily upload your life to the web keeping the world informed of just how cool you are. Contained within this device is the ability to view videos from YouTube™ as well as a uploading your own.

As you would expect the Sony Mix Walkman phone can also deal with multimedia messaging and text messaging with a predictive text input interface for smooth and simple messaging. There is an inbuilt email client enabling you to check your emails wherever you go and to reply when necessary.

Web browsing is supplied by Obigo Q7, the latest version of the Obigo browser which has been around since 1999. Obigo were responsible for the world’s first WAP browser and have continued to develop tools for mobile devices ever since.

To complement all the functions above the Sony Mix Walkman is capable of Wi-Fi® connectivity which is a must these days for any avid social networker in order to save valuable data plan megabytes. It is also possible to connect to other devices and headsets via Bluetooth® and for the transferring of data from your PC the Sony Mix Walkman also has USB cable support.

It has 100MB memory and has an external memory slot as well. It has 3.15 mega pixel camera which supports both video and still photography but it should have been almost 5 MP because other features are quite impressive.

It has exceptionally good battery timing with a talk-time of 9 hours and 40 minutes. If you play music on this Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman it can work for 13 hours.

We have looked at the Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman and just can’t quite decide why it exists when Sony Ericsson already have many phones that are more than capable of delivering the full music experience. If we wanted to choose a mobile device from Sony that was cheap in price but capable of offering an entertaining experience with music, video, web browsing and social networking we wouldn’t choose the Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman. Personally we think it would be a much better idea to save some more pennies and go for the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini range which have all the capabilities of the designated Walkman phones but with the extra bang of the full android™ operating system.


Sony Ericsson Txt Preview

Sony Ericsson Txt, focuses on messaging - targets frequent, budget messaging.

The Sony Ericsson txt pro just got itself a new sibling, in the form of the BlackBerry-style Sony Ericsson txt.

Aimed at Facebook addicts and serial texters, the Sony Ericsson txt is the company's self-described "entertaining messaging phone", landing with built-in social networking smarts and a full portrait QWERTY keypad.

Its four-rows of physical keys are coupled against 2.6-inch (240 x 320) non-touch display. This comes dressed with Sony Ericsson's "Friends" application, which enables users to see Facebook and Twitter at a glance from their five favourite pals. To satisfy all of your messaging needs, you'll also find a built-in email client, integrated Facebook and Twitter applications and Google Talk instant messenger.

Despite its focus on social networking, the handset arrives lacking in 3G speeds. However, it does come equipped with WiFi connectivity - so you'll never need to worry about expensive data bills.

It may not be focussed on media smarts, but the Sony Ericsson txt also arrives sporting a 3.2 megapixel rear-facing camera, capable of capturing video footage which can be fired off to YouTube or Facebook. There's also a built-in Sony Ericsson Music Player, an FM radio with RDS, and a 3.5mm audio-jack for pairing with your headphones.

The text features 100MB of internal memory, microSD card support (up to 32GB), quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 1000 mAh battery and Bluetooth. The Sony Ericsson txt will be ship in four color choices: white, black, pink and blue.


Sony Ericsson Txt Pro Review

Sony Ericsson txt Pro is a side-slider cell phone with a soft and smooth QWERTY keypad. The phone looks very stylish and has a sleek design.

It is a smart cell phone with sizable touch screen display of 3.0 inches and when we horizontally slide this cell phone it pops up a QWERTY keyboard. The facility of QWERTY keyboard makes typing easier and quicker. The facility of the QWERTY keyboard inside it and the name, “Txt Pro” itself tells us that it is helpful in making texting and chatting easier. It is pretty understandable that this cell phone is used to help us in increasing our social communication.

Sony Ericsson Txt pro is measuring 93 x 52 x 18 mm and has balanced weight i.e. 100gm. Its touch screen display is just amazing and it is of 3.0 inches with 240 x 400 pixels resolution. The display has few added features as:-a). Scratch-resistant surface.b). Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate.c). Single-touch input method.d). Proximity sensor for auto turn-off.

One better feature of this phone is its 3.5mm jack that lets you connect your speakers with the phone to get loud and quality sound. It has stereo radio system with RDS, which gives a pleasing sound quality. It has a Walkman Player to let you enjoy full audio sound.

The best quality of this handsome phone is its 3.15 Mega Pixels camera with 2048×1536 pixels resolution. This can capture your sweet moments in high quality. With this camera you can record videos too.

The phone has 100 MB internal memory with 64 MB RAM and has card slot for microSD that can be extended up to 32 GB. Here you get huge disk space in this phone so you need not to worry about storing large files and folder. You can also store your favorite music and videos that you can listen with its MP3 and video players.

Sony Ericsson Txt Pro is powered by PNX-4910 processor. It has better support for GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth and USB. With the GPRS support you can experience better internet connectivity and its GPS feature give support when you don’t the correct way while searching for any address. Its USB feature gives flexibility to transfer files from computer and computer to phone.

