Sony Xperia Arc in South East Asia

Before i start on the new juicy Sony Xperia Arc, let me drop a short piece of news about the SE Arc’s predecessor, the SE Xperia X10 which was release slight more than a year ago (around November 2009). Sony Ericsson has tweeted that their one year old phone is no longer going to receive Google Android OS updates from them (Sony Ericsson). Google is still constantly updating it’s Android OS for smartphones but SE will no longer support it on the X10. The X10 is currently on Google 2.1 (Eclair) while currently, the latest Google version is Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Don’t forget that Google has just released it’s latest and great version of Android OS called Honeycomb (version 3.0) which will be available on phones later. Anyway, Sony Ericsson has also confidently claimed that their Google 2.1 on X10 is better than Google 2.2 on certain phones. [source]

While we’re not really sure how better the Android 2.1 software modified by SE is better, what we fear is the support for the phone once the future upgrades for this phone has been stopped. Imagine one day Google has released a super cool function and you require a newer version of Android to run it, your poor X10 will definitely be left out. You can contact SE about this, but their best reply would certainly be a “Sorry, your phone is no longer supported”. Other smart phones manufacturers like HTC and Samsung are still updating most of their recent phones, which makes SE look rather bad. SE has showed and created a lot of products with excellent new designs and new hardware, but i’m afraid to say that i don’t really like SE’s attitude towards their older products. If you liked a piece of SE phone very much and you purchased it, you need to pray hard that they don’t release any new phones because once they do, support for your old phone will quickly be forgotten, similar to this SE Xperia X10. Of course, you don’t have to suffer this fate unless you are willing to pay more money and get the latest SE phone when they come out everytime.

Speaking about the latest phones, let me introduce to you, the latest phone from Sony Ericsson, the Xperia Arc. This phone was just announced at CES 2011 a few days ago. The phone got its name from the Arc on the back of the phone, which makes the phone’s design very slim. Check out the video below:

The hardware on the phone are:

• 1GHz Qualcomm processor (single core)
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• 4.2 inch “Reality Display” (aka 480×854) optimized for multimedia viewing
• 8.1 megapixel camera with 720p video recording
• Auto focus camera with LED flash
• HDMI out
• 512 MB internal phone memory
• 8GB microSD card installed, expandable up to 32GB
• aGPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM Radio
• 1500 mah battery
• 117 grams at 125 x 63 x 8.7mm

[source]

Too be frank, this hardware in 2011 is a bit old. Other newer smartphones like the LG Optimus 2x or the Motorola Atrix are now having powerful dual core processors. I have a feeling that Sony will release this phone but later out-phase it rather quickly. Anyway, the SE Arc is not long from appearing in the market. According to Indonesia’s Sony Ericsson site, the phone will be available in around another 3 months times (expected in April 2011) with two colour choices: Midnight Blue and Misty Silver. [source]

Let’s hope the info from Sony Ericsson Indonesia is true, and Sony Ericsson Malaysia is not far behind. Pricing unknown at this point. More pics below:

The future is now: Motorola Atrix 4G

Motorola has just unveiled ‘the world’s most powerful phone’. The hardware on the Atrix is easily be the best we have ever see so far, which includes:

• Tegra 2 dual core processor (latest & fastest processor)
• 1gb of ram (previous highest 768mb on HTC Desire HD)
• 40gb of storage
• 4″ QHD at 960×540 (previous highest 854×480 on most Motorola phones)
• HDMI-out
• Front facing VGA camera
• 5Mp camera with LED flash
• 1930mah (previous known highest of 1530man on 5″ Dell Streak)
• 802.11n, A-GPS
• Android 2.2

You might be thinking that this is not such a big deal because phone hardware constantly get upgraded and gets better and better all the time. But wait till you see what more the Moto Atrix can do. Let’s just imagine that your Atrix phone can also be  your internet desktop (webtop) or internet notebook (netbook) just by putting the phone onto a dock. Impossible? No longer.

Along with the announcement of the Moto Atrix, Motorola has also announced many different accessories which come with the Atrix, the most important of all, being a docking station which allows you to connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse so that you can operate a full size computer which is powered by just your smartphone. On the full desktop, you can still use your phone functions and also a full desktop Firefox browser with tabbed windows browsing and Flash content. The best part is doing this all with the ease of full size keyboard and mouse. When you’re done, just remove the phone and whatever you were doing on your ‘desktop’ is still stored on the phone and you carry it together wherever you go.

Those who travel frequently might not prefer a desktop experience but Motorola has that covered as well. They have a notebook dock. Just dock your smartphone on the back and you have a full laptop experience, touchpad included. You can even move between your desktop dock and laptop dock, and it happens almost instantly, no shutdown and boot up times.

More pictures and videos from Engadget here.

