Tag: Sony

Today’s Deal – Sony Xperia X Compact is $349 on Amazon

Today’s deal is on the compact, 4.6″ display Sony Xperia X Compact.  The 2016 phone packs a lot of punch and is down to $349 today on Amazon.  This is just about half of the cost of the new-for-2017 Xperia XZ Compact and you will still be getting Android Oreo at some point in early 2018.

I reviewed the Xperia X Compact in November of last year and it remains one of my favorite phones of the past year.  It’s compact size is great but the overall performance and camera quality is excellent.

The Xperia X Compact is powered by the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor.  It has four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores &  two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 cores.  The processor is coupled with the Adreno 510 GPU which provides good graphics performance.  The X Compact has 3GB of RAM onboard and has 32GB of built-in storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the Micro SD slot that is built into the SIM tray of the phone.  With the smaller screen size, as you would expect, the X Compact is a pretty small device.  It measures 129 x 65 x 9.5 mm or 5.08 x 2.56 x 0.37″ in old money.  Weight wise it is 136g or 4.76 ounces.  The phone is comfortable to hold and very easy to slip into any pocket.

Sony Xperia XZ1 With Android Oreo Lands on Amazon

After being launched last month at IFA in Berlin, the new Sony Xperia XZ1 is now available for purchase here in the US.  The 5.2″ phone is available in four colors and is $699 through Sony’s Amazon storefront.

The Xperia XZ1 is powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC, has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on board.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  The XZ1 has a 19MP main camera and 13MP selfie camera, is IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and has a HDR 1080p IPS display.

Sony Announces Xperia Devices That Will Get Android Oreo

With every new version of Android, the question of which phones from which manufactures will get the update is omnipresent.  Android Oreo is no exception.  Sony, today, joined the ranks of manufactures who plan on releasing the latest version of Android for devices.

While the new Sony Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact will come with Oreo out-of-the-box, it was unclear which ones they would update that are in their current lineup.  Now thanks to a blog post, now we know.  Here are the devices that Sony plans to update to Android Oreo.

  • Xperia X
  • Xperia X Performance
  • Xperia XZ
  • Xperia X Compact
  • Xperia XZ Premium
  • Xperia XZs
  • Xperia XA1
  • Xperia XA1 Ultra
  • Xperia Touch
  • Xperia XA1 Plus

While these lists are never as complete as everyone would like, the one from Sony is reasonably comprehensive in that it covers most of their 2016 and 2017 models.

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Announced at IFA 2017

At IFA in Berlin this morning, Sony pulled back the covers on the all new Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact.  This 4.6″ phone, running on Android Oreo, is the follow up device for last year’s Xperia X Compact.  That phone was one of the best I reviewed for last year and it is great to see Sony continuing the compact phone in this day of phablets.

The new Xperia XZ1 Compact has a 4.6″ full HD display (1920 x 1080) and is powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC and coupled with the Adreno 540 GPU.  It has 4GB of RAM and has 64GB of storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.

Android Nougat 7.1.1 Rolls Out to The Sony Xperia X & X Compact

Sony continues to push Android Nougat out to their various phones and the Sony Xperia X and Xperia X Compact are the two latest device to get updated.  These two devices are now getting updated to Android Nougat 7.1.1 as part of firmware build 34.3.A.0.194.  The update also brings the May 2017 Android Security Update to these two mid-range phones.

If you have the unlocked variant of these phones, which here in the US is likely the case, you can expect the update to hit your device over the next few days.  You can always manually check by going to Settings>About Phone>System Updates.  Overall it is a small update as it is an incremental one over the Android Nougat 7.0 build that came earlier this year.  In the case of my Xperia X Compact, it was under 500MB.

Sony Xperia XZ, X Performance, and XZs Sees June Security Update

Good news this morning for owners of three Sony Xperia devices this morning.  The Xperia XZ, Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZs all have the June Android Security update rolling to them starting today.  The updated build is version 41.2.A.7.8 for all three devices and the OTA update is starting to roll out now.  It should hit devices over the course of the next several days.

The new firmware does not contain any new features and remains based on Android Nougat 7.1.1.  It only updates the security patch level on the devices but, given that other manufactures are still months behind, it is great to see Sony get at least three of their phones to the latest patch level.

Today’s Deal – Sony Xperia X Compact Down to $364 on Amazon

Today’s Deal is on a great phone that I reviewed a few months ago.  The Sony Xperia X Compact has a lot of punch in a little package and right now, it is on sale for $364 at Amazon.  Normally this 4.6″ phone is $499, so this is a healthy amount of savings.  It is powered by the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor.  It has four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores &  two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 cores.  The processor is coupled with the Adreno 510 GPU which provides good graphics performance.  The X Compact has 3GB of RAM onboard and has 32GB of built-in storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the Micro SD slot that is built into the SIM tray of the phone.

Display wise, the Xperia X Compact has a 4.6″ IPS LCD display that renders at 720 x 1280.  That gives you 319 ppi which is low compared to other devices out there.  I caution readers to consider that this device has a much smaller display so 319 ppi is actually very comfortable on this screen size.  Indeed for comparison, the iPhone 6 had 329 ppi so we aren’t talking about a massive difference from even larger devices.  The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

Today’s Deal – Sony Xperia X Compact Down to $369

Today’s Deal is on a great phone that I reviewed a few months ago.  The Sony Xperia X Compact has a lot of punch in a little package and right now, it is on sale for $369 at Amazon.  Normally this 4.6″ phone is $499, so this is a healthy amount of savings.  It is powered by the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor.  It has four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores &  two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 cores.  The processor is coupled with the Adreno 510 GPU which provides good graphics performance.  The X Compact has 3GB of RAM onboard and has 32GB of built-in storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the Micro SD slot that is built into the SIM tray of the phone.

Display wise, the Xperia X Compact has a 4.6″ IPS LCD display that renders at 720 x 1280.  That gives you 319 ppi which is low compared to other devices out there.  I caution readers to consider that this device has a much smaller display so 319 ppi is actually very comfortable on this screen size.  Indeed for comparison, the iPhone 6 had 329 ppi so we aren’t talking about a massive difference from even larger devices.  The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

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