There is standard Li-ion 1000 mAh battery in this phone and it gives back up of 400 hrs in stand by mode & 5hrs in talk time mode.

Unlocked Sony Ericsson txt Pro is bundled with lots of more features such as Stereo FM radio with RDS, WAP 2.0/xHTML browser, MP3/eAAC+/WAV/WMA player,  TrackID music recognition, MP4/H.263 player,  Document viewer, Predictive text input and Voice momo.

Overall this cell phone is very nice but only thing absent is 3G feature But still this is very nice who likes to keep stylish cell phones. The QWERTY keyboard and big screen display with smooth touching option can increase its demand amongst buyers. Your heart goes out for this smart and stylish cell phone.


Sony Ericsson Urushi (ST18i) in Malaysia Price, Specs & Rumor

Sony Ericsson Urushi (ST18i) Malaysia Rumor - Smaller Version of SE Xperia Arc X12

An unannounced Sony Ericsson Urushi (ST18i) mobile phone has leaked online with some images and specifications.

Sony Ericsson's upcoming smartphone dubbed as Urushi has recently appeared online in leaked images. This mobile phone has model number ST18i and is codenamed "Urushi". The mobile phone has earlier been spotted online but this time it appears in clear images along with some details on its specs.

SE Urushi, which could be a compact variant of its famous handset Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc (X12), is sporting a 3.2-inch touchscreen display supporting 16 million colours with a resolution of 854x480 pixels. While the Xperia Arc includes a large 4.2 inch display. This new handset will also pack the same BRAVIA Mobile engine technology and will support the Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) version of OS, other than some typical customizations.

The Sony Ericsson smartphone, which is designed using a bright orange panel, may sport an excellent 8-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording. Besides, there is an LED flash provided for better and clear images as most of the Sony Ericsson phones include.

The Urushi will be comprising 335MB of RAM, a powerful 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an Adreno 205 CPU, due to which it will offer a fantastic performance to the users. The 3G phone also includes useful features like GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

In addition to this, the Sony Ericsson ST18i integrates Digital compass, SNS tools, MP4/H.263/H.264 player, MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player, TrackID music recognition, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Document viewer, Voice memo and Predictive text input.

Sony Ericsson Urushi Malaysia Release Date & Price:

This mobile phone appeared from potential sources but there is no official announcement from Sony Ericsson about its upcoming SE Urushi smartphone. However, it is rumored to hit stores by the month of September 2011 but the price unknown yet.

Features and specifications are subject to change without prior notification.


Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro Review

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro is a little different. Even though it is largely sold as a “feature phone” rather than a smartphone, it has real smartphone brains under the hood with its Symbian S60 5th edition operating system. Does this make it a really good value for people who want web connectivity and smartphone-like functionality at a “dumbphone”.Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - Features:

The “Pro” part of the Vivaz Pro’s name comes by way of the hardware QWERTY keyboard that slides out the side. In essence, you get a phone that is very similar to the original Sony Ericsson Vivaz, but with a keyboard. The trade off is that the camera is downgraded to “just” a five-megapixel shooter. It retains its 720p HD video recording capability though, making this a reasonably suitable cameraphone.Runing through the rest of the specs, we find tri-band HSDPA to go with the quad-band GSM, as well as a scratch resistant surface, handwriting recognition, 3.2-inch TFT resistive touchscreen, microSD expansion, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 720MHz processor.Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - Design & Build:

If you’re expecting the premium build quality that you would get with a device like the Nokia N8, you’re going to be sorely disappointed with the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro. It feels very “plasticky” in hand, but on the plus side, it’s quite light at just 117 grams.It’s also quite interesting that they went with such a curvature for the back cover. I guess this is supposed to give it a sleek and unique profile, but it just ends up making for a somewhat strange experience. This is exacerbated by the fact that the power button is towards the top of the back panel, partially recessed into the battery cover. From what I can tell, the keyguard can only be activated by tapping the power button, then choosing to lock the keys from the touchscreen interface. Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - Screen:

I wouldn’t say that I’m terribly disappointed with having “just” a 3.2-inch display, but it is a shame that they went with a resistive screen on this device. Everyone is doing capacitive screens these days and going back to a resistive display felt archaic.Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - Web Browser:

Bearing in mind that this is being marketed as a feature phone and not a smartphone, I was disappointed with the performance of the web browser on the Vivaz Pro. Web pages rendered, but there would always be a couple of issues.When I tried to visit Mobile Mega Mall on the phone, for example, the entire header portion came muddled with a strange effect happening on our site logo which uses a transparency. It works, I suppose, but don’t expect to get the “almost desktop” experience that you would get with iOS or Android. It’s just not there.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - Camera & Video:

Sony Ericsson has traditionally had two aces up its sleeve with mobile phones – the camera and the multimedia. Being a two trick pony isn’t enough these days though, and while the camera is fast, the LED flash adequately bright enough and the picture quality good.

