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

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. ...

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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Android 4.3 update for Sony Xperia Z, ZL leaked

While the Sony Xperia Z Ultra just became a Google Play Edition device, owners of the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL also have a reason to be happy. The Android 4.3 update for Sony Xperia Z, as well as the ZL, is now available to download, thanks to XDA Developers. The Xperia Z’s firmware (C6603) and the C6503 for the ZL are both available at the source links below. Build numbers are 10.4.B.0.569, but it is not yet known whether this specific version of the firmware will the the final one which ...

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Sony dishes on Android 4.4, 4.3 updates for Xperia family

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 ...

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Why can’t Sony get it right?

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 ...

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Sony Xperia ZL – After The Buzz, Episode 020 (Video)

Most new-device launches go the same way: usually the press gets review units before they’re widely available, and we get to use them for a few days -or a week if we’re lucky- as we work on our review. Then press day arrives. The embargo on media coverage lifts, and everyone posts their reviews and videos at the same time. It’s a huge frenzy, commenters go nuts, and it’s a giant explosion of frantic opinion-sharing activity. For about … a day. And then it all goes away. Sure, there’s followup coverage as people find bugs and hidden features, but after that initial blast, not ...

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Sony Xperia ZL Review

It’s always interesting to review a new Sony smartphone. As opposed to many of its competitors, Sony doesn’t only build phones to pay the bills. This is the icon that pushed consumer electronics into the mainstream in the last couple of decades by showing the world that being the first or the most innovative wasn’t as important as being the best in the design and thoughtfulness of the product. This mentality has served them well in almost every market they currently lead, even if they weren’t the first to take the punch. Sadly, as of 2013, this mentality ...

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Top 5 Smartphones For Spring 2013 (Video)

With so many questions day by day about viewers still considering a Galaxy S 4 or an HTC One, we know the ropes are complicated this spring if you’re close to being eligible for a phone-swap. 2013 has shown just how great technology can evolve in mobile, and there’s a lot to chose from. Watch today’s Top 5 as we talk about our top picks for your next smartphone during Spring 2013. It’s been a very innovative year for some companies, but a very slow one for others. This list was crafted as a consensus between all of our Pocketnow Staff, so hopefully you’ll get ...

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Sony Xperia ZL vs Samsung Galaxy Note II (Video)

The idea of comparing Sony’s new Xperia ZL against Samsung’s phablet is crazy in its own way. The Xperia ZL on one side is the perfect incarnation of a device that gives you big features on a footprint you can actually manipulate with one hand. The Note II by contrast is focused on showing the world that bigger is better. One of these products is designed to cater to every customer out there, and the other is clearly out to continue pushing the niche they created with the first Galaxy Note. Who will win in this battle of the large displays? Watch our comparison and find out.

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Does HDR Video Matter? Sony Xperia ZL HDR Video vs the iPhone 5′s Normal Video

Even though we recently saw HTC’s take on HDR video on Anton’s recent test, Sony was arrived first to the game with their Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. A lot of people have asked us if HDR video is just as good as HDR photographs on smartphones. High Dynamic Range photos are really three photos snapped into one. What devices do is select the better lit areas of each of the three photos in different exposures and provide you with a better result at the end. When it comes to video, the concept and solution are a little different, but the purpose of providing you with better detail on ...

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Sony’s Problem In Mobile, Is Sony

I was 13 years old when I bought my first Sony Walkman. Those were the days weren’t they? It was portable, affordable, and everything that it did, it did so well it never found true competition. I then followed with my first Sony Diskman, my first Sony WEGA Flat TV, my first Genezi Stereo system, and even if my first PDA wasn’t a Sony Clie (remember those?), it was a Clie that a friend owned what inspired me to buy my first Pocket PC. Sony owned my wallet for at least the first half of my life. They had the design, the quality, the durability, and the reputation. It ...

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Sony Xperia Z vs Xperia ZL (Video)

At CES in January, Sony announced two new flagships, the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. So close in nature, a comparison between the two – their closely related specifications, yet contrasting appearance and standout features – was inevitable. On the outside, the two devices look very similar … at least on the front. Their backsides are completely different, as if two designers at Sony had an argument and decided to ...

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