MWC (Mobile World Congress) is only a couple of weeks away and the world’s top mobile phone manufacturers, apart from Apple, will descend upon Barcelona to show off their latest handsets. Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony, HTC, Acer and Asus will all be on hand to show what they have planned for 2012 and beyond. Here’s what we think you might be seeing at MWC 2012.

Nvidia

While we’ve already seen the Tegra quad-core processor in the new Asus tablet we’d bet our house that Nvidia & Co will be on hand at MWC to confirmed more Tegra 3 mobile devices. Adding even more fuel the fire they’ve already sent out a press release teasing “quad-core firsts” during Mobile World Congress.

We’ve known about quad-core smartphones since CES, but anything on show was displayed behind glass – so it’s going to be exciting to get some proper face-time with the new handsets. It’s been reported that HTC and LG are both planning to unveil Tegra 3-powered devices, which are expected to feature 4.7-inch displays with 720p resolutions.

Windows 8 & Windows Phone

Microsoft revealed recently that it plans to launch the consumer preview version of Window 8 on February 29 – to coincide with their event at MWC. It’s does seem odd that Microsoft will be discussing Windows 8 at a mobile phone trade show, but it could mean Microsoft to will unveil more details on how Windows 8 will work alongside their Mobile phone operating system.

Not only will Windows Phone 8 share the same Metro style user interface as Windows 8 for tablets and PCs, but developers can reuse the same code for both operating systems. It’s not clear if Microsoft plans to discuss its Windows Phone 8 plans, but a Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch at Mobile World Congress makes it look that way.

Samsung

Its been confirmed by Samsung that the follow-up to their Galaxy S2 wouldn’t be making an appearance at this year’s MWC, but even more bizarre is the news that Samsung won’t be making a major press announcements at the 2012 show. Samsung should still have a new product or two to launch at MWC, as promised, however the usual big set-piece event is now off the table.

Their US PR team said: ”Samsung confirmed that they are not hosting a press conference at Mobile World Congress, but Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.

“The successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.

“Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world.”

Sony

The leaked shot above show the entire family of Xperia phones, but there’s also a couple of family members we haven’t seen before. According the Xperia Blog the new handsets include the rumoured Xperia Nypon and the phone in the middle of the bottom row, is thought to be the recently-announced Xperia S. We’ve had several emails about Sony’s plans at MWC, so we’re betting they’ll be bringing a host of new phones to MWC under the Xperia brand.

Blackberry

Ailing smartphone maker, Blackberry, should be at MWC with their new operating system. Once called BBX, its now been dubbed Blackberry 10 and has yet to released on any smartphone.

According to a RIM rep the company will be at MWC to show off the new operating system as well its current Blackberry 7 – which comes with new NFC and BBM capabilities. Unfortunately, it appears there still won’t be a device running BlackBerry 10 until later this year.

New reports from BGR blog are suggesting that Blackberry has cancelled the BlackBerry Colt, as well the Milan. Meaning RIM only has the BlackBerry 10 smartphone. First unveiled in London, the handset comes with dual-core 1.5Ghz, 1GB of Ram, 16GB of onboard storage and front and rear facing cameras. RIM focusing on a single device could be a good thing, but we’ve heard it won’t be ready until the third quarter of this year, which might just be too late – let’s hope they have something more concrete at MWC.

HTC

HTC has already confirmed their plans with a press conference set to take place the day before the show officially kicks off. They’re expected to show of the HTC Edge , which could also be the world’s first quad-core phone. There’s also talk of the Quattro tablet, also quad-core thanks to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor, as well as the Ville, another Android Ice Cream Sandwich superphone, and the Primo, a more mid-range device.

We also wonder if we’ll hear of the European version of the Titan II Windows Phone we saw at CES, with its ginormous 16-megapixel camera. Let’s hope so.

MWC takes place from February 27 to March 3.

Mobile World Congress: Gaj-it’s Top Mobile Phone Predictions is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Acer dropped a ‘one more thing moment’ at the end of their CES keynote and it came in the form of their Iconia Tab A700 their new flagship tablet, which has Ice Cream Sandwich and a whopping quad-core processor.

