Tech PIVI

When it comes to Internet speeds, we in India are a deprived lot. So if news of a Sony-backed ISP (internet service provider), called So-net Entertainment, launching the “world’s fastest” home Internet connection makes you want to emigrate to Japan, we totally get that. So just how fast is this new Internet highway from So-net? Well, the Nuro Light network -- which is what the new uber fast optical fiber Internet service is officially called -- offers lucky Japanese netizens connections that allow 2Gbps of download speed and 1Gbps of upload speed, according to     a report. The Sony-backed Nuro 2Gbps Internet service is rolling out to home users and small businesses in Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, and its surrounding areas. Due to existing network adapter bottlenecks in most devices, including routers, it is unlikely that individual users of this Internet service will actually experience 2Gbps data speeds. Just to put things in perspective, the Google Fi...

Sony’s handheld gaming console recently received a new software update, v1.80, which brings PSOne classics to the device. The software update also brought with it a slight change in the user interface. The initial list of PSOne games that came to the PS Vita was small and included the following: Arc the Lad Cool Boarders 2 Final Fantasy VII Hot Shots Golf 2 Jet Moto Syphon Filter Tomb Raider Twisted Metal 2 Wild Arms The official PlayStation website says, “This isn’t the end though, we’re doing our best to get even more PSOne titles on PS Vita as quickly as possible. As a reminder, if you’ve already purchased any of these titles you’ll be able to re-download them directly from your PS Store account or transfer them to your PS Vita from your PS3 at no extra charge.” The list of 26 new games are: Alundra Arc the Lad II Championship Bass Extreme Pinball Grandia Hi Octane: The Track Fights Back Klonoa: Door to Phantomile Magic Carpet Medal of Honor M...

Sony has officially announced the launch of the Xperia Ion in India. Priced at Rs. 36,999, the Sony Xperia Ion runs on Andriod 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, coupled with Adreno 220 GPU, on the MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset. The device was recently spotted on online shopping website Snapdeal with a price tag of Rs. 35,999. The Sony Xperia Ion has a 4.6-inch LED-backlit LCD display with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. It has 1GB of RAM, 16GB built-in storage, and a microSD card slot. The device comes with a massive 12.1 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, apart from a front-facing 1.3MP camera. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi, HDMI, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, GPS with A-GPS, and NFC. The Xperia Ion comes with a large 1,900 mAh battery rated to deliver 12 hours of music playback, 10 hours of talk time, and 400 hours of standby time. The Xperia Ion also features FM radio with RDS, multiple format support for audio and video, 3...

Sony has announced it will roll out an updated version of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS to all its 2011 Xperia smartphones. The Android 4.0.4 firmware update will be available for some Gingerbread-based Xperia smartphones as well. The upgrade is scheduled to commence this week. Sony in a  blog post  announced that the update will begin with smartphones namely the Xperia Arc, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo, Xperia Neo V, Xperia Mini, Xperia Pro, Xperia Active and Xperia Ray. It's notable that the Arc S, Xperia Ray and Xperia Neo V received the Android 4.0.3 upgrade in April. And now the Xperia Mini Pro, Neo L, and Live with Walkman are slated to get the Android 4.0.4, which will be released over the next few weeks. Handsets already running the updated ICS will get a notification to download the update over the air. Users still running Gingerbread are required to plug in and upgrade using PC companion or Bridge for Mac. For more information, please visit  http://ww...

We have been hearing about the Sony Xperia GX a.k.a LT29i Hayabusa for quite some time now. Speculations are rife the device will finally see the light of day later this year. Meanwhile, more images of the LT29i Hayabusa have surfaced on the web, revealing what to expect from the much-anticipated device. Taiwanese website ePrice, which recently leakedimages of the Sony LT26i Xperia J, claims to have some hands on with an engineering prototype of the phone, and has shared images of it online. The  Sony Hayabusa  is supposed to be 8.6 mm thick and weigh just 127 grams. The phone is rumoured to have a 4.55-inch HD 720 x 1280 display, 1GB of RAM, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, Adreno 225 GPU, and a 13MP rear camera with LED flash, apart from NFC connectivity. The device runs on an customised version of Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Hayabusa also has an illuminated XPERIA logo under the screen, which also pulses to the music rhythm. The phone has a 1,700mAh batt...

Sony’s next tablet, presumably a successor to the Sony Tablet S has been leaked online ahead of its launch. The tablet, dubbed as the Sony Tablet SGPT1211, is expected to launch around Christmas and has passed the US FCC approval. A slideshow of the forthcoming tablet was published by  XDA-Developers forum member qsp , who claims to work for Sony. The slideshow was posted on a German site  Mobiflip , which hints the device will sport the 'Xperia' brand. The rumoured Xperia tablet is likely to come with a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 8MP rear facing camera and a 1MP front facing camera for video chatting, a 6,000 mAh battery and a magnesium-aluminium alloy body. The weight of the device is 570 grams. Pricing details too were revealed on the forum. The device is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB priced at $399.99 (Rs. 22,300 approx.), $499.99 (Rs. 27,900 approx.) and $599.99 (Rs. 33,500 approx.). The device is expected to run on Google’s Android 4.0 ICS. The ...

Xperia™ Neo L Xperia Neo L MT25i is a smartphone that oozes elegance. It is sleek and stylish with curved back and glossy finish. For crisp and loud sound, it incorporates Sony’s xLoud™ audio technology. Its 1GHz processor gives you short response time and great web browsing speed. Display - 4.0 (10.16 cms), 854 x 480 pixels 16,777,216 colour TFT 5 MP camera with LED flash and Auto focus 1 GHz Scorpion Android OS, v4.0.3 (ICS) 1 GB Internal Storage 512MB RAM Standard Retail Price:  MRP Rs 19,449 /-* (MRP inclusive of all taxes. Quoted MRP is for 1 unit of the product.) Specifications Display and Screen Display 4.0 (10.16 cms), 854 x 480 pixels 16,777,216 colour TFT Screen scratch-resistant touchscreen Touch Capacitive touchscreen with on-screen QWERTY keyboard Camera and video camera 5 MP camera with LED flash and Auto focus Video HD video recording (720p) Supported format BMP, GIF, JPEG, ...

Sony Ericsson released some nice mid-range Android smartphones last year in the form of Xperia neo, Xperia Ray and neo V and now Sony (sans Ericsson) is trying to achieve the same this year. The Japanese manufacturer launched three mid-range devices this year at Mobile World Congress to cater to almost every consumer in the price-segment. Sony Xperia sola is one of the three devices to be launched in India recently. Priced at Rs 20,449, it brings 1GHz dual-core processor, 3.7-inch Floating Touch display (more on this later), 5MP camera and Android 2.3 to the table, but is this enough to make the consumers go for it over the competition in the market? We will find out in this review. Hardware:  Sony has followed a fixed design style for all of its 2012 smartphone launches apart from Xperia sola, which offers a distinct basic design that might not win design awards but is pretty decent. There is no transparent bar or curved back, but Xperia sola comes with ...