Motorola has announced this phone to be available on US’s AT&T network first during the CES 2011 event, but it will also be available on Orange UK and Canada’s Bell Mobility [source]. According to other sources here, Orange UK will be getting the Motorola Atrix in Q2 of 2011. Seeing this phone on many different carriers in Western countries, hopefully we’ll be able to see it here in Malaysia too.  Even it doesn’t come, those who really want it can go overseas and bring some back for sale. After all, we have seen AP phone sets from AT&T or Orange UK being on sale here in Malaysia.

 

 

Android Honeycomb officially 3.0

Android has a ‘cute’ naming convention for their series of software versions, it’s typically based on the names of desserts and the follow alphabetical order. Some of the names which we are familiar with are Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo (Frozen Yogurt), Gingerbread and the most recent, Honeycomb. The next software version should start with an ‘I”, some guesses that it might be Ice Cream. The names are easy to guess but the numberings are not, these are the numbers of the previous Android softwares:

• 1.0 = No code name
• 1.1 = No code name
• 1.5 = Cupcake
• 1.6 = Donut
• 2.0/2.1 = Eclair
• 2.2 = Froyo
• 2.3 = Gingerbread
• 2.4? 3.0 ? = Honeycomb
• ??? = Ice cream

So if the changes (or modifications) are big between revisions, then the numbers will have a big jump, like from 1.6 Donut  to 2.0 Eclair. When the changes are minor, the numbers will increase only a 0.1, like from 2.2 Froyo to 2.3 Gingerbread.

So many were wondering, would honeycomb be a big improvement to be called 3.0, or just minor changes, to be called 2.4? Now we know the answer. Since honeycomb would be developed specifically for a tablet device, the use the bigger screen and bigger resolution of tablets, more functions have been put it. For example, the ability to fragment or divide your screen into multiple sections. Therefore, it’s officially 3.0 Honeycomb and not 2.4! Watch out the fantastic video from Google which got out during CES 2011 below:

New ASUS lineup at CES 2011

ASUS has just releaased its lineup of new products at CES 2011. I’ll  give you a brief lineup here:

• Eee Slate EP121 – A typical touchscreen tablet form running Windows 7 and supports the use of a stylus which is stored in the body. The inclusion of an SSD makes it snappier and suitable for those rough tablet handlers but also ups the cost a bit. It’s said to be due out later this month but we’re not sure how soon it will reach Malaysia. Price will be around RM3000 to 3400.

• Eee Pad Transformer – Looks like Motorola is not the only one with dual core tablets on Android Honeycomb. And the name of this Samsung product will make Michael Bay (the director of the Transformer movies) so proud. The ‘Transformer’ is an Android tablet with a detachable full size keyboard and touchpad. This is coming out in May officially (Malaysia uncertain to us) and will cost around RM1200-2200. Certainly price competitively to the current Galaxy Tab.

• Eee Pad Slider – Another Android tablet like the Transformer, the Slider is only 5mm thicker. The thicker body is due to the attached sliding keyboard. When you need the keyboard, just slide it out and the screen will tilt at a nice angle. When moving the tablet around, just slide it back and carry it easier as one single unit. Compared to the Transformer, you lose a touchpad on the Slider keyboard due to the space taken up by the tilting screen but the Transformer keyboard is detached so you would have to carry two separate items instead of one for the Slider. The sliding mechanism and the construction has a higher price of around RM1500-2500, RM300 more than the Transformer. Expect to see it somewhere around the world as soon as May this year.

• Eee Pad MeMo – Just when you thought you had enough of mid-sized Android tablets, Asus has another one planned for you. This tablet is claimed to come with a stylus like tool (cylindrical object tucked between the function buttons and the ASUS logo in picture below) to help with drawing and writing. It also comes with an wireless bluetooth accessory with earphones and mic callled MeMic to help with phone functions. Other specs such as ram, internal storage and connectivity functions still unconfirmed at this point but with mid sized tablets, you can expect more or less the same. Coming out in June for around RM1500 to RM2200.

source: Engadget [1], [2],[3],[4]

Asus : Eee Pad E121 to come in CES

Asus is moving on from netbooks to tablets, one of their products to come being the Eee Pad EP121. This product isn’t entirely new because Asus has been sitting on it for the past half year. It was first show cased in Computex Taipei in June 2010. The information provided on the tablet at that time was:

• 12″ touchscreen tablet
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
• Intel Core 2 Duo.
• comes with docking station (transforms into laptop)
• cost around USD1000 (RM3100)

[source]

Just recently, prior to the CES event in January, Asus has released a teaser video for the Eee Pad. It will finally be launced. The press conference will be on Tuesday, 4th January 2011,2-3pm at Ballroom of Aria Hotel. Since it’s initial preview back in June, somethings have change and more features are revealed. The only thing that remains the same is the steep USD1000 price.

• 12″ touchscreen tablet, capable of multitouch and stylus
• Intel Core i5 (instead of C2D)
• HDMI-out, Full HD playback
• SD card slot, web camera

Watch the video below:

 

Update: 5-Jan-2011

Check out my latest post on all new Asus products announced at CES 2011 here.