HD video recording is fine – it starts up fairly quickly and captures the images well, although we slightly preferred the performance of the Samsung Wave when it comes to high definition recording, simply because the quality is fairly similar and the interface more intuitive.

Admittedly media wasn’t bad – the screen’s too small for long-term movie watching, and while it’s a ‘near HD’ resolution screen (360x640 in real money) it’s not the sumptuous performance we see on other phones like the HTC Desire.

Music is fine – although the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the side of the device, meaning you have to put it in sideways in your pocket to make sure you don’t cripple that lovely new set of cans you just bought. It can be hard sometimes to find your music as there’s no search function, and while sonically it’s a great experience, things like it being very hard to scroll through songs don’t impress.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro - QWERTY Keyboard:

I think it was a good move including the slide-out keyboard on this device, because I’d imagine typing on the resistive touchscreen to be quite a pain. The keys have a nice “squishy” or “rubbery” feel to them and there is a suitable “bump” to each key so that they don’t sit too flush with the phone. That’s a good thing. Key travel was pretty good too.It might take you a little while to get used to the key layout, since it’s a on perfect grid rather than the staggered rows you find on a “real” keyboard, but it gets the job done for mobile e-mails, text messages, and whatever else you want to type on this phone.Conclusion:

We like the 720p video capture, and we like the pull-out keyboard. These are this phone's two main selling points, but don't be fooled -- a dodgy menu system and really rubbish build quality hamstring a potentially good mobile.


Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review

While HD-quality video capture is becoming more common on compact digicams and digital SLRs, there still aren't many mobile phones that can do the same. The Samsung i8910 HD is the most prominent example with its ability to shoot 720p videos and Sony Ericsson has now joined the league with its Vivaz smartphone.

The first thing that struck us about the Vivaz design was how compact it is. It is smaller and lighter than the i8910 HD and Sony Ericsson's own Satio. The device looks sleek with a curved back battery cover and a simple front with edges that taper toward the top and bottom. The body is made entirely of plastic with a translucent glow on the sides, but the handset quickly became slippery after we had our fingerprints all over it. The 3.2-inch display has a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels and excellent screen contrast. The panel is of the resistive variety, which means it will respond to stylus tips. Buttons on the front of this smartphone include your standard Call and End and a menu key between. The left is where you will find a micro-USB port for charging and syncing and a 3.5mm audio connector. This is great news for music lovers as you will be able to plug in your favorite headphones without an adapter. Since it is located on the side, you should use a pair of headphones that come with an L-shaped jack. A single power/keylock button sits at the top of the Vivaz.

A microSD card slot is found behind the back battery cover. The device itself has 75MB of memory built-in, which is pathetic. That's why an 8GB microSDHC card is bundled. The right side of the phone is where you'll find all the dedicated buttons for still image and video capture modes, as well as zoom controls. The 8-megapixel camera around back doesn't have a lens cover and is almost flush with the surface, so the chances of scratching it are higher. Take note of that, especially if you don't have a habit of using a phone pouch or you carry your handset and keys in the same pocket.

The Vivaz has no lack of connectivity features with HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth A2DP, DLNA, TV-out and GPS (with A-GPS) for satellite navigation. The Sony Ericsson runs on the Symbian S60 5th Edition operating system similar to the i8910 HD and Satio. A tabbed Home screen gives you quick access to your favorite contacts, applications Internet bookmarks, media gallery and Twitter updates, so there's rarely any need to go beyond the home screen. You can also call up or hide the status popup by pressing the End button. This gives you additional options to do a search, access the music player, messages and dial pad. The Twitter panel only lets you read and post updates, so advanced features like retweeting or direct messages are not available. Swipe scrolling is implemented in some lists, but not in others like the menu screen--an annoying issue.

We won't go into detail on the software and user interface since that's standard S60 type. If you've handled an S60 touchscreen device before, you'd likely be able to pick up the Vivaz and use it right away. We like the Web browser with full support for Flash. This means you can watch videos directly from the browser without having to jump out to a mini video player. The kinetic scrolling can be a little smoother and the double tap-to-zoom feature was hard to trigger. You're better off using the onscreen zoom bar.

There's still no smart or voice dial, a feature we'd really like to see. The Vivaz has no front-facing camera, so video calls are done using the main shooter at the back, which really defeats the purpose of making a video call. The preinstalled Facebook application lets you see what's on your wall, pictures, albums, inbox messages and browse your friends list. It's simple and straightforward, but our experience was hampered by sluggish and occasionally jerk-stop response when scrolling. RoadSync lets you connect to a Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can have email pushed to the device, as well as synchronize calendar and contacts. No doubt, this is a really useful application for business users. The Quickoffice on the Vivaz is a read-only version, so you'll need to upgrade the software at a fee to get the option to create new documents. There's also Wisepilot, a GPS navigation software which offers more advance features, including trip and weather reports, compared with Google Maps. There's no digital compass, which would have been a useful feature for pedestrian navigation.

