Sony Mobile Xperia S camera samples

Here are more image and video samples taken with the Sony Xperia S. For a camera phone, the 12MP Exmor-R sensor has really impressed me with the amount of detail captured. With an aperture of f/2.4, the lens is fast and offers almost no barrel distortion. There are issues with dynamic range, but all digital cameras with small image sensors suffers from this. Even my Nikon D7000 does.

Sweep panorama

Sweep panorama

Sony Mobile Xperia S sound quality review

The sound quality of a smartphone is something I have often ignored, but one I will revive for the Xperia S, mainly because this device is built by Sony, the creator of the Walkman and also the best DAP I ever owned, period. Because of the sheer size of the Xperia S, it isn't a device I would have used personally as a portable audio. The iPhone 4S and Lumia 800, in my opinion, are perfect digital audio players. Shame that the Lumia 800 sounds awful, and the iPhone 4S isn't actually mine.

Out of the box the Xperia S supports a variety of audio codecs. Because of the open nature of smartphones however you can easily download replacement music players with different codec supports. The one that I would recommend using is UberMusic, but there are other competent apps to suit anyone's different needs. For the purpose of this review however I will be sticking to the default music player by Sony. FLAC lossless is not supported by the player, and while this may disappoint a few people, the vast majority will carry on fine with listening to high quality MP3 files.

Sony Mobile Xperia S review

This past couple of months has seen plenty of changes within Sony Mobile. Formerly Sony Ericsson, Sony has completed their buy Ericsson's shares from the company. I am sure they will be glad to see such distractions behind, but I have a feeling that the restructuring of the mobile unit will go on for quite a while.

The Xperia S is the new Ericsson-less Sony Mobile's first ever smartphone. While I wouldn't go far as to call it the first real Sony smartphone (development no doubt began more than a year ago), it is the first Sony branded Android device to hit the market. Like previous Xperia devices, rather than going all out brute force with big numbers and specs, Sony is counting on good designs and software differentiation to make an impact.

Sony (Ericsson) has improved tremendously over the past year offering devices that not only performed well despite the specs handicap, but also being more open to software updates and development. With devices like the Xperia Play and Xperia Ray, they have also successfully differentiated more than their Android OEM competitors have. Read on for the review of the Xperia S.

WeatherMaster for Windows Phone 7 review

There seems to be no shortage of good weather apps on Windows Phone 7. I have been installing and trying out a handful of competent weather apps over the past few months, and of those, at least half of them are good enough to recommend outright. Even Microsoft has stepped up and addressed their free Weather app by making it Windows Phone 7 Mango compatible, with Live Tile and all.

To me a good weather app should satisfy three criteria: provide an accurate weather forecast, a Live Tile (or widget if it is on Android) that is well designed and offers some form of customisation. Most of the free and paid weather apps on Windows Phone do at least satisfy two of those.

UltraGlass for iPhone 4S review

About a week ago, a friend of mine bought an iPhone 4S. I advised him to purchase a screen protector and case to protect his expensive investment but he declined. Within a week his iPhone has already sported a visible thin long scratch plus other tiny marks. Yes, this is a first world problem, but when you are spending over £500 on a device, the least you should do is protect your investment from such minor things.At least it stops it from devaluing faster than it should.

The screen protector I am reviewing here today isn't a conventional type. This isn't your typical flimsy plastic kind that requires you to change every few months. The UltraGlass is a series of screen protector made of tempered glass. Yes, glass. The UltraGlass I was sent is made to fit specifically for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. It is available in four colours, black, white, red and blue.

Sony Mobile Xperia S unboxing

It took its time, but Sony Mobile's flagship Xperia S has finally arrived at this HQ. I will spare you the unboxing of the frivolousness giant candy-filled box filled, that accompanied this phone courtesy of Sony PR. Instead, marvel at this most beautiful of Android smartphone, part of Sony's NXT line up, running on Gingerbread and its lovely 4.3" Bravia-powered LCD 720p display in the video unboxing of the retail box below.

Nokia Transport (London) for Windows Phone 7 review

Nokia has recently rolled out the free Nokia Transport for Windows Phone 7 app, exclusive for their Lumia range of smartphones. Nokia Transport (formerly known as Nokia Public Transport) is also available for Symbian devices.

With location services pretty much the focus of everyone's attention now, the release of Nokia Transport couldn't be better timed. The app integrates with Nokia Maps in order to provide routing capability to the user via the city's public transport system. For this review I will be focusing on Nokia Transport in London, as that is where I happen to live (well nearby, anyway).

The key ingredient to how well Nokia Transport works is how simple it is to use. The app immediatedly detects your current position. You only need to enter your destination and it will do some number crunching (presumeably on Nokia's server) before displaying your route using the quickest method of travel. These routes are presented in a simple manner displaying the relevant transport required to complete the journey in clear big text, whether it be a bus or train or on foot. On foot routes can also be optionally displayed on Nokia Maps.

Sony Xperia Ad is Powered by Tiny Robots

Were there any doubt that Sony would once again triumph when it comes to creative TV ads? Hardly. It seems that Sony has proven once again that when it comes to commercials at least, they know a thing or two. A couple of days ago I blogged about Sony's teaser of their new Imaginative TV ad for the Xperia NXT range.

For the new stop motion animated ad, Sony seek out a young kid and turned his imagination into an inspiration. It tells the story of small Iron Giant-inspired robots who work tirelessly inside each Xperia handset in order to bring it to life. It is a creative ad, lovable in fact and one of the best I have seen this year yet. Check it out below.