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Panasonic launches two new Toughpads, FZ-G1 Windows 8 and JT-B1 Ice Cream Sandwich
Panasonic has just launched two new Toughpads at CES 2013, The FZ-G1 is a 10-inch tablet running Windows 8 Pro, while the seven-inch JT-B1 runs Ice Cream Sandwich.

FG-Z1 10-inch Specs
- 1,920 x 1,200 display
- 1.9GHz Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3437U vPro CPU
- 128GB SSD (upgradeable to 256GB)
- 8GB of RAM
- eight-hour battery
- optional microSD slot
- USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi and 3G
JT-B1 Specs include
- 1,024 x 600 display
- 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4660
- 16GB storage
- 1GB RAM
- built-in microSD slot
- 13-megapixel rear camera
- 1.3-megapixel forward facing cameras
- 5,720mAh battery.
The FZ-G1 will go on sale in March for $2,900 (or about INR 149,000) the JT-B1 will be available in February and will cost $1,300 (or about INR 71,500). So if you are ready to take your tablet to the extremes, you might want to hold up some spending.

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

PANASONIC EXPANDS TOUGHPAD™ ENTERPRISE-GRADE TABLET LINE

Ten-inch Windows 8 Pro-based and Seven-inch Android™-powered Tablets offer Choice to Meet Expanding Business Tablet Expectations

Las Vegas, NV, January 9, 2013 – Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, today expanded its Toughpad™ line of enterprise-grade tablets with the introduction of the Toughpad™ FZ-G1, a 10″ tablet featuring Windows® 8 Pro, and the availability of the Toughpad JT-B1, a 7″ Android™-powered unit. Both devices follow the original 10″ Android-powered Toughpad FZ-A1 which became broadly available late last year. With the Toughpad (#Toughpad) family of ruggedized tablets, businesses and government institutions have a single partner delivering a selection of highly reliable and purpose-built devices ideal for numerous operational needs.

“For nearly 20 years, Panasonic has engineered the most reliable mobile computing devices on the market,” said Rance M. Poehler, president, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “Because our customers know they can count on our products to deliver performance and return on investment, Panasonic – through its Toughbook brand – holds nearly 80 percent market share in the rugged mobile device space. We believe our engineering acumen, vertical market expertise and reputation for reliability, backed by our world-class service, will result in the Toughpad family being the leading B2B tablet solution in the coming years.”

Hide Harada, Director, IT Products Business Unit added, “The goal for Panasonic is to achieve 50% market share in the ruggedized tablet space by 2015.”

Toughpad tablets are designed for mission-critical and highly mobile workers in fields such as the military, construction, healthcare, public safety, utilities, retail, maintenance, supply chain logistics and insurance. The devices are ideal for a host of usage scenarios, including inventory control, eForms, field sales, field service, route delivery, eCitations, electronic medical records, inspections, mobile point-of-sales and GIS.

Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1: Key Features

Operating System: Windows 8 Pro
Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3437U vPro™ 1.9GHz up to 2.9GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
Memory: 128-256GB SSD, 4-8GB RAM, optional micro SDXC
Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 4′ drop, IP65, 14° to 122°F (operational temp range)
Display: 10.1″, sunlight viewable, touch screen and active digitizer, 800nit, WUXGA (1920×1200)
Battery: 8.0 hours (user-replaceable)
Dimensions: 10.6″ x 7.4″ x 0.75″
Weight: 2.43lbs
Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE or 3G
I/O: Full size USB 3.0, HDMI, optional micro SDXC, Full size USB 2.0, wired LAN, true serial port or dedicated GPS.

Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1: Key Features

Operating System: Android 4.0
Processor: TI OMAP4460 1.5GHz Dual core
Memory: 16GB ROM, 1GB RAM, micro SDHC
Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 5′ drop, IP65, 14° to 122°F (operational temp range)
Display: 7″, daylight viewable, 500nit, WSVGA (1024 x 600)
Camera: Front: 1.3Mp fixed focus, Rear: 13.0Mp auto focus w/ LED light
Battery: 8.0 hours – Large 5,720mAh battery (user-replaceable)
Dimensions: 8.7″x 5.1″ x 0.7″
Weight: 1.2lbs
Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE + 3G
I/O: Micro USB

Toughpad tablets are MIL-STD-810G tested for drops, fluid ingress and temperature, to assure they deliver reliable performance under circumstances that render typical tablets non-operational. Devices feature daylight viewable screens, user-replaceable or serviceable batteries, a stylus for signature capture and handwriting (on the FZ-G1 and FZ-A1 with 3rd party apps), and multiple options for peripheral connectivity.