By far the most outstanding feature of the Vivaz is its 8-megapixel camera capable of capturing 720p videos. But what's unique are active autofocus and pause mode during video capture. In the clip embedded below, you can see that the camera automatically adjusts the focus when we shift it around, keeping the subject in the center of the frame in focus. It takes a couple seconds for the camera to refocus, but that's one of the most useful features for recording videos. Our test clips also maintained a consistent frame rate of marginally under 24fps and delivered better audio quality than the i8910 HD.

Controlling the camera is done using the touchscreen and buttons on the right side. In 4:3 aspect ratio (8 megapixels), the viewfinder takes up only four-fifths of the screen, leaving black borders at the side. Switching to 16:9 (6 megapixels) will expand the field of view to the entire screen. The Vivaz is meant to be held horizontally like a compact digicam with your right index finger on the dedicated shutter button. Right beside the shutter button for still shots is one just for recording video, which further goes to show how important the imaging features are on the Vivaz. There are many shooting options, including face/smile detection, "touch to focus", and even one to geotag images using the built-in GPS. However, you can't select the ISO, aperture or shutter speed. Videos can be shot at 720p, VGA, QVGA and a lower-quality mode for MMS use, and can be uploaded directly to YouTube for sharing. You can also zoom while recording a clip. The camera operates either in full auto mode or you can select various shooting options, preset scenes, focus distances and exposure compensation. It's a pity there's no auto setting for the built-in flash. It's either on or off. The speed of the camera is commendable. It starts up in about 3 seconds with shutter lag measuring just 0.3 second in our tests. DivX, however, is not supported out-of-the-box which is what the i8910 HD has.

The 1,200mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated for 13 hours of talktime on 2G and approximately 18 days on standby. These are rather optimistic figures, but at least the handset managed to hang on for about two to three days of regular use (with push email on as well) before giving up on us. Sound quality for calls was decent and we didn't encounter any major issues. The same could be said of the music playback on the handset, although plugging in a 3.5mm earphone gave much better quality.

There is no doubt that the Sony Ericsson Vivaz offers a lot. It punches well above its weight when it comes to video and photos, offering one of the best camera phones we've seen to date. It does suffer in low light, however, and the LED flash won't help you out too much, so don’t expect to get good results in a gloomy pub.

The tech spec sheet is well populated too, offering HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and so on, but all of this hangs on an operating system and user interface that isn't up to the job. This leaves the Sony Ericsson Vivaz as a bit of a disappointment. Day-to-day use isn't the fun experience it should be. Things are unnecessarily fiddly thanks to the UI and the unresponsive screen.

If you are a Sony Ericsson user and video capture appeals to you, then you might be really happy with the Vivaz. Those switching from other operating systems might find it too frustrating.


Sony Ericsson W8 Review

It is now confirmed that the new walkman phone will be called Sony Ericsson W8 and it will be the first Walkman phone to run with Android™ sensibilities. The music lovers will definitely appreciate the fact that Sony Ericsson is reviving its Walkman range of phones, which revolutionised the experience of mobile music.Though the device is touted as Android™ Walkman phone, it is better not to expect any revolutionary additions in terms of technology. It bears a lot of similarity with XPERIA X8, but comes with a vibrant dose of colours such as red, orange and azure.The basic features of the phone include 600MHz processor that powers the backdated Android™ OS, which is embellished with Timecape. There is a 3.2 MP camera, but no flash. It seems that the device has solely concentrated on its music aspects. Therefore, it is expected that the handset will load excellent speakers.

Sony Ericsson W8 - Targeted Towards Youth:

It seems that Sony Ericsson is targeting youth for their latest devices. First, it was SE Xperia Play and now W8. The former device is dedicated for the gamers who like to experience PlayStation like gaming on the handset. The manufacturer has even launched several top-notch devices that will even help the business users to make communication smoother. However, SE W8 is solely focused on high-end music features, which is hugely appreciated by youth.

The device will be come along with MH410, which is a superior headset that delivers advanced sound quality. As the device is not loaded with high-end features like the other advanced phones and the fact that it comes with the older version of Android™, it can be expected that the price of the phone will be affordable. This will make young people to access this handset easily. Furthermore, it also sends out an indication that Sony Ericsson has no plans to stop manufacturing the Walkman range of phones.

The design of the phone is definitely neither as attractive as SE XPERIA Neo nor does its features come closure when compared with the later, but still it boasts a charming appeal. This is mostly because of the vibrant colours it wears. As mentioned above, the device features three attractive shades which are red, orange and azure.The back portion of the phone is completely colourful and also includes the camera lens along with the logo of Sony Ericsson and Walkman. The measurement of the phone is 99 x 54 x 15 mm and it weighs 104 grams. Therefore, the device is quite lightweight and can be carried conveniently. The frontal portion of the device is mainly dominated by the touch screen display with Sony Ericsson and Walkman logo placed on the top and the bottom of the frontal part respectively. The design of the phone is cute and it is simple to carry.