It hasn’t been officially unveiled, so details about its final specs remain scant, but it was on the show floor for consumers and journalists to have a quick play.

The first thing we noticed is the amazing new screen, it boasts an impressive resolution of 1925×1200, which is just a shade above 1080p. It’s bright and pin sharp, and surely means that plenty of other tablets will make the jump to retina-esque displays in 2012….ahem Apple.

Not only does this mean 1080p playback, it also gives things like text and magazines a little more zing, and makes them look more like printed paper than digital text.

The tablet isn’t going to win a beauty contests, it’s the typical glum Acer design. It’s 9.8mm and a lot lighter than many had expected considering its power capabilities. But, if it’s not inconceivable that it could get a facelift when it finally makes it to market.

The A700 comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, 1.3Ghz quad-core tegra processor, 9,800 mAh battery, 5 megapixel camera, micro USB and microHDMI – there’s no word on price, but we’d imagine it’s going to be towards the higher end of the market.

LG may have stole the show with their amazing OLED technology, but, Sony were on hand at CES to try and steal a bit of their thunder.

They announced a new prototype screen technology called Crystal LED, which they hope will prove to the new defacto screen technology. But can it really compete with OLED ?

Sony showed off a new 55-inch panel which is made up of millions of tiny LED’s that act as pixels and offers a Full HD self-emitting display.

The method they’re using ‘dramatically improved the light and efficiency’ and offers higher contrast ratios, wider colour gamut and incredibly hight refresh rates, when compared to LCD and Plasma’s

Intriguingly, Sony added this new technology was “parallel to its continued development and commercialization of OLED displays, and Sony will work conscientiously to bring the “Crystal LED Display” to market.”

We’ve yet to find out the juicy information such as when we’ll see the technology in use or whether it will cost the earth, but Sony better get a wriggle on before Samsung and LG’s OLED TVs start to gain traction in the market.

Not only did Sony show off the new Xperia S which his the Arc HD in all but name, but they also had another handset on show the Xperia Ion.

It’s the first phone to come out of the new Sony buyout and on paper this handset is an impressive beast. Specs-wise it’s a great phone: a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, 16 BG of internal storage and a 12 megapixel rear camera.

There’s a front-facing camera on the front capable of recording in 720p. In other exciting news the new phone comes with a massive 4.6-inch screen with an impressive resolution of 1280×720, which Sony is calling HD Reality – the handset also comes with Music unlimited and Video unlimited too.

The main selling point for the Ion is that it’s Playstation certified, meaning gaming on the go will have never looked so good on a mobile. The specs bragging doesn’t stop there though, they’ve also managed to cram in Sony’s Exmor camera technology which mean it will be up and running in 1.5 seconds and can go from pic to pic in two seconds.

The only downside we can see with the phone it’s the decision to release it with Android Gingerbread, which is a little old-hat when Ice Cream should be the only OS on sale for all future Android phone – when will Blackberry learn.

Onlive has made quite a splash with its cloud gaming apps and service, but their not content with that, they want to do the same for the desktop apps.

Much to many people’s surprise they were on hand at CES to show of their latest service, Onlive Desktop, for iPad, which will put the power of your desktop in the cloud.

The service allows iPad users (for the time being) to use Microsoft Office suite on their tablets with full touch screen capabilities all through the cloud without having to worry about whether your iPad can handle it or is compatible.

The way it works is simple: harness the power of Onlive’s goliath server farm to do all the heavy lifting at their end whilst you get the benefits of the full version of office on a tablet.

It might seem like a strange thing for Onlive to be doing, but, in theory it’s likely to be a smoother experience for the end-user because you won’t be playing triple-A games and merely doing spreadsheet work or presentations, where a tiny bit of lag wouldn’t ruin the experience.

In fact: it’s the next logical step. The servers and technology are already there and the tasks it will have to perform will be more than manageable.

Better still they’re are planning a premium version, if you signup to the top package with 50GB of server space, you can also surf the web and use their amazing bandwidth speeds and, better still, it also allows for full flash support on an iPad. Amazing.

In Onlive’s short history they’ve never had any downtime, so it’s more than plausible that businesses could actually rely on the service.

The Onlive desktop app works by downloading the app, signing up and boom – you’re away.