“Our Toughpad tablets were designed based on years of input from customers,” continued Poehler. “This customer feedback is a critical part of the development process and will continue to shape Toughbook and Toughpad devices in the future. The wide variety of devices in the Toughbook and Toughpad families is a clear indication that we build products to meet our customers’ needs.”

Enterprise-class mobile computing requires an enhanced level of device security and the Toughpad family is designed with this in mind. Security features like encryption, IPsec VPN, trusted boot, root protection and FIPS compliance are available in various configurations of the Toughpad FZ-A1 and Toughpad JT-B1. Compatibility with world-class Mobile device management (MDM) tools are also available to allow IT managers to manage applications, secure devices from unauthorized use and perform many other tasks.

Toughpad tablets are supported by an ecosystem that includes an enterprise-focused app store, developer tools and deployment support. Panasonic will offer a full set of professional-grade accessories to support the Toughpad line, including cases, mounts, printers, keyboards, magnetic stripe readers, smart card readers and multi-unit storage and charging solutions.

Pricing and Availability
The 10″ Windows 8 Pro-based Toughpad FZ-G1 will be available in March starting at $2,899. The 7″ Android-powered Toughpad JT-B1 will ship in February starting at $1,199. The 10″ Android-powered Toughpad™ FZ-A1 is now shipping, starting at $1,299. All Toughpad tablets can be purchased through authorized Panasonic resellers.

Toughpad FZ-A1 LTE Certification
Powered by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the 10″ Toughpad FZ-A1 is now certified on the Verizon Wireless 4G/LTE network.

All products in the Toughpad family come standard with the industry’s most comprehensive 3-year warranty.

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January 9, 2013
Bajaj Launches New Discover 100T

Bajaj Auto on Monday launched its new 100 cc motorcycle Discover 100T at the top end of the mass market category to compete with Honda Dream Yuga and Hero Passion Pro for a volume of around 125,000 units a month.

The Discover 100T is powered by a 100cc engine which delivers a peak power of 10.2PS at 9000rpm and a peak torque of 9.2Nm at 6500rpm. Bajaj proudly says that the Discover 100T is the first 100c bike in the world to feature the 4-valve DTS-I technology and will offer an impressive mileage of 87kmpl.

[quote]

“We invested Rs. 20-30 crore on the platform and made an additional investment of Rs. 6 crore for the new bike. We will launch another model on the same platform later this year,” said Bajaj.

Bajaj has bigger models in its Discover and Pulsar series of bikes slated for launch later this year. “We have reasons to hope that our market share will go up from the current 26%,” he said.

[/quote]

The bike features gas-filled Nitrox shock suspension. Its standard features include electric start, auto choke and DC headlamps. The Discover 100T will be available in four colours viz., flame red, brilliant blue, black red and black blue.

The vehicle is currently produced at company’s Auarangabad facility and within a fortnight the Pantanagar plant will also start production, Bajaj said adding this particular product has seen an investment of Rs 5-6 crore only.

January 8, 2013
Jabra Announces Revo Wireless Stereo Headset

Jabra has just announced a new suite of corded and wireless stereo headphones said to “elevate music and multimedia experiences to a new dimension of sound performance”. The headphones, Revo Wireless, Revo corded and Vox in-ear earphones, are designed for “hard-wearing, everyday use and portability”.

Basically, the Jabra Revo Wireless and Revo headphones are made from aluminium frame. Steel hinges and a shatter-proof headband also adds flexibility.