There is nothing much exciting as far as the display of SE W8 is concerned. Though the phone includes a touch screen display, but it is a TFT capacitive variety with 320 x 480 pixels resolutions. The display provides visibility of 16 million colours. The size of the display is 3.0 inches, which is not too big like the other Sony Ericsson devices of the recent times. The touch screen display is loaded with some common features such as proximity sensor, accelerometer sensor, scratch resistant surface and Timescape™ user interface. Though Sony Ericsson never claimed to feature high-end display with W8; what it includes is quite decent.

Music is the biggest highlight of W8 and thus the users can expect some exciting features. The quality of sound is fabulous when one listens to music while putting the headset on. The handset features an integrated Walkman player that can play diverse music files such as MP3/ eAAC+/ WMA/ WAV files and include TrackID™music recognition. There is stereo FM with RDS for additional pleasures to the music lovers. Even when the headset is not plugged in, the users can turn on the music in the speaker mode and it is expected to be of good quality as W8 is a dedicated music phone.

It seems like Sony Ericsson has only focused on the music aspects with W8 with the dash of Android™ functionalities. Even the camera features of the device are mediocre with 3.15 mega pixel and 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution. The omission of flash is a big setback as the users will not be able to click good quality snaps in the low light conditions. However, there is geo tagging that might excite the snappers to some extent. Also, do not expect good quality video recording because the camera can record videos at VGA @30fps. There is no secondary camera for video calling.

Sony Ericsson W8 - Connectivity and Memory:

Apart from the basic connectivity options of GPRS and EDGE, W8 features high-speed connectivity options with 3G HSDPA (up to 7.2 Mbps) and Wi-Fi® 802.11 b/g. v2.1 Bluetooth® and v2.0 USB allows exchange of data to/from other compatible devices. The internal memory of the phone is 128 MB storage with 168 MB RAM. There is a microSD™ card slot to increase the memory up to 16 GB.

Overall, if you are searching for budget friendly Android™ phone with exciting music features, then Sony Ericsson W8 makes a good choice.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Active Preview: Smartphone for Fitness, Health Care!

Sony Ericsson's new Android phone, the Xperia Active, is water-resistant and ready for sweaty workouts or use by health care providers and patients.

Sony Ericsson has introduced the Xperia Active Android smartphone, a compact and water-resistant phone designed for personal fitness and for monitoring health conditions.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Active - Health Care:

The Xperia Active integrates Dynastream Innovations' Ant+ technology to allow users to monitor their heart rates on screen while working out. Ant is a 2.4GHz ultralow-power wireless networking protocol for applications such as health monitoring and automation in industries and homes.Mobile phones are set to play a huge role in allowing health care workers to monitor patients' health remotely, particularly chronic conditions such as hypertension and heart conditions.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Active - Performance:  With a 3” screen and running the latest Android platform for smartphones (Gingerbread 2.3), the phone packs Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a 5mp camera with HD video functionality, and a powerful 1Ghz processor.

The 3.3-inch capacitive Reality Display features "wet finger tracking," making the device immune to users manipulating the display or texting with fingers sweaty from exercise. The screen is also dust-proof and scratch-resistant. The screen has a fairly low 320x480-pixel resolution, which means that the Active won't be ideal for browsing the Web or anything else that requires extra-sharp visuals.

Weighing about 4 ounces, the Xperia Active will ship with several sports apps installed, along with built-in GPS, barometer and compass, which will allow runners to map their training routes, according to Sony Ericsson."Xperia Active is the ultimate smartphone for an active life," Fredrik Månsson, global product marketing manager for Sony Ericsson, said in a statement. "Not only is it packed with all the features and applications consumers need for a worry-free mobile life, it also comes with a set of accessories that make it fun and easy for them to take it everywhere, whatever their daily plans are."

Sony Ericsson Xperia Active - OS & NFC:The phone runs the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, which features NFC (near-field communication) capabilities to allow users to touch or swipe a code on a poster, billboard, print ad or retail display. A NeoReader barcode scanner enables this swiping capability on the Xperia Active.Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson's TimeScape interface can organize e-mails, text messages and social media alerts like a stacked deck of cards.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Review

Sony Ericsson's smartphone regeneration continues with the stunning Arc

Until recently it was fair to say that Sony Ericsson has had a rocky ride with Android handsets. With its flagship 2010 Xperia X10 being somewhat left behind by HTC and Samsung.