When the service is released on iOS this week, Onlive Desktop will be free. With this you get 2GB of storage and access to Microsoft Office. If you aren’t an iPad user, then an Android version of the service is coming soon.

CES Round-up: The Best of The Rest is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

We’re back with our second installment of our top tech predictions for CES 2012. In this part we will be looking at computing, tablets and mobiles. We’ll cover everything from what Microsoft has planned for Windows 8, Intel-powered Ultrabooks and everything you should expect when it comes to mobile phones and tablets.

Home Computing 

Xbox 720 aside Microsoft is expected to the have more details on its new Windows 8 operating system at CES. Steve Ballmer is expected to give an opening keynote speech where he is expected to show off the tablet-friendly OS.

So far the tech world has only seen a developer preview of the new OS, with a beta expected to the ready for February – so it’s expected that Ballmer & Co will take to the stage for the last time and announce the exact date of the beta. So keep your eye’s peeled.

Other computer related news expected from Microsoft is their decision to start supporting ARM processors with Windows 8. We’re not whether they will support both desktops and tablet architecture with Arm. But, it could be that we’ll see some Windows tablets in the future with ARM processors and more traditional desktops and laptops sticking to tried and tested Intel power plants.

Intel

Intel Chief Paul Otellini is set to deliver one of the keynotes at CES, and is expected to show off some new Ivy Bridge hardware, which should be in the form of Ultrabooks, although Ivy Bridge, the follow-up to Sandy bridge, isn’t expected until later 2012.

Graphics cards-wise AMD is likely to be on hand at CES to show off their new Southern Island, 28nm graphics card, which are expect to hit retail stores by Q1 2012. Nvidia is also expected to show off their 28nm cards too, but it’s not know whether the Kepler architecture cards will be shown on the show floor or behind closed doors.

One of the main draws for many at CES will be: Ultrabooks. This is because Intel is throwing a lot of money at the manufacturers to make a line of laptops that will reinvigorate the ailing laptop market. Over the last 3 years we’ve seen an explosion of Netbooks, then Tablets and Intel now hopes the consumers will jump on board their ultra-thin Intel-powered laptops. They are essentially MacBook Air’s, but, running Windows. From what we’ve seen of Ultrabook they do make Windows laptops cool, but with a hefty price tag and increased competition from tablets they might be too expensive for hard-up consumers to stomach.

Mobile Technology

The Mobile industry tends to make its announcements at the MWC in Barcelona, but with such a competitive marketplace many companies are likely to steal a march and get some of their announcements out before the rest of the competition. Tablets will also be big business at CES, with many manufacturers making the switch from dual-core Tegra chipsets to the new Tegra quad-core chipsets.

HTC

HTC has yet to give a UK release for their Jetstream tablet – so we’re not expecting that tablet but something entirely new – known as the HTC Quattro. It’s the usual 10-inch tablet that we’ve seen so many times over the last 12 months. For us, it’s not the hardware that is keeping Google from competing with Apple, but the fragmentation of the Android OS – especially the app marketplace – which is way off the quality and reliability of Apple’s own app store.

HTC will no doubt have several mobiles on the show floor at CES, but, they tend to make their products for different markets – so many of the new handset may well be US-only for the time being. But you should expect details on the HTC Edge, HTC Ville and possibly some quad-core phones too.

Acer

Acer is expected  to show off a new tablet, which will hopefully be a bit more exciting than the rather drab Iconica A500. This time around they’re hoping that the A700 might grab some positive headlines – especially as it’s thought to come with a 1080p resolution screen.

Samsung

Samsung is expected to show off the follow-up to the Galaxy S2, it’s been the at the centre of plenty rumour-mongering – so it’s highly likely that they could unveil it at CES and once again grab a decent head start over Apple and the iPhone. It’s expected to be dramatically different from the previous version as Samsung wants to move it away from the iPhone and avoid any further legal action.