[quote]”Headphones are subjected to a lot of wear and tear so consumers are demanding that they are designed to withstand the rigours of regular use,” noted Anne Raaen Rasmussen, Senior Vice President, Mobile Division at Jabra. “Jabra’s line of stereo products has been tested to the extreme, undergoing drop tests, bend tests, fold tests, cable tests, dirt tests and more. These headphones are built to last, without sacrificing style or sound quality.”[/quote]

On the other hand, the Jabra Vox is smaller and is built from premium-grade materials. It comes with tangle-free cables and is also made to last. These headphones are Jabra’s latest additions to its lifestyle music category, and they embody the company’s ultimate balance in design, ease-of-use, and outstanding sound quality that music lovers are looking for. Jabra has also integrated Dolby’s Plus technology into its latest stereo headphones which will perfectly go in par with Jabra’s exclusive Sound App for iOS and Android devices. Jabra’s flagship stereo headphones will be coming in Q2 this year.

January 8, 2013
Polaroid iM1836 Android Jelly Bean Mirrorless Camera Introduced!
The first Android based mirrorless interchangeable lens camera from Polaroid (iM1836) is now official and it is indeed produced by Sakar as previously reported.

Following in the footsteps of Nikon and Samsung, Polaroid’s is the first with interchangeable lenses. The camera runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has an 18.1MP sensor that can capture 1080p at 60fps.

Of course, it is WiFi-enabled and has Bluetooth connectivity for easy transfer between devices, and is significantly smaller than the Galaxy Camera, with a 3.5-inch multitouch display.

Not only does the Polaroid iM1836 better spec’d than its immediate competition, but it will come in at $399, some $200 cheaper than the Galaxy Camera, and includes a 10-30mm equivalent kit lens.

The Polaroid iM1836 camera looks like fantastic value, especially since it will be compatible with any micro 4/3 lens with an adapter.

Technical specs of the Polaroid iM1836 :
- Powered By Android 4.0 (JellyBean)
- Included 10mm-30mm Lens
- 3.5″ Touch screen LCD Display
- 18.1 Mega Pixel
- Built in Peer 2 Peer WIFI (iM1232W)
- Headphone Output
- HDMI Type B Output
- Face Auto Exposure
- HD Video
- Panoramic Pictures
- ISO up to 3200
- Blink Detection
- SD card Slot
- Compact Micro 4/3 Body
- Pop up Flash
[Engadget]
January 8, 2013
Qualcomm Unveils Next-Gen Snapdragon 800, 600 Series Processors

Not to be outdone by Nvidia’s new Tegra 4 processor, Qualcomm has unveiled its latest high-end mobile-friendly chipsets at CES 2013, with the Snapdragon 800 promising to bring UHD video and mind-boggling battery performance to phones and computers later this year.

Qualcomm says that the high-end Snapdragon 800 will deliver 75 per cent better battery performance than the current top-end S4 Pro.

But the real story here is the new Krait 400 CPU inside the Snapdragon 800: not only does it support four cores at up to 2.3Ghz each, but it utilizes a new 28nm High-K/Metal Gate manufacturing process that ensures the lowest power consumption at high performance numbers. Qualcomm promises much lower latency than previous Snapdragon S4 chips, and improved L2 cache performance.

Qualcomm’s also managed to fit asynchronous SMP architecture in, which ekes the best possible performance from each core without needing specialist cores.

The new chip also handles 4K Ultra High Definition encoding and decoding, and can project resolutions of up to 2560×2048, as well as stream video wirelessly at 1080p to a Miracast-compatible television or dongle.

Somewhat overshadowed by the 800 but still impressive is the new Snapdragon 600, intended for mid-to-high-end mobile devices and offering rich graphics and 40 per cent better battery performance than the S4 Processor that’s around now.

It comes with a new Krait 300 quad-core CPU with speeds up to 1.9GHz, a speed-enhanced Adreno 320 GPU and support for LPDR3 memory.

The Snapdragon 600 should also hit phones sooner than the 800, expected by the second quarter of the year (April-June).

[Tech Radar]

January 8, 2013
Vizio Launches New Tegra 4 10-Inch, Tegra 3 7-Inch Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Tablet

Image Courtesy : The Verge

Today, Vizio announced a duo of tablets running stock Android. The first is most similar to the Nexus 10: a 10″ display with the same retina-melting 2560×1600 resolution, only this one is powered by a Tegra 4 processor.

