Why Sony’s seven-month Xperia Z-series cycle isn’t all bad

I remember a time when I was switching phones every other week. Literally.I would buy a phone without a contract from an AT&T or Verizon store (or my place of employment), use it for a week or two, then turn around and sell it to the highest bidder on Craigslist. In most cases, I would trade the new phone for a slightly older phone plus some cash. Then I would sell the phone I had just received through the trade for its full value, thus walking away with more money than I had put into the original phone.It’s not like I was making money hand over fist, but I was playing my cards ...

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If you’re going to call a phone rugged, make it rugged

An unadulterated, high-end, rugged, flagship smartphone. That’s the sort of thing that makes some tech enthusiasts weak in the knees, including our own Michael Fisher.Inherently, smartphones have become more fragile over the years as priorities have changed – both within the walls of the manufacturers and the personal preferences of the average consumer. We want bigger screens, thinner chassis, better cameras, faster CPUs, more memory and storage, larger speakers, longer battery life, and more connectivity ...

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Sony announces freebies for Xperia Z2, Z1, and Z1S owners

Delivering a smartphone with great hardware and a refined software experience isn’t always enough to win over shoppers anymore, and in a market chock full of competition, some OEMs have really been trying to go that extra mile to win the favor of consumers. Back in March we told you about Samsung’s Galaxy Gifts, a collection of software and premium service subscriptions designed to sweeten the pot a little. Today we learn of a similar offer from Sony, this one intended to draw attention to

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Four reasons we want more Sony smartphones in 2014

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 ...

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Pocketnow Weekly 082: HTC M8, LG G3 rumors, and early termination on principle

Sometimes it’s not the promise of saving money, nor the allure of a shiny device that drives you from the warm arms of your current wireless carrier – sometimes it’s just a matter of standing up for what you believe in. That’s the case with today’s podcast guest, friend of the show and longtime Verizon Wireless customer Chris Larson, who’s leaving Big Red for the much smaller T-Mobile USA due to Verizon’s stance on net neutrality. On this episode of the Weekly, we’ll talk to Chris and find out just what he’s prepared to sacrifice, and ...

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Sony Xperia Z1S unboxing (Video)

We know, we know: unboxings come first, then come the features and reviews. That’s how it’s supposed to go. Well who says breaking with tradition is such a bad thing? Actually, that’s not why we’re posting this unboxing out of sequence. The real reason: an absurdly busy week that’s only going to get busier as 2014 picks up steam and more devices come tumbling down the chute – including smartphones like the Z1S’s close cousin, the

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Xperia Z1S: the best waterproof smartphone camera? (Video)

When we first laid eyes on the Sony Xperia Z1S last month at CES 2014, we weren’t exactly blown away. Not because there was anything wrong with the device -its specs were great and its glossy glass construction was just as fetching as it had been on the Xperia Z1 we’d reviewed some months before- but because there wasn’t much to set it apart from that smartphone. Sony must’ve ...

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iPhone 5s crash fix, Google Nexus 5 colors, Swiftkey for iOS & more – Pocketnow Daily

Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the official launch of the Sony Xperia Z1S on T-Mobile, along with all the details. Nokia is next as MWC is just around the corner, and the company has already sent out press invitations. We then talk about the Google Nexus 5 and some leaks of color options. We later cover the rumors of Swiftkey reaching iOS in a very interesting form. We end today’s show talking about iOS 7.1, and how it will fix the home screen crashes on the iPhone 5s. All this and more after the break. Stories: -

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Sony Xperia Z1S available on T-Mobile, as Z1 Compact gets root ahead of availability

The Sony Xperia Z1S, T-Mobile’s Xperia Z1, was one of the phones announced at this year’s CES in Las Vegas. It is basically your typical Xperia Z1, with some added carrier-specific bits, and an aluminum frame that has now been removed and replaced by a plastic one, while still maintaining the sandwiched glass build. It is now available on T-Mobile for a full retail price of $528, which translates to 24 ...

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This is how Sony can improve its presence in the US

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 ...

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Pocketnow Weekly 078: CES 2014 wrap-up – the best and worst from Vegas

Horrible sickness. Missed flights. Broken promises from major airlines. Desert air-induced hacking. A too-late arrival followed by a too-early departure. That’s just a partial list of the challenges faced by the four-man three-man Pocketnow team at 2014′s International CES in Vegas, easily one of the most difficult trade shows we’ve ever done. But while the road was rough, the payoff was (mostly) worth it: in exchange for our hardships, we were among the first to spend time with some of the world’s newest and hottest mobile gadgetry, and we did the best we could to ...

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Leak offers-up T-Mobile LG F3Q launch date for all you QWERTY fans

Just yesterday we were talking about BlackBerry’s commitment to phones with hardware QWERTY keyboards, and how such devices will be the company’s main focus going forward. Even with such smartphones dwindling in number lately, there have been recent signs – like that one from BlackBerry – that interest still continues. Last month we saw a render of the keyboard-packing LG F3Q leak, and today we start getting a sense of how that model will ...

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New Samsung tablets, Pebble Steel, US Sony Xperias & more CES – Pocketnow Daily

Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about Sony’s recent annoucement of the new SmartBand, along with a new Xperia Z1 Compact and Z1S for the US market. We then talk about Samsung’s new family of tablets, which include some interesting enhancements when compared to previous years. We keep talking about Samsung as we cover the company’s new tablet UI, aside from the fact that it’s also planned for Galaxy smartphones. Motorola is next as we talk about the company’s press event in Europe for January 14th. We end today’s show talking about the new ...

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Sony Xperia Z1 Compact: hands-on (Video)

By now, you probably know that the Sony Xperia Z1S isn’t arriving like we expected – as another spin on the Z1F. So if the Z1S is that different, larger hardware, what about the idea of an international Z1F – the one with the 4.3-inch 720p screen and the Snapdragon 800? Enter: the Xperia Z1 Compact. While small, it still looks extremely powerful, and it’s waterproof to boot. At CES 2014 in Las Vegas, we were able to swing by ...

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Sony Xperia Z1S: hands-on (Video)

Tonight we finally see the launch of the Sony Xperia Z1S in the US – though it isn’t quite what we had been expecting. Instead of another Z1F – a miniature version of the Z1 and an impressive phone in its own right – we get a 5-inch 1080p, Snapdragon 800 device with a big 3000mAh battery, 20.7-megapixel camera, and a waterproof body; all that’s hugely impressive in a whole different kind of way than the Z1F (but really still kind of sounds like another Xperia Z1 to us). It’s going to be a T-Mobile ...

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