LG 

LG is expected to show off a new Android 4.0 mobile called the Optimus U1, which could be worth keep an eye out for, especially if they managed to get it out to retailers with Ice Cream Sandwich in toe before the competition.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson might use CES to the finally officially unveil the Xperia Arc HD, which has been the subject of many leaks recently. It’s expected to come with a 4.3-inch LCD display, with an impressive 1280×720 resolution, a matte finish and for the first time the Arc will have the power to match its looks. The current Arc only has a single core, which by todays standards is like a pocket calculator.

Sony will want to make a splash at CES, they are in the process of buying the mobile company outright, so a good showing at the show would allay any fears from nervous shareholders and investors.

Nokia

Nokia is expected to unveil its next Windows Phone at a Window Phone-themed press conference, there’s no word on whether the reported Lumia 900 will make it to the UK, but the phone is expected to come with a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen, better battery life and their fantastic Carl Zeiss 8 megapixel camera.

We’ll be reporting all the latest news from CES – so stay tuned from the 9-13 of January.

CES 2012: Gaj-it’s Top Tech Predictions Part 2 is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Sony Xperia PLAY has created quite a buzz among the video game creators. EA, specifically has created a number of games for Xperia PLAY. Among the major titles adapted for the smartphone are Need for Speed and Battlefield. Sony Ericsson is currently carrying out a limited time promotional scheme called ‘Get in the Game’ and most of the gaming titles are available for free download under this promotional scheme.  FIFA 12 is also included in the scheme and hence you can download it for free. It is likely to remain free until early 2012.

Xperia PLAY is planning to up its ante and bring new gaming titles on board. Tim Harrison, Head of Content & Strategy with Sony Ericsson, said, “This year, we’ve partnered with EA to bring some of its best titles to Xperia™ PLAY for an unmatched mobile gaming experience. FIFA is a huge franchise that appeals to football fans around the world and a real highlight in a successful autumn and Holiday season of bringing great content to Xperia™ PLAY.”

EA also said that collaboration with Xperia PLAY will “give fans yet another compelling opportunity to play no matter where they are, anytime, anywhere.”

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Gets FIFA 12 is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Sony Ericsson has just released the first pair of headphones that have been specifically designed for Sony Ericsson’s range of Android Smartphones.  The LiveSound headphones stick the tried and tested in-ear technology. Now we’ll concede that in-ear technology does have place in today’s market. We love over-ear headphones, personally – they produce studio quality sound and are the closest thing you’ll get to Hi-Fi music on the go, but, over-ear headphone just aren’t that practical, if you’re on the move and don’t want to be weighed down by big and clunky headphones you’re only other choice is in-ear.

With the LiveSound Sony Ericsson have tried to make them incredibly comfortable, if you’ve ever used a pair of Apple headphones then you’ll know that they can be really uncomfortable, mainly because everyone’s ears are slightly different, and this is were the LiveSound have tried to improve upon. Their headphones come with a tube of moulds that has a range of sizes, so you’ll be able to find a rubber mould that suits you. The mould is designed to be place in your ear canal so the headphones don’t fall out when you’re walking or even running, and you get a nice snug fit, meaning they’ll be louder and you won’t disturb other people around you when you’re listening to music loud on a train or bus.

Other notable design features for the LiveSound headphones is the use of flat wires, rather than circular ones, this really helps with headphone tangling, which as you’ll probably know is the most annoying things about headphones. When you put them in your pocket or bag most in-ear headphone get frustratingly tangled requiring you to untangle them before you can listen you’re music. LiveSounds new flat wires system pretty much makes this annoyance a thing of the past. As well as a comfortable fitting and clever flat wires, the LiveSound headphones also come with LiveKey, a button that can be programmed to work with you phone so can answer the phone using the handy remote and you can even control certain Android Apps that are LiveKey compatible.

We found the sound quality of the headphones to quite good, with decent clarity and respectable low-ends – they can’t compete with Beats By Dre, but for the fraction of the price they are more than good enough, the sound quality of voice calls was especially impressive, and we’d even go as far stating they produce better voice call than using the traditional method of holding the phone to your head. The headphones will only work with Xperia phones, but, interestingly not on any other devices. We tried them on a laptop and they were incredibly quiet with some form of interference. You can press a button on the remote to get the full sound, but requires it to be held down which is hardly ideal, they also didn’t work on our iPhone, resulting in the same tinny sound, which we couldn’t remedy. For us, this is just a crazy design choice, if you buy a pair of headphones you don’t want them to only work with one type of phone or device.