The new Tegra 4 System on a Chip was just unveiled recently in Las Vegas. Tegra calls it “the world’s fastest mobile processor.” Among its features are the following: Cortex A15, four power cores that will have a maximum speed of 1.9GHz plus a companion core, 28nm manufacturing process, and HPL low-power with high-K metal gate.

Image Courtesy : The Verge

According to The Verge, the tablet is “much more than your average iPad knockoff.” For one thing, it is noticeably light and thin, which gives the impression that it is smaller than the Nexus 10 or the iPad, two devices which have similar measurements in terms of screen size.

Image Courtesy : The Verge

For its operating system, the tablet features stock Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, that is, without any custom skin overlaid. It also comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity as well as 32GB of internal storage. Two cameras are onboard, as well, although the capacities of their image sensors are still unknown.

The reports coming in from CES haven’t actually mentioned the memory card, but there isn’t much of a chance for such a slot not to be included in the blueprint. Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity are present as well.

Image Courtesy : The Verge

The seven-inch Vizio tablet is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 SoC and has an IPS Display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, 16GB of storage, 1.2-megapixel webcam on the front, and runs stock Android Jelly Bean. Once it will be available the version of the OS will be 4.2.

Image Courtesy : The Verge

At the moment there is no exact information regarding pricing or availability for the two Vizio tablets. But boy are we excited!

[The Verge]

January 7, 2013
Vizio Announces Windows 8 AMD Tablet

Flat-screen TV manufacturer Vizio jumped into computers in 2012, launching its Windows 8 tablet at CES.

The Vizio Tablet is an 11.6-inch slate that will pack a dual-core 1GHz AMD z60 processor, a 1080p display and 2GB of RAM. Other specs include 64GB SSD storage, 2MP front cam, micro-HDMI, and micro-USB.

The Advanced Micro AMD Device’s Z60 processor allow Vizio’s tablet to run older programs on Windows 8, such as Apple’s iTunes.

One of the biggest negative to Windows hardware over the years is that many vendors choose to fill their devices up with tons of bloatware that make them slow and, well, annoying.

Rob Kermode, head of the Irvine, Calif., company’s PC and mobile device efforts, acknowledged that Vizio’s offerings were coming months after some other companies had released their Windows 8 tablets in late October. But, he said, Vizio chose to wait until the Consumer Electronics Show to make announcements because it was watching how customers would respond.

The good news here is that the Vizio Tablet PC has a “Microsoft Signature” software install. For those that don’t know, that means it is a clean installation with no added bloatware. This is perfect for consumers looking for a pure Windows 8 experience without vendor-specific add-ons like start menus and vendor software.

An AMD processor and 1080p display certainly sounds like a unique match. So when is it coming? Unfortunately we have no specific launch date or even pricing at this point.

By comparison, Microsoft’s own Windows 8 Surface tablet sells for around $1,000, and features an 8-inch screen and 720p HD.

January 7, 2013
Apple App Store Crosses 40 Billion Downloads, 500 Million Active Accounts

Apple announced on Monday that the App Store has surpassed 40 billion downloads. That’s unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates. Nearly half of that came in last year alone. The company also says it has over 500 million active users, and surpassed over 2 billion downloads during the month of December.

There are over 775,000 apps available in the store, for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. Apple says it has paid the developers of those apps over $7 billion.

[quote]”Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world,” says Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, in a statement.[/quote]

Apple launched its app store in 2008. The store hit the 10 billion downloads mark in early 2011. In March 2012, Apple announced that more than 25 billion apps have been downloaded.

The last valuable figure Google gave for its Play Store was 25 billion downloads, encompassing 675,000 apps. Google’s marketplace launched after the App Store, but the search giant does not disclose how much money it has paid to developers.

January 7, 2013
Belkin shows off Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater for iPad with Integrated Front Speakers
iPads usually have been known for notoriously low sound, and while several companies and startups have tried to solve this issue. Belkin has launched a product which might be an actual answer to the above problem. The case works as a dock and Belkin will release two models to accommodate for both 30-pin and Lightning connectors. Belkin is also making a free companion app available that will allow users to customize sound profiles for different types of media.

