Its all about U... Xperia U First Look

Sony's latest Android smartphone since dropping the Ericsson brand is to be named the Xperia U. This model will be placed mid range with the Xperia S still being the flagship model. 

Its a phone that takes a lot of its design from its older brother, with the transparent bar between the base of the phone and the buttons providing a focal point. The difference between the transparent element on the U to the S is the multi colour flash option. Unlike the Xperia S the U will change colour to match your background, match your artists album art with matching colours and change automatically to match the shades in your photos too.

Although the Xperia U does not pack the same sort of punch as the S if you were glancing at the phone you'd struggle to know the difference between them with the phones looking almost identical. The look and feel of the Xperia S was a classy look and Sony have seen no reason to change. If anything they have looked at improving the original design with swappable caps that add a coloured plastic strip to the bottom of the handset. All these changes may just be on the surface but it gives the Xperia U personality. 

Sony have decided upon a 3.5-inch screen Sony understand that not everyone wants an oversized screen "Galaxy Note 5.3" or HTC One X 4.7") but Sony has not compromised the viewing experience; The mobile version of their Bravia TV technology has been fitted to the Xperia U and colours look sharp and vibrant as always.

The U comes with a 5-megapixel camera and a front facing camera for making video calls. Sony has a good track record when it comes to camera's (The Xperia S has boasts the biggest megapixel camera on the market). As well as this Sony have included their xLoud enhancer providing 3D surround sound this enhances your music and video's giving "deep bass and high treble's."

The Xperia U boasts a 1GHz dual core processor which will have you zipping through menu's and sub-screens with ease. Its processor gives you ample power for a device which is mid-range in the market and will not disappoint. Whether this be gaming, video or just simple browsing this handset should handle these tasks with ease.

Android users looking for a budget handset that will allow you to push the boundaries of power and performance will not be disappointed by this great handset!! 

The Era Of The Smart Tag Is Upon Us.....

NFC  or Near Field Communication is the new buzz word from the Telecommunications industry. It is a set of standards for Smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimetres. 


NFC isn't really new... or cutting edge. In fact this technology (or a variation of sorts) is already being used throughout the world - especially in Japan. NFC like RFID can quickly swap information between devices when they're touched together.

So What are Smart Tags....


NFC Smart Tags are Sony's new fun and innovative take on using NFC for everyday use; previously NFC has been used for making mobile payments (Google Wallet) and public transit systems (oyster cards use RFID). Now Smart Tags can give your NFC-equipped Android phone a series of commands to keep you from performing repetitive tasks. 

For example, swiping your phone by a Smart Tag beside your bed could turn your phone silent, activate your alarm for the following morning and turn off unwanted features such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Why not do this manually?!? Because once you start using these Smart Tags there is a certain charm to swiping your phone and knowing it is all done in the blink of an eye. 

Would your life not be easier if you could merely sit at your desk in work and with a swipe of your phone WI-Fi is switched off, phone is put too silent and your diary application is launched showing your meetings for the day?

What about getting into the Car and with one swipe GPS is switched on, Bluetooth is activated and your navigation application is loaded. All very handy and time saving in a world were everything moves at a million miles an hour. 

I think Sony's new Smart Tags take NFC technology to a whole new level. Instead of using NFC solely as a payment tool like other competitors Sony have focused on a different value to the NFC chip. The ability too totally customise the Smart Tags as you see fit makes NFC work for you rather than it be a one way deal. But as Sony have with the Smart Tags we will leave the decisions up to you!