The build quality is good and we really liked the idea of flat wires and metallic finish to the ear buds. Overall LiveSound are a good pair of headphones, but the decision not let them work with other devices is unforgivable, whether we’re missing something were not sure, but they do seem to work once you hold down one of the buttons on the remote, so were not sure whether they’re faulty or this was a decision to make them work only on Xperia Phones. We did have two pairs to test and them same issue happened on both. If you have an Xperia phone, then they’re a good purhcase, but as a pair of headphone to work with a myriad of devices they fail miserably.

We’ll contact the manufacturer to whether this is a design features or a mistake.

Gaj-it Rating 3/5

Sony Ericsson LiveSound Headphones Review is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Though Google Sync Service got the top endorsement status, other services recommended by Sony Ericsson are UNYK and Plaxo. You can also keep using any other syncing service. Sony Ericsson Sync Service is scheduled to go out of commission on December e9th. The company has also provided detailed instructions for the smooth transition. Sony Ericsson said that the transition will allow the users to enjoy their handsets in more comprehensive way. So, are you going to miss Sony Ericsson Sync Service.

Sony Ericsson Endorses Google Sync is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc is their most accomplished smartphone to date. It’s light, thin, and well thought out coming with an impressive selection specs and features. There are loads of different Android phones on the market, but there are few that manage to tick all the right boxes – the Xperia Arc is beautiful to look at, a joy to use, comes with a impressive camera and is one of the best Android handsets around.

Design

Sony Ericsson has always been a by-word for stunning design and the Xperia is their finest work of design to date, from the offset you’ll be taken aback at just how thin it is. Not only is it super slim, but it’s incredibly light – weighing only 117 grams. But, there are disadvantages. For us,  there’s nothing more disappointing when you unbox your new phone and you have to build it. Like most Android phones you have to attach the battery, sim and rear cover. Having said that, it’s not a particularly flimsy phone, although the battery cover is a bit cheap, but compared to an iPhone it’s just not as premium as it looks.

The Xperia arc comes with a stunning 4.2-inch Reality display, the display is one the most accomplished you’ll find on almost any phone. When the phone is off the screen is so dark you’ll struggle to see where the screen ends and the bezel begins. More importantly Sony must be applauded for squeezing in a screen of this size into a phone that is only 1 cm bigger than the iPhone 4. The screen replicates deep, rich, vibrant colours and the quality of image is second to none.

The Arc is finished with a stainless steel trim that surrounds the edge of the handset. You’ll find volume controls on the side, a dedicated camera button on the side, a top-mounted microHDMI port, 3.5mm headphone port, microUSB and a 8GB memory card. A nice touch is that Sony actually provides you with the HDMI cable something very few phone manufacturers bother with.

Features

One of the most impressive features about the the Xperia Arc is the way Sony Ericsson has approached Android. Sony’s last Android Phone the Xperia X10 came with 1.6 while other phones of that time were already on Android 2.1. But the company has made sure it hasn’t made the same mistake and the Arc ships with the latest version of Gingerbread 2.3.

The reason why the X10 didn’t have the latest version of Android was Sony’s decision to use a custom skin that couldn’t be updated as quickly as other phones. But, for the Xperia Arc they have separated the UI and operating system, meaning updates should be handled much quicker than with the X10. Overall the UI is simple, user-friendly and effective.

Camera

The Xperia Arc come with one of the best cameras available on any smartphone – consisting of 8.1-megapixels, an incredibly bright LED photo light and a Exmor R CMOS sensor. The sensor is so impressive that it is only just being used in many compact cameras making this camera phone is on the best around. It also includes a host of clever options including face-detection and image stabilisation.

The Arc comes with both the ability to take photos by tapping the screen or using a traditional double-click photo button. When taking a photo with the button, you press it once the camera then works out how much light is needed then on the second press the photo is taken. It’s easily the best way to take pictures on any smartphone we’ve used.

