Sony will fix the Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z KitKat battery issues

Posted on by Jaime Rivera

For those of you that still sport a Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR or Tablet Z, we’re sure you’ve been quite pleased with your ability to update these legacy devices to Android 4.4 KitKat. Sony has done a great job in keeping its phones up-to-date lately, though not everything has been fun and games. Users have flooded Sony Support forums claiming that there are serious battery draining issues, and apparently there is a fix coming.Sony has confirmed that it has detected the battery drain issues of the mentioned devices, and this problem has to do with Google Play Services. ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony will fix the Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z KitKat battery issues appeared first on Pocketnow.

Sony pushes Android 4.4 KitKat to Xperia Z, Xperia Tablet Z and others

Posted on by Jaime Rivera

Sony may not be doing the best job in getting the US market full of Xperia smartphones, but they are definitely doing a great job in giving Xperia customers a taste of the latest and greatest of Android. It used to be that Sony was the worse company in updating its smartphones to newer versions of Android, but ever since the launch of the Xperia Z early last year, this has been a different story, and it continues today. The company has just announced Android 4.4 KitKat to devices like the Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, and Xperia Tablet Z. The update details include: Google’s ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony pushes Android 4.4 KitKat to Xperia Z, Xperia Tablet Z and others appeared first on Pocketnow.

Four ways full-sized Android tablets (still) aren’t ready for primetime

Posted on by Michael Fisher

I’ve had some wonderful experiences with Android tablets. Loading CyanogenMod on the HP TouchPad, an activity I documented in my first-ever video for Pocketnow, filled in some crucial capability gaps left open by the TouchPad’s native OS. Carrying a first-gen Nexus 7 for a week in 2012 taught me just how compelling Jelly Bean in the 7-inch form factor ...

Continue reading »

The post Four ways full-sized Android tablets (still) aren’t ready for primetime appeared first on Pocketnow.

Four reasons we want more Sony smartphones in 2014

Posted on by Michael Fisher

While Pocketnow’s North American roots come in handy quite often, the arrangement isn’t without its snags. We do miss out on the occasional smartphone release by virtue of our location, and the brand most often affected by this is the somewhat Euro-centric Sony. As listeners of the Pocketnow Weekly podcast are aware, this causes us some heartburn; it’s frustrating to miss the chance to go hands-on with the latest and greatest. But we almost always manage to snag Sony demo units somehow. Over the past ...

Continue reading »

The post Four reasons we want more Sony smartphones in 2014 appeared first on Pocketnow.

Bring on the salt water smartphones

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Confession time: I’ve destroyed a review unit or two in my day. I lost a brand-new LG flagship in the back of a cab once. During a durability test late last year, I did enough damage to an LG G Flex that we ended up having to buy the thing from Negri Electronics. And just a couple weeks back, you all saw me

Continue reading »

The post Bring on the salt water smartphones appeared first on Pocketnow.

Sony Xperia Z update rolling out also for the ZL and ZR, Tablet Z following next week

Posted on by Anton D. Nagy

If you have a Sony Xperia Z you should receive a notification for an update being available for your phone. According to official wording from Sony, it should bring you improvements to the phone’s Bluetooth connectivity and battery. Alongside other fixes, bits should also refer to a new YouTube app, and some other behind the scenes improvements. The same goodies should also be available for the Xperia ZL and ZR phones, so make sure to check that update notification. If you have an Xperia Tablet Z, the ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony Xperia Z update rolling out also for the ZL and ZR, Tablet Z following next week appeared first on Pocketnow.

Sony Xperia Z Android 4.3 update rolls out, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR and Xperia Tablet Z also get it

Posted on by Anton D. Nagy

If you are an owner of the Sony Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, and/or Xperia Tablet Z, you should check for an update notification to hit your device. Sony is letting everyone know that the Sony Xperia Z Android 4.3 update is being rolled out, and the same platform version is hitting the rest of the aforementioned devices too. Though “timing and availability may vary by market and carrier”, you should all receive your treat of “performance tweaks here & there”. In addition to the OS, the Sony Xperia software also brings you smoother graphic experience, Sony ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony Xperia Z Android 4.3 update rolls out, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR and Xperia Tablet Z also get it appeared first on .

Sony dishes on Android 4.4, 4.3 updates for Xperia family

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

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 ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony dishes on Android 4.4, 4.3 updates for Xperia family appeared first on .

Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 vs Xperia Tablet Z (Video)

Posted on by Taylor Martin

Samsung is the undisputed Android king. Its Galaxy branded smartphones and tablets have almost entirely saturated the market, and rightly so. It provides quality and value proposition few others seem to have the capacity to replicate. The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition is the latest addition to the lineup, and it’s unquestionably one of the best tablets around. The question is: can Sony’s much-praised, water resistant tablet, the

Continue reading »

The post Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 vs Xperia Tablet Z (Video) appeared first on .

Sony announces a “kitchen tablet,” too; is this now a thing?

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Smartphones and tablets are some of the most useful gadgets you can have in the kitchen. Sure, they won’t brown dough to crispy perfection or de-vein your shrimp (and unless you have some serious faith in Gorilla Glass, we wouldn’t recommend using one as a cutting board, either), but recipes can be a whole lot easier to follow when you’ve got the entirety of the internet to refer to for your questions, and voice assistants like Google Now do a bang-up job of helping you convert ounces to tablespoons while keeping your hands mostly free. Back at IFA, we took the time to ...

Continue reading »

The post Sony announces a “kitchen tablet,” too; is this now a thing? appeared first on .

Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 vs Xperia Tablet Z (Video)

Posted on by Taylor Martin

The Xperia Tablet Z, when we reviewed it, was one of the best Android tablets to have ever entered our labs. And that certainly hasn’t changed in the last month and a half. It’s the full package – great specifications, a fairly impressive display, dust proof, water resistant, and, well … gorgeous. That said, Samsung has been around the block. And it’s Galaxy tablets easily outperform every other Android tablet brand without breaking a sweat – on retail shelves, that is. The latest slab to leave ...

Continue reading »

The post Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 vs Xperia Tablet Z (Video) appeared first on Pocketnow.

Lag isn’t always a death sentence

Posted on by Michael Fisher

We recently had the opportunity to review the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, an experience we enjoyed primarily because of the device’s innovative hardware: a 6.9mm-thick, 495g chassis that manages to squeeze water- and dust-resistance onto its list of features. Pocketnow is currently in the midst of reviewing the BlackBerry Q10, a peculiar blend of yesterday’s design cues with a modern OS – and we’re enjoying the feeling of real physical keys ...

Continue reading »

The post Lag isn’t always a death sentence appeared first on Pocketnow.

Why can’t Sony get the timing right?

Posted on by Joe Levi

There’s more to a smartphone or tablet than a specs list and its construction quality. Sometimes we get lost in how fast a device is, how much RAM it’s got tucked under the hood, and how sharp its screen may be. Something equally as important as all that is timing — and Sony can’t seem to get it right. Before we get into Sony’s problems with its release scheduling let’s look at its other product offerings. Sony has its hand in almost every pot. Sony makes music players, gaming systems, televisions, home audio, video games, cameras, smartphones, tablets, ...

Continue reading »

The post Why can’t Sony get the timing right? appeared first on Pocketnow.

Pocketnow Weekly 048: Galaxy S 5 rumors meet Nokia EOS leaks in back alley, nasty knife fight ensues

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Before we begin, we’d just like to say something to everyone who’s going to call us out for click-baiting with that “Galaxy S 5″ title: your allegations are completely founded and true. But look here: even though Galaxy S 5 rumors are (to say the least) premature and indicative of a serious problem with our nasty-fast industry -an issue we discuss on the air- they’re also important. That’s because, as unreliable and, frankly, stupid as they are, they also give us an opportunity to discuss the future of Samsung industrial design. And any opportunity we ...

Continue reading »

The post Pocketnow Weekly 048: Galaxy S 5 rumors meet Nokia EOS leaks in back alley, nasty knife fight ensues appeared first on Pocketnow.

Xperia Tablet Z vs Surface RT (Video)

Posted on by Michael Fisher

One is a water- and dust-resistant, wafer-thin slate of a device running a skinned build of Google’s Android at the troublesome 10.1″ screen size. The other is a magnesium-coated transformer with a folding keyboard and an OS that’s taken its share of heat too: Microsoft’s Windows RT. These tablets don’t have much in common, but they do share space on the retail shelves of the world as the high-end representatives of their respective tablet ecosystems. So it’s time to put Sony up against Microsoft; it’s time for the Xperia Tablet Z vs Surface RT ...

Continue reading »

The post Xperia Tablet Z vs Surface RT (Video) appeared first on Pocketnow.