For the past couple weeks now, we’ve been catching signs of a new version or two of Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra phablet, including a WiFi-only edition of the handset. It’s not too often we see a manufacturer go down this route, and it really got us thinking about the Z Ultra’s possible utility as a tablet – with that 6.4-inch screen, it was most of the way there, anyway. Earlier this week we saw
The post Sony launches WiFi-only Xperia Z Ultra appeared first on .
Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the new Beats Music service, and how it competes in today’s market. Then we talk about Sony as we get the first leaked photos of the Sony Xperia Z2 being compared to the Xperia Z1, aside from new rumors of a Wi-Fi only Xperia Z Ultra. Apple is next as we get the first leaked screenshots of iOS 7 beta 4 and its possible vehicle mode. Then we move the spotlight over to Samsung and a possible launch of the Galaxy S 5 at MWC. We end today’s show talking about a possible ASUS-made Google Nexus 8 after all. All this and more after ...
The post Google Nexus 8 rumors, iOS 7.1 on cars, Beats Music & more – Pocketnow Daily appeared first on .
Earlier this month we heard that Sony might be planning to release a new version of the Xperia Z Ultra, the 6.44-inch “phablet” that really pushed our limits so far as how large a phone could get before we just ended up looking at it as a tablet. Yet despite how useful a waterproof, stylish tablet that size might be, Sony had only released the model as a full-fledged smartphone – with the high price to match. This new version of the Z Ultra appeared to be ...
The post Sony’s own website appears to confirm WiFi-only Xperia Z Ultra appeared first on .
Sony is capable of making compelling smartphones. I have never for a second doubted that. The Xperia Z, my first device review for Pocketnow last year, was a stellar phone. Its design was great (though I’m not partial to the additional slab of glass), the specifications were on par with its counterparts from Samsung and HTC, and performance was not an issue. That said, the unit I received for review from Clove was not compatible with AT&T in my area. It supported UMTA bands 1, 5, and 8, and I was stuck switching ...
The post This is how Sony can improve its presence in the US appeared first on .
When we reviewed Sony’s giant Xperia Z Ultra phablet last summer, we came away with a general fondness for the device, though one tempered by a few concerns. High at that list was that the 6.4-incher was just too darn large for most people to appreciate as a phablet, and really felt like it might be more suitable for the device to just admit that it was a tablet. Well, as it turns out Sony might be thinking quite the same thing, as we see evidence pointing to work on a WiFi-only version of the Z Ultra. We have two ...
The post Sony Xperia Z Ultra could see second life as a WiFi-only mini-tablet appeared first on .
Pocketnow Daily gets an average of 300 to 500 comments a day, and sometimes even a thousand. We’d like to thank you all for participating in our question of the day, and we love your feedback so much, that we decided that since we can’t respond to ever single one of your comments, we should at least feature a couple in a weekly video. This is the Pocketnow Daily Recap. Since we only have 3 minutes on every Daily video to go through the hottest news, the weekly recap will serve as a more extensive discussion where we also include your thoughts on the subject. Sadly, for the sake of ...
The post Google Nexus 5 revision, Google Edition devices, Spotify free & more – Pocketnow Daily Recap appeared first on .
The big phones only get bigger, it seems. We’ve been clamoring over gigantic phones since the original Galaxy Note announcement, and possibly even before that over phones which are now comparably quite small. Personally, I’ve been carrying large phones since January 2012, not long after the original Galaxy Note made its way stateside. And I’ve been back and forth between loving and hating giant phones ever ...
The post The advantages of carrying an oversized smartphone appeared first on .
Sometimes there’s so much news you need to call in the Reserves just to handle it all, and that’s just what we’ve done this week. Between Google’s surprise announcement of an unlikely pair of additions to the Google Play Store; Microsoft’s rumored offer to pay Samsung to keep making Windows Phones; and a boatload of reviews, we’re in over our heads this week – so we’ve brought in four team members to do the news justice. Sorry, no listener mail this week – but in its place you get a consolation prize: you get to know what curious fate ...