It’s fair to say the Arc is one of the most stunning handsets we’ve seen recently. Just 8.7mm deep and weighing a lightweight 117g the slight curve the body has been ergonomically designed to sit comfortably in your hand. The back of which has a two-tone coating from dark to pale blue, which looks a lot nicer than it sounds. Best of all is the screen. At 4.2-inches it dominates the front, the dark frame ensuring it blends seamlessly into the edges.The effect is spoilt somewhat by the build, which is very plasticky, sure it’s solid and could withstand a few drops, but wobbly buttons and faux-chrome trim are certainly not in the same class as the HTC Incredible S.

Pinch at any point and all active widgets are automatically positioned into a single screen, which you can select from As well as the Android back, home and menu buttons the four touch sensitive buttons at the bottom of the screen are customisable, and you can even arrange the main Menu icons Alphabetically, Most used or recently installed. Finally drag apps on top of each other to create folders.The Media Player is much improved with photos, videos and images displayed as thumbnails you can flick through or organise by date into piles. Alongside album artwork the Music Player has a button that lets you access online content related the track, such as You Tube videos. 10 presets enable you to tweak the otherwise good sound quality. Both of these have useful widgets you can position on any of the five homescreens.

The highlight of the Arc is the 4.2-inch screen, which Sony Ericsson calls a Reality Display, which uses LED backlighting, it’s a joy to use, the extra width is fantastic for playing back video, browsing and composing email.The screens performance is exceptional, multitouch is so responsive it feels like your gliding through homescreens as you swipe or pinch to zoom. Borrowing technology from Sony’s TV range, the Arc includes Mobile Bravia Engine, which improves the quality of videos by revealing highlight and shadow detail. It's activated in the menu after you've captured video and sometimes we didn't alwasy notice the difference.

Powered by a 1GHz processor and 512Mb RAM, which is fairly respectable and the Arc never feels slow, helped by the responsive screen. We had no problems swapping through multiple browser windows.

The Arc is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera, with Auto and Scene recognition modes, along with a Smile Detection mode. As well as having a large aperture of f/2.4 which by letting more light in is designed to improve low-light performance - the screen is certainly easy to see in low light.Pictures certainly have very bold colours and there’s an effective Macro mode. Capture photos using the tiny shutter, which is just a bit too small, so our preference was tapping the screen, which caused less blur, although you need to keep the camera steady.You can adjust a range of features including: ISO, Exposure and White Balance in both stills and video mode. There’s no Xenon flash though; Sony Ericsson claims one wouldn’t have fitted into such as slim casing.Capturing 720p video, results are good rather than amazing. It’s fairly good at dealing with differing contrast situations, but watch out for noise. The Arc also includes continuous autofocus, although on occasion we noticed a slight focal adjustment. In outdoor situations that are exceptionally busy, the audio noticeably picked up the wind.

We really like the Sony Ericsson Arc; it looks gorgeous, as well as being a generous size, the screen is excellent and it feels fairly quick and we really like some of the tweaks Sony Ericsson has made to Android 2.3. The negatives? Well the Arc, while solid, feels plasticky, the buttons are a bit wobbly and it's not dual core, but these are minor gripes about what is one of the best Android phones we've seen this year.


Apple Glasses with Mac PC performance could launch in late 2022

If you are an Apple fan, you may have thought about this once or twice: "So, when are the Apple Glasses going to launch?" Since last year, multiple reports about the device has been posted online, each speculating on the launch date and possible features. This time around, a well-known analyst claims that it will come in late 2022.

According to MacRumors, Kuo Ming-chi (Analyst at TF International Securities) claimed that the Apple Glasses will launch in late 2022. Interestingly, the augmented reality (AR) headset will allegedly come with two processors. The first one is similar to the Apple M1 chip, so the headset would have near Mac PC levels of performance. In addition, there will be a lower-end chip to manage the device's sensors.

Besides the chips, the headset is expected to use 4K Micro OLED displays from Sony for the lenses. This will allow it to run virtual reality (VR) applications as well. The way we see it, there's no way that Apple's AR device could be a small pair of glasses. It probably has the size and features of an AR/VR headset, though we're unsure if it will be at the level of a headset like the HTC Vive series.

While this is considered speculation, predictions from analytical companies rely on factors like supply chain orders, so they can be accurate. What do you think though, are you excited for a full VR/AR experience by Apple? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S Review

Sony refreshed its arc line-up at IFA 2011, with the company announcing the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, a smartphone that has been given something of a speed injection – Sony is quoting speeds 25 per cent faster than its predecessor, the Sony Ericsson Arc.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is a beautiful piece of kit. Given that the original Arc is still one of the best-designed Android devices around it's good to see that not much has been changed from a chassis point of view. The handset is gloriously sleek and slim at just 8.7mm thick and with it's slightly bowed chassis design. At 125 x 63 mm its a phone with a large footprint.

Display-wise, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has been given a 4.2-inch Reality display which made the stock images found on the phone ping with colour. The screen was big enough to enjoy browsing the web and when we loaded up MobileMegaMall.com, the load times did seem fast. The visual and video performance of the new mobile is better than any other device in the market with its superior Mobile BRAVIA engine.

