Phones

Sony announce the Xperia S

Blimey, this one looks a bit tasty, and here in the UK Three have already confirmed they will be selling the device.

Xperia S, the first smartphone from the new Xperia NXT series – next generation smartphones from Sony, was today announced at Sony’s press conference ahead of the 2012 International CES show in Las Vegas. The new Xperia S is an Android smartphone that delivers a stunning viewing experience with a high resolution screen, Sony HD experiences and a 12MP camera that takes pictures in just 1.5 seconds from standby. Xperia S also comes with a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor for faster performance.

The new Xperia S enables easy connectivity with multiple screens for consumers looking to share and enjoy content on whichever screen best suits their situation, whether it’s TV, smartphone, laptop or tablet. Consumers can watch their favourite content from the Sony Entertainment Network by connecting their Xperia S through HMDI to TV or share photos wirelessly with just one touch. Xperia S is also NFC (near field communication) enabled to allow consumers to share content with each other as well as enjoying an increasing number of NFC applications and services.

Xperia S will be able to access the richest entertainment experiences from Sony Entertainment Network. Music Unlimited offers a global catalogue of 12 million unique songs while Video Unlimited has the latest Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows from all major studios.

Xperia S is also PlayStation Certified, guaranteeing a high quality smartphone gaming experience and access to the PlayStation Store.

ZTE Tania Windows 7.5 Phone–Coming Soon

The chaps at Clove say they have had news that ZTE’s first Windows Phone will be hitting the UK next month. Priced at £208 ex VAT (£249.99 including) this looks to be a keen price for a pretty well specced and large phone. Pre orders are not quite available yet but Clove say it won’t be long.

This one looks a bargain if you ask me.

You can see more information below:

OnLive now available for Android devices

Love it or hate it, OnLive is here to stay. Undoubtedly the future of gaming that for many may be missing the target but hitting the tree has released an Android client of the platform, complete with a free game. If you have already been tempted then this might add a little more temptation especially when you realise the wireless controller is compatible. However, you might look a little silly on the commute.

Check out the full product description below:

Become a super hero with the Acer Liquid Express – Video

We announced the Acer Liquid Express just last week and Acer are certainly excited about its NFC capabilities. I have just stumbled across a video posted on their YouTube page and Acer are taking a different angle on this one.

The LIQUID EXPRESS is whatever it has to be for you. Designed to adapt perfectly to your mobile lifestyle, it features Android 2.3 Gingerbread, an ultra-modern user interface, and a brilliant 3.5-inch large screen in a compact, attractive design. Web surfing, social networking and multimedia are a pleasure to experience on the move, and NFC technology enables express sharing, mobile payments, and much more. The LIQUID EXPRESS comes in three stylish colors: Dark Burgundy, Titanium Grey and Pearl White.

You can see the video below:

The Acer Liquid Express is announced

Following the launch of the first Acer Liquid smartphones equipped with Android, Acer are now extending their range with a new model – the Acer Liquid Express – the company’s first NFC-equipped device.

‘As a technology of the future, NFC is a priority for Acer as it can be used for multiple purposes: payment, transport, tickets, loyalty cards, cultural information… and that’s without having explored the thousands more applications that will follow.’ says Allen Burnes, Vice-President of Acer’s THBG division.

Together with Orange UK and T-Mobile UK, Acer promise to make these new services widely accessible thanks to an affordable and easy-to-use smartphone. The Acer Liquid Express offers usage patterns now previously associated by premium smartphones.

Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi Hub, now available on Three

Three have just announced that they’ve made their new Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi hub available in stores from today.

The new Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi hub allows people to turn their existing mobile broadband dongle into home Wi-Fi so they can connect all their Wi-Fi devices or share their connection with partners, friends or family.

The Wi-Fi hub allows up to five Wi-Fi devices to connect so if you have a tablet, handheld games console or smartphone as well as your laptop, or someone you want to share your connection with, it will bring a whole new range of possibilities to what your dongle can do for you.

Most USB dongles* are compatible with the Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi Hub, including Three’s $2 which offers speedy download rates of up to 5.9Mbps. The dongle’s HSPA+ capability means that speeds will increase to up to 21.1Mbps as Three continues its rollout of the $2.**

David Kerrigan, head of mobile broadband at Three said, “The Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi hub is another valuable internet solution from Three that will complement our great offering of dongles. Existing dongle owners will now find that they can share the benefits of their mobile internet connection with even more of their gadgets like tablets and games consoles, without any fuss.”

The Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi hub is available for £39.99 from Three Stores and three.co.uk. Dongles are sold separately, and available on a 1-month rolling contract from as little as £4.99 for Three’s standard dongle or £19.99 for the HSPA+ compatible Premium Dongle.

Key features include:

• Creates a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices
• Supports dongle speeds up to 21 Mbps
• 88mm x 66mm x 25mm
• Available in black
• Mains powered
• 30 Meter range

* The Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi Hub is compatible with the Huawei E122, E1550, E156G, E169, E1750, E1820, E353u, E367u, ZTE MF112 and MF627.

Posted by: Matt

Killer Lenovo tablet

It appears that the Transformer Prime from Asus, will not be the only Tegra 3 Quad-Core powered device to come along. Engadget report Lenovo is working on a high-end Android tablet of their own, and this baby features some very impressive specs:

• NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.6GHz Quad-Core Processor
• 2GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 Ram
• Ice Cream Sandwich
• Full-size USB port
• Fingerprint scanner & Optical joystick (On back)
• Special Fusion-Skin Body

It seems like the tablet wars are heating up all over again for a brutal beginning of 2012, both in the low-end consumer friendly market and the high-end hardcore market. There are a few more pics of the tablet over at the source link, but they didn’t have any front facing shots.

Posted by: Gareth