Both models will be available early this year, for a price of US $ 199 or about INR 12000.
- Integrated, front-facing, landscape-oriented, stereo speakers
- Ported speakers for rich bass and depth
- Low-distortion, high-efficiency amplifier
- Magnetically attached folding soft cover with multiple stand configurations
- MFi Certified
- G3A1000 with 30-pin docking interface is compatible with iPad 2 and iPad 3rd generation
- G3A2000 with Lightning connector is compatible with iPad 4th generation
- Pass-through access for iPad rear camera, headset jack, microphone, speaker, charging, lock switch, volume control, and mute/rotation lock toggle
January 7, 2013
Hp Launches Monitors Galore at CES 2013, 20 to 27 inch IPS panels

HP has just flooded the streets with a lineup of monitors they have released at CES 2013. Ranging from 20 inches to 27 inches and US $ 130 to US $ 500 (approx. INR 7000 to 30000).

Envy 27.

The Envy 27 is the flagship monitor by HP for 2013 with an asking price of US $ 499 or INR 27500 The HP Envy 27 has a 1080p IPS panel with wide viewing angles . A anti reflective coating on the glossy display makes looking at the monitor a stunning experience. Edge to Edge disply along with a die-cast aluminum base and built-in Beats Audio.

For ports, there’s VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and optical digital output, allowing you to send audio to wireless speakers]. The monitor will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after.

Pavilion 20xi, 22xi, 23xi, 25xi and 27xi.

Similar to the flagship above the HP Pavilion line offers full hd 1080p IPS panels in a affordable price bracket. ranging in sizes from 200 to 27 inch. The 20-inch 20xi has a lower 1,600 x 900 resolution, along with VGA and DVI output (but not HDMI). These monitors will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after with prices ranging from $130 to $340.

ProDisplay P191, P201, P201m and P221.

Designed for Enterprise and businesses these HP monitors range in size from 18.5 to 21 inches. Throughout the line up most of the specs are the same: a 250-nit brightness rating, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 5ms response time. All can tilt 35 degrees and can rotate up to 90 degrees to offer ergonomic options to the viewer.

the P191 has a pixel count of 1,366 x 768, compared with 1,600 x 900 for the P201 and 1080p for the P221.

These HP monitors will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after price from $129 to $179, making them the most affordable of these new models.

January 7, 2013
NVIDIA launches Tegra 4: with quad-core Cortex A15 and 72 GPU cores !

At CES 2013, NVIDIA has announced their chipset upgrade of the year, The Tegra 4 platform. Even though the chip retains the same 4-plus-1 arrangement of the Tegra 3 Platform, adds capabilities of an impressive 72 GPU cores. That will improve the GPU capability almost 6 times.

The first test this processor was put to live on stage was between itself in an unnamed tablet and the Google Nexus 10 – loading webpages on the Tegra 4 finished almost 50% quicker than the Nexus 10.

Its also the first quad-core processor with Cortex A15 cores on-board, which offers compatibility with LTE networks. NVIDIA also claims this piece of silicon is the world’s fastest mobile processor. in a comparative chart putting the NVIDIA Tegra 4 ahead of the iPad 4 and then the Nexus 10.

The Tegra 4 also boasts of new Photography computational expertise, which will drastically improve the time between an image clicked, processed and saved. NVIDIA said that it will introduce a new mobile processor architecture each year, with the Tegra 4 however it seems the Tegra 3 chipset has been updated.

January 7, 2013
Hashtag Declared 2012 Word of the Year

These days it seems like everyone goes around declaring the “word of the year,” but the tradition began with the American Dialect Society, which met last night in Boston for its 23rd annual Word of the Year vote. It’s a spirited event, where the members of the society—a group of linguists, lexicographers, and other professional language scholars—argue for their choices.

The American Dialect Society has selected its Word of the Year for 2012, and the winner was a bit of a surprise. It wasn’t fiscal cliff, the ubiquitous term in the news from Capitol Hill. And it wasn’t YOLO, the youthful acronym for “You Only Live Once” that quickly rose (and just as quickly fell) this past year. No, the ultimate champion was that mainstay of the Twittersphere, hashtag.