Given that Wi-Fi on the show floor is not the best test conditions for this sort of thing, web pages did load with some speed, validating the '20% increase in web browsing speeds' Sony Ericsson is touting - thanks to the 1.4GHz processor at the heart of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S we tried out had Android 2.3.4 on it, with Sony Ericsson's own Timescape UI on top of this. We liked some of the touches this skin offered to Android, especially when you pinched the homescreen and was presented with the floating widgets bouncing around the screen, ready to take you to whichever screen you desire.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has been given some hefty imaging power, thanks to Sony's Exmor R mobile imaging sensor, which offers 8.1MP quality shots and 720P HD footage. We took a couple of images when Sony's press conference lighting was at its moodiest and the sensor worked well under the low-light conditions.

To give the handset a 3D slant, Sony has added 3D Sweep Panorama, which the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S supports. If you are not one for 3D, then the camera also does 2D Sweep Panorama as well.If you like the shots you take, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has a mini-HDMI slot so you can playback your content on a hi-def television.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S also gives you the ability to share media content with the Bravia TV and home cinema range, with the phone acting as a remote control. It is perhaps Sony's new ecosystem that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S will benefit most from, however. The handset is linked straight to Sony Music Unlimited and Sony Video Unlimited, offering up millions of music tracks and video content to download straight to your handset.

The first impressions are extremely promising. There was no apparent lag when swiping through the myriad homescreens and everything from camera shutter speeds and web page load times did seem to be improved.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo in Malaysia Price, Specs & Review

Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo Malaysia Preview:

This is equipped with 4.5 inches touch screen and built-in 12 megapixel camera when it will be released flagship smart, he became the focus of attention. Accordaing to the potential sources, Sony Ericsson XPERIA Duo will be equipped with operating systems using Android 2.3, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, and dedicated in September 2011 held on the release of the official launch.

Past the Sony Ericsson‘s flagship dual-core processors this part, Sony Ericsson, Qualcomm MSM8260 is expected to be, and ST-Ericsson’s U8500 or A9500 dual-core processor such as between choice. But the speed and frequency of specific models while there is no exact information, from sources disclosed on the website will be equipped with a Sony Ericsson XPERIA Duo 1.4GHz dual-core processor, and use the ST-Ericsson’s dual-core Processor likely.

If the use of ST-Ericsson A9500 dual-core processor, then its performance will be compared with Mali400 GPU graphics performance up to 20%, this is no doubt focus on games and entertainment for Sony Ericsson smart phones will be more to the force . Moreover, according to past reports, the processor has been developed prototype, and its customers by the ST-Ericsson joint design. Therefore, it seems that Sony Ericsson is equipped with the new dual-core processor may be a larger number.Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo: Camera & Video

The number of dual-core in order to differentiate their smart phones, and have come to the fore a higher level, Sony Ericsson natural camera in her own expertise to achieve a breakthrough. The mobile phone may be equipped with Sony’s second-generation Exomr R CMOS components, not only in imaging speed two times faster than the previous generation, but also available in low light conditions better picture quality.Of course, since there is strong support for dual-core processor, so in addition to the common auto-focus, LED fill light and image stabilization, and many other features, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Duo will also offer 1080p full HD video recording and playback.Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo: Screen

In addition to configuring the camera jumped on the outside, as a latecomer to dual-core smartphone Sony Ericsson XPERIA Duo still have to have a functional configuration beyond the opponent’s strength. Therefore, the phone is equipped with more powerful hardware specifications appear to be the logical thing. Such as the mobile phone will be equipped with 4.5 inches qHD rumors resolution touch screen, and is also expected to show the introduction of Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine technology support, which can lead to more delicate display.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo: Other Features

Other key features of the phone, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Duo dual-core should be with other smartphones not much difference, the difference is that the machine should join NFC near field communication, so use Google launched Google Wallet e-money package services can quickly complete the payment transaction, or to achieve other, more rich applications, such as between compatible mobile phone games and so on.Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo: Memory & Battery

This dual-core mobile phone Sony Ericsson also rumors that they will provide 1.5GB of RAM, with 8GB of memory space, and in order to get better standby time, will be equipped with amazing 2500 mAh battery, and strive to become in every respect perfect.Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo Malaysia Release Date & Price:

Officially the price of Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo is awaited from Sony Ericsson. And it will launch on September month of 2011 (estimated only).

Features and specifications are subject to change without prior notification.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro Review

A phone that manages to squeeze a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard into a compact package

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Mini Pro manages to squeeze a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard into a ridiculously compact package. A successor to the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro, the XPERIA Mini Pro offers a number of benefits over its predecessor.