The Arc also shoots stunning 720p high definition video, sure it’s not going to compete with phones that are capable of 1080p, but the results when viewed on a TV through the HDMI are stunning. There are plenty of ways to share you videos and photos and our favourite was to show them off on a TV. With the Arc you get the HDMI cable and allows you to mirror the phone on the screen. Meaning you can watch films, show-off photos, play games or use your TV remote to control control the phone via some Sony televisions.

Performance

You might think that a phone that is running on a single core processor would be a bit of a slouch, but having lived with the Arc for over a week now, we glad to report that the 1GHz processor is more than adequate. We did notice that the Arc does sometimes struggle to reconnect to a Wi-Fi network after you wake it up from standby, but perhaps this is one of the reasons why our battery life tests with the Arc matched Sony Ericsson’s generous 7-hour talk-time estimations. All in all, we easily made it through a work day with the Arc, and only burned through the battery before nightfall when we played several hours of games on the handset.

Internet

The Arc’s high-res 480 x 854 screen is superb for web surfing, it might not be as smooth as iOS, but this more a gripe with Android than the Arc. Multi-touch zooming around pages is usually good, although it can get a little rough if you try to move around pages before they’ve fully loaded. One annoyance was the limitation of having eight browser windows open at once. The combination of Android 2.3 and Adobe Flash Player means Flash sites are supported, while the phone’s 1GHz processor does a good job of handling complex, content-rich sites. It’s not perfect, though – pages with embedded videos can grind to a near halt at times.

Verdict

The Xperia Arc is not only the best smartphone Sony Ericsson has made, but it’s the best phone they have made in the last 5 years. It’s one of the best Android phones around for design, features and media capability.  Sure, it would have been nice to see some Playstation compatibility, but it you’re looking for an impressively Android phone that has a big screen, great camera, and a full-set of media functionality you can’t go wrong with the Arc.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Review is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Vodafone told Pocket Lint, “Vodafone’s ‘Data Test Drive’ is designed to give customers the confidence to experiment with their new phone on the UK’s best network, get to grips with its features and explore all the apps that are available for it.” Vodafone also said that it would allow tethering under this plan.

The plan is currently available with Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S and this phone is already available with this offer. The company said that the plan would be available with upcoming smartphones too. So, if you are an existing customer, then do not lose heart. With the impending launch of iPhone 5 and a slew of other phones, you may decide to upgrade your smartphone and thus become eligible for this offer.

The idea sounds good. After all, most of the times, you get tied to your data plan for at least 24 months, so a couple of months of ‘test drive’ will let you determine the optimal data plan, which will increase utility for you while increasing the revenue for the telecom company.

Vodafone Offers Data Test Drive for New and Upgrade Customers is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Over the years IFA has had many amazing moments; Albert Einstein gave the keynote speech about the future of Radio in 1930. In 1967 PAL colour televisions made their debut, and then in 1981 the CD player made its public debut.

Even before the show opened, IFA 2011 announcements started to come in. Here’s what’s been announced so far from Sony and Samsung.

Sony

Sony has had really busy IFA so far with the full unveil of their two new Android tablets, a new android-based walkman, a new Xperia Arc, Sony Reader and 3D Vaio all-in-one desktop.

Sony unveiled it 9.4-inch S1 tablet to attendees for the first time and it will be available across Europe from September 16.

It will come in two flavours: 16GB and 32GB with Wi-Fi and 3G. The Honeycomb tablet will have dual 5-megapixel camera and 0.3 front facing camera.

The S tablet will cost €479 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model, which put it into competition with the iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Sony’s other tablet P (S2) comes with a folding clamshell design and dual 5-inch screens is not so competitively priced, unfortunately.

It will be available in November and is going to cost you an eye-watering €599 – we can’t see the P being a massive success even considering it eye-catching design – the price just seems too high.

Both tablets will run Android Honeycomb 3.1 out of the box and will be fully upgradable to 3.2 in the near future, though if you plump for the Wi-Fi and 3G model you will get 3.2 preloaded.

Sony’s official Playstation certification comes with both tablets, which will mean a whole host of Playstation titles will be available to play, along with more Playstation network content after launch.

Sony also unveiled a new version of their top-selling Android phone the Xperia Arc. The Arc is one the top phones around at the moment and the Arc S looks to improve upon the recipe.