The post Pocketnow Weekly 074: new Google Play devices and Windows Phone rumors galore appeared first on .
Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the Android 4.4.2 update that just reached Nexus devices, and why it’s important. We then go through some of the issues that are haunting Lumia customers due to a bug in the Nokia Camera app. Qualcomm follows the news as its new Snapdragon 410 processor was just announced with 64-bit architecture. We then talk about our Pocketnow Weekly podcast, and our chance to win a nomination for a Stitcher award. We end today’s show talking about the Google Edition Sony Xperia Z Ultra and LG G Pad 8.3, aside from the new and white Google ...
The post Google Edition LG and Sony products, White Nexus 7, Android 4.4.2 & more – Pocketnow Daily appeared first on .
As we told you a little earlier today, the mysterious LG V510 no longer seemed much like the rumored Nexus 8 we talked about on Monday, and the tablet instead was looking to be a Google Play Edition of the G Pad 8.3, the first-such tablet to take the honor. While the evidence was very strong, we still expected this one to remain unofficial for a little while longer, prior to going up for sale. As it turns out, however, this tablet has some serious momentum to it, and just a day after popping up on our radar, and ...
The post Sony Xperia Z Ultra, LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Editions launch, as Nexus 7 gets white option appeared first on .
Android 4.4: either you’ve got it, or you want it (or you’re on iOS or WP8, in which case, why are you reading this?). The majority of Android users find themselves in the latter situation for the moment, but even then Google’s been releasing app updates to bring portions of the KitKat experience your way. Still, nothing substitutes for the real thing, so most of you out there are probably hoping to learn the details on upgrade plans from your handset’s manufacturer. If that means turning to Sony for news ...
The post Sony dishes on Android 4.4, 4.3 updates for Xperia family appeared first on .
This morning brought news many of us have been anticipating for months. HTC made the One max – the larger brother to the renowned HTC One flagship from March – officially official. Except, instead of the HTC-made superphone we were hoping for, the One max is a bit of a downer. We really liked the HTC One here at Pocketnow. It received, at the time, one of the highest scores we’d ever given to a smartphone – a 9.2 out of 10. And I could barely wait to get my hands on one. On top of that, many of us ...
The post The HTC One max will be the Galaxy Note 3′s first victim appeared first on .
Can we all agree on one thing? Sony makes some beautiful devices. Hat tip to everyone in Sony’s design department. The Xperia Z, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra, and even earlier devices, like the Xperia S and Xperia ion, are gorgeous. All of these devices are genuinely beautiful smartphones, and the Tablet Z is just as beautiful in its larger form. Their expansive glass surfaces, ruggedized plastic (or metal, depending on the model) trim, and distinguished hard corners, all make these smartphones, aesthetically, stick out from the swarm of other smartphones. Most of them are known to ...
The post Why can’t Sony get it right? appeared first on .
I admit, I wasn’t on board with the idea of a 5.3-inch phone at first. I wrote a couple articles exclaiming how giant phones aren’t all that much more useful than, say, a 4-inch phone, and that they would be more difficult to use, hold, and carry for most people. I despised the original Galaxy Note … until I held one at CES 2012. And that’s when I fell in love. I came home from the trade show and bought one for myself. Admittedly, the original Note wasn’t the greatest phone ever. So I sold it after using it for several months, and set my sights on the Galaxy Note ...
The post I may be done with big phones for good appeared first on .
“Wait, that’s a phone?” That is one of the many bewildered questions we’ve received from passersby, friends, family, and everyone else since we received Sony’s latest … device last week. And that’s the very question that has unintentionally answered another we’ve been trying to resolve for going on three years now. At what point is a smartphone no longer a phone but a miniature tablet? Smartphones have been continually growing for the last three years, from a common 3.5-inch display to 6-inches and beyond. The race has transferred from “who ...
The post Sony Xperia Z Ultra review: the phone that doesn’t know it’s actually a tablet appeared first on .