The original XPERIA X10 Mini Pro was a tiny and chubby Android smartphone that had a smart UI, a rich features list and an excellent keyboard, but it wasn't without its limitations. Sony Ericsson has upped the ante with its successor, starting with the display — in addition to boasting a larger screen (3in compared to 2.5in), the new XPERIA Mini Pro has a better resolution of 320x480 (compared to its predecessor's 240x320 resolution), and uses a "Reality display" combined with what Sony Ericsson calls its BRAVIA Mobile Engine. The latter promises image noise reduction, along with sharpness, colour and contrast enhancements when viewing images and video.

The XPERIA Mini Pro also has a full, slide-out, QWERTY keyboard that comes with 'type & send' functionality. Sony Ericsson claims that the function eliminates the need to open a dedicated app for each type of message users are sending.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro: Memory & Video

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Mini Pro will be powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, up from the 600MHz processor of its predecessor; it will come with 400MB of internal memory, up from 128MB; it will record 720p HD video, up from standard-definition video recording. Sony Ericsson claims the XPERIA Mini Pro is the world's smallest Android smartphone that records HD video.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Mini Pro runs the latest 2.3 Gingerbread version of Google's Android platform. Gingerbread offers a revamped keyboard, better copy and paste functionality, improved power management, and a slicker user interface as improvements over previous versions of Android.

The XPERIA Mini Pro also comes with a Sony Ericsson custom UI overlay that takes advantage of the smaller screen size compared with most other smartphones. Users can place up to 16 apps in the corners of the XPERIA Mini Pro's home screen and can add widgets to individual home screens like regular Android smartphones.

The XPERIA Mini Pro is also one of the first Sony Ericsson smartphones that will ship with 'Facebook inside XPERIA', software that integrates Facebook into commonly used areas of the phone including the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar. The Facebook inside XPERIA feature will soon be available across other Sony Ericsson XPERIA handsets through a future software update.

Unlike most Android smart phones with keyboards, such as the HTC Desire Z, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro isn't a massive beast. That could make it a good choice if you're looking for a phone with a keyboard that doesn't hog your whole handbag or manbag. Sony Ericsson's software tweaks look promising too, but we'll have to take them for a proper test drive before we can deliver our final verdict.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Review

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini is adorably tiny, but promises to be packed with smart-phone features, thanks to its Android operating system. Its 3-inch touchscreen also means this compact phone looks thoroughly usable.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Design & Build

The new Xperia Mini sports a larger display than the X10 Mini, offering a 3.0 inch capacitive touchscreen with a pixel resolution of 320 x 480, as opposed to the previous device delivering a QVGA screen measuring 2.55 inches. Thankfully, that trade off between form and function is still finely balanced on the Xperia Mini, with the device measuring in at just 88 x 52 x 16mm and weighing in at 99g.

The display on the Xperia Mini supports up to 16 million colours, and is covered with a scratch resistant surface, to help protect the handset from the everyday bumps and scrapes that can occur when a device is kept in a pocket or purse. The Xperia Mini runs the proprietary Sony Ericsson Timescape user interface, which brings various updates and information to the main standby screen, whilst support for the Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine ensures that images are displayed to their best.

A Quad Band GSM device, the Xperia Mini has a wide range of connectivity options included onboard, such as HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA up to 5.76 Mbps, as well as WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, with DLNA support and the option to use the device as a WiFi hotspot built in. GPRS and EDGE are included to offer data support when outside of 3G coverage and away from any local WiFi links, whilst local connectivity on the device is covered by the inclusion of Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP for stereo wireless transmission. The handset also has a built in GPS receiver, backed up with aGPS support, allowing the device to operate comfortably as a portable SatNav unit, and also enabling Geotagging in the onboard camera.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Camera & Video

As for the camera itself, it is a very capable 5.0 Megapixel camera, with support for autofocus, image stabilisation, smile and face detection, and touch focus. An LED flash is included, to assist with photo taking in low level lighting conditions, and the camera is also capable of recording 720p HD video.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: OS & Performance

As with the previous X10 Mini, the Xperia Mini runs on the Android operating system and will ship with Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread, straight from the box. Powered by a 1 GHz Scorpion Processor, the Xperia Mini is capable of fast, smooth operation, and can handle a fair amount of multi tasking activity.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Multimedia & Memory

The handset is a capable all round media device, including a stereo FM radio with RDS as well as a full media player which supports a wide range of digital formats, including MP3, AAC, MP4 and WMV amongst others. There is plenty of memory available on the device for storing images, songs and videos, with 320 MB internal storage, supplemented by a Micro SD slot, with the Xperia Mini officially capable of handling memory cards up to 32 GB in size.

There is plenty of power under the hood, so to speak, with the high speed processor, and the device itself is powered by a 1200 mAh Li Ion battery, promising up to 340 hours of standby time and up to 4 and a half hours talktime, as well as 25 hours of music playback.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini could be tempting if you're considering upgrading to a smart phone, but don't want one of the massive, sun-blocking slabs that are all the rage at the moment. Its screen is surprisingly spacious, given the phone's amazingly small case, and it even shoots HD video. If it turns out to be as usable as we expect, it could be a winner.