Official: 2011 Sony OMG!!-Xperia handsets will NOT get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

John Cooper, UK Product Manager for Sony Mobile, has been taking questions from customers on Facebook  and, perhaps inadvertently, revealed that both the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S and Xperia mini pro will not receive the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update.

We have been waiting for Sony to make an official statement on their Jelly Bean upgrade plans and this is the first concrete news we have on the matter. The Xperia arc S was the highest specced 2011 Sony Xperia handset, so if this handset isn’t getting it we can conclude that none of the other Xperia handsets from the 2011 range will get the update either. However, the 2012 Xperia range do look likely to get the update, although timing remains an unknown right now.

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Latest Sony Xperia phones announced for South East Asia

Sony Mobile yesterday held a media event in Singapore where it launched the latest six Sony Xperia handsets for the South East Asia region (Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia). As expected, no new Xperia models were announced, instead we saw the official launch of six handsets for the region including the Xperia acro S, Xperia go, Xperia ion, Xperia miro, Xperia neo L and Xperia tipo.

Our man on the ground (owl_order) got hands-on with most of the devices and came away with positive thoughts. The event itself encouraged creativity in line with Sony Mobile’s current “Made of Imagination” marketing slogan. There was an open canvas where the media was invited to paint their own creations along with coloured sands to rub into the rugged smartphones. 

Whilst some may bemoan the lack of an announcement for a high-end flagship, it is quite clear that Sony Mobile is targeting the low-end smartphone segment and sees it as a good growth opportunity. After all, market research firm Canalys recently estimated that more than 40% of smartphones in China will be priced under $200 by 2015.

This was a point echoed by Matthew Lang, Head of Sony Mobile SEA & Oceania Customer Unit saying that the expanded portfolio left Sony Mobile “in a much better position to meet the diverse consumer needs of emerging markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia” and that these phones will “strengthen our footprint in Southeast Asia markets”.

Anyway, check out the gallery below where you’ll find pictures from the event along with some hands-on photos with the phones. As we’ve previously seen, three new apps for the Xperia range will be introduced (Walkman, Album, and Movies) and you can see some photos of these. Towards the end you’ll also see something we haven’t seen before, notification settings for the lock screen on the Xperia ion. See all of the pictures below.

New Sony Xperia handsets to launch in South East Asia in Q3 2012

These are the handset SKUs due to launch in South East Asia over the third quarter of 2012. Not all colours will be available in each region, see the list below to see which colour of handset is launching in each country. The Xperia go will initially launch with Android Gingerbread, whilst all other models will be pre-installed with Ice Cream Sandwich. Prices have not been confirmed.

If you want to see the full specifications of each device please click on “SPECIFICATIONS” at the top of the site which has all of these phones listed or the “COMPARISON” tab to compare specs between phones. The “GALLERY” tab includes press photos for all of the listed phones too.

Indonesia

Xperia acro S (black, white and pink)
Xperia go (black, white and yellow)
Xperia ion (black and red)
Xperia miro (white, white/gold, black and black/pink)
Xperia neo L (black and white)
Xperia tipo (black, white, red and blue)
Xperia tipo dual (black and silver)

Malaysia

Xperia go (black, white and yellow)
Xperia ion (black and red)
Xperia miro (white, white/gold, black and black/pink)
Xperia neo L (black and white)
Xperia tipo dual (black and silver)

Singapore

Xperia acro S (black and white)
Xperia go (black and white)
Xperia ion (black)
Xperia miro (black and white)
Xperia neo L (black and white)
Xperia tipo dual (black and silver)

Thanks again to owl_order!

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Xperia neo L hands-on photos

Sony Mobile is set to launch the Xperia neo L in certain marketsduring Q3 2012. The handset looks reasonably attractive to our eyes – think of it as an Xperia PLAY without the slide-out joypad. The front face looks very similar with a 4-inch (480 x 854) display and includes four hard buttons as seen on the Xperia PLAY. Saying that though, the Xperia neo L is still fairly chunky at 12.8mm in thickness.

The main disappointment is that the Xperia neo L comes with 2011 Xperia specs (1GHz single-core processor, Adreno 205 graphics, 512MB RAM). However, this is likely to be reflected in the price and at least it will launch with Android 4.0 ICS. Taiwanese site ePrice went hands-on with the handset, you can check out some of their photos below. We think it looks rather fetching in white, what do you think?

Xperia neo L compared to the Xperia P

Via ePrice.

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[NEWS]Sony announces Xperia neo L for the Chinese market

Today Sony Mobile announced a new addition to its Xperia smartphone line-up. The Sony neo L is a mid-range device that is based on the neo V and is destined for the Chinese market.

The Xperia neo L will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at launch (a first for Sony) and can easily be confused with the neo V as they share similar looks and specifications. However, the neo L also borrows a few design elements from the Xperia PLAY, sans the PlayStation certified joypad.

Under the hood of the Sony Xperia neo L sits a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon processor and an Adreno 205 graphics chip bundled with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone is built around a 4-inch LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels.

At the back, the Xperia neo L carriers a 5MP snapper capable of shooting 720p videos, while a VGA front-facing camera enables video calling. At 120.0 x 61.0 x 12.8mm, the neo L is slightly longer, but slimmer than the neo V.

Here are some hands-on photos of the neo L courtesy of Sina to help you see how the device really looks.

   

Sony stays mum on pricing and time of availability of the neo L, but it has been revealed that the Chinese market will get it first. Whether it'll be also the last is anyone's guess for now.

Source | Via

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