A hashtag is a convention used on Twitter to organize conversations, mark topics, or make witty commentary, created by appending a word or phrase with the hash symbol (#) preceding it.Word of the Year is interpreted in its broader sense as “vocabulary item” — not just words but phrases. The words or phrases do not have to be brand-new, but they have to be newly prominent or notable in the past year.

This isn’t the first time an Internet term has gotten the nod: “Tweet” was declared word of the year by the group in 2010, while “Google” was then-named the word of the decade. In a nod to the worldwide Occupy movements, the group declared “Occupy” to be last year’s word of the year.

January 6, 2013
Lenovo To Split Into Lenovo Business Group, Think Business Group To Help Compete With Apple

Lenovo Group today announced that the company internally will have an organizational structure adjustment. The company will be divided into two major business groups: the Lenovo business group (LBG) and Think Business Group (TBG) after the adjustment. The adjustment will take effect on April 1.

Lenovo Business Group, responsible for mid-range desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and TVs aimed at average consumers, will be headed by Liu Jun, senior vice-president (mobile internet digital home).

Despite some attempts to change course, the Lenovo brand is still only playing well in the mainstream and low-end markets; whereas the Think brand is his company’s best asset in the high-end market, and the only brand that can compete with Apple in the high-end market, Yang said in the email.

Think Business Group will be headed by Peter Hortensius, senior vice-president (product group). Yuanqing says this group will compete with the likes of Apple for the top-spot in the high-end market.

According to a recent report from Digitimes, Lenovo intends to move notebook production in-house within five years. This plan may help the company get there.

[Engadget]

January 6, 2013
Report : Sony C530X ‘HuaShan’ To Come With Dual-Core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 and 720p Display

Sometime in the middle of last month, the Sony C530X (otherwise known as the C5303 as well), which carries the code name HuaShan, was seen in an AnTuTu benchmark, where it was revealed to the world that the HuaShan will carry a 1.7GHz processor after picking up a not half bad score of 16,133 in the benchmark. Other than that, very little else was revealed concerning the smartphone, but its latest outing on GLBenchmark has lifted the curtain a wee bit more.

Little else was known at that stage, but an outing on GLBenchmark reveals a few more details, as spotted by the Xperia Blog.

The Sony C530X (C5302, C5303, C5306) will be armed with the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960T chipset with a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and Adreno 320 graphics. The benchmark also reveals that HuaShan will have a 720 x 1280 display with onscreen touchscreen buttons. The handset tested was running Android 4.1.2. We don’t know whether HuaShan will make an appearance at CES next week, but if not, MWC in February is a dead cert.

Beginning last year, Sony had decided to use a different nomenclature for naming its devices. We saw many devices in the Xperia series differentiated with alphabets like U, S, J and so on. But these didn’t clearly indicate what the user should expect from the handset.

January 6, 2013
Sony Xperia Z Video Stills Show Off Water Resistance And Skeletal Frame Structure

Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z (or Yuga), the company’s entry into the 5-inch smartphone space, will reportedly sport a “skeleton frame structure” and HDR video recording capabilities. Will these be the kind of features that get Sony into the same race as Samsung and Apple?

According to a leaked promotional video, the Xperia Z has a “skeleton frame” and is water/dust resistant. In addition, it has an Exmor RS image sensor and can take images and record video in HDR.

The so-called skeleton frame is composed of individual components, according to Sony, upon which the phone is assembled. In addition, there’s an OptiContrast panel, a 13-megapixel Exmor RS camera, a full HD Reality display, and the ability to both take images and record videos in the HDR mode. Also demonstrated is its water-resistant body, with images showing the handset covered in large droplets of water.

As we previously mentioned, the Xperia Z is expected to launch alongside a slightly smaller Xperia ZL. The Xperia Z will feature a 5-inch 1080p display, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera, and what we hope is a huge battery.

According to leaked images, it is running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. So far, everything we’ve seen points to an exceptional, sleek handset.

Sony today sent out an email to subscribers informing them that something worth noticing was going to be announced in three days.. that’s during CES.. it’s very likely to be this device. We can’t wait!

[Xperia Blog]

January 6, 2013