They’ve upgraded the processor to a 1.4GHz, meaning the camera starts 25% quicker and media conversion has been given a bump too.

Sony also unveiled a 6-inch eReader – the Sony Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1 – to take on the Amazon Kindle. It weighs just 168 grams and is 8.9mm thick. The PRS-T1 features a one month battery life, is available in black, white and red and will allow borrowing from local libraries.

In the PC arena, Sony showed off its Vaio L 3D, or Vaio VPCL21S1E/B to give it its full name – an all-in-one desktop with a 24-inch Full HD Vaio LED backlight screen.

Sony showed off a new prototype Walkman at IFA – the Android-based media player is looking to cash-in on some of the good-will left in the Sony brand.

A Sony Android walkman has been touted since 2009 and it actually looks like Sony is finally going to be releasing it  “soon”. But is it too late to try and take on the iPod and iTunes?

It sports a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen, is compatible with Bluetooth headphones and comes with mini-HDMI port.

The HDMI and DLNA suggests a home media device, but what about your TV shows and movies? You’ll be wanting a set-top box for that, and a hi-fi for your music. It doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere, does it?

Samsung

Samsung have had a busy IFA too, with the announcement  of the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi and its new Galaxy Note.

The Galaxy WiFi is their version of an iPod touch and is loosely based on the Galaxy S phone. The media player comes with a 3.6-inch HGVA screen, an ultra-faster 1GHz OMAP processor.

The media player will be running Android 2.3 ginger bread and will support a wide range of video and audio formats allowing users hassle-free compatibility.

SoundAlive provides users with the ability to adjust sound levels to fit the song they are listening to or the film they are watching, ensuring a professional and rich audio experience
. Users can communicate with friends in numerous ways using the device’s WiFi connectivity.

Users can make voice or video calls over the internet, using platforms such as Google Talk to stay in touch.

The device also includes Social Hub, which means that when connected to the internet users can access a variety of social networking services as well as email and instant messaging platforms from a single inbox.

Samsung also showed off their latest Tablet the Samsung Galaxy Note. The Note comes with world’s largest AMOLED screen, coming in at 5.6-inches the tablet looks more like a giant media player rather than a tablet.

The superior screen also offers a 180 degree viewing angle, allowing contents to be shared comfortably.

At 5.3-inch the best-in-class display is the largest ever included in a primary mobile device; measuring just 9.65mm thick, the Galaxy Note fits comfortably in a pocket to offer true portability.

The Galaxy Note’s advanced pen input functionality is combined with the full touch screen to create a new input experience. The incorporated digital S Pen can be used for accurate sketching and artwork, and instantly capturing ideas freely before they float away.

The Galaxy Note features S Memo, a multimedia application designed to record all forms of user-created content; pictures,voice recordings, typed text, handwritten notes or drawings can all be captured via a single application and converted to a ‘memo’, to be edited, annotated and shared as desired.

The 1.4GHz dual-core processor ensures the device is incredibly fast and a smooth user interface ensures seamless usability. Lightning fast network speeds are enabled through the HSPA+ and LTE-enabled device’s super-fast connection, ensuring a quick and seamless browsing experience. This means that users can stream videos in real-time or engage with their friends through online gaming platforms.

IFA 2011: Sony And Samsung Show Off Tablets, Media Players & Phones is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Apple and Nokia are also set to announce their profits, the later on 21^st of the month and the former two days earlier on the 19^th. So how have the big players in the smartphone market been performing in this quarter?

Apple

It is estimated that Apple has sold 16.9 million iPhones a slight drop from previous quarter as the iPhone 4 hype dies down.

HTC

HTC has grown from 5.3 million handset sales (last year) to approximately 11.4 million this quarter. At this rate they could be ahead of Apple by next year.

Samsung

Samsung set a target of 60 million sales for this year and with a second quarter figure of 19 million, they are on target to reach their goal.

LG

LG have some catching up to do. In contrast to rivals Samsung, last week LG cut their sales targets and are expected to report a fifth-consecutive quarterly loss from handset sales.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson won’t be rolling in it this quarter. S.E handsets were delayed due to the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Q2: How Have Smartphone Manufacturers Performed? is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com