NaviGadget

These are the spy shots of the new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2. Xperia X2 will be a Windows smartphone just like its predecessor Xperia X1. Xperia X2 will have a larger WVGA OLED touchscreen measuring 3.5″ and even better 8.1MP digital camera with auto focus and the ability to shoot 30 frames per second at VGA quality.

Of course it comes with GPS, and A-GPS to give you location based services which probably will depend on which carrier you go with.

Some other features of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 include 512MB of RAM, accelerometer, 3.5mm audio jack, front facing camera, and a lot more.

That’s all we know for now. Stay tuned.

… read »

Remember the Sony GPS-CS3K? Of course you do. Well we never really got our hands on this GPS photo tagger (or geotagger) like we did with ATP GPS Photofinder but someone else did. And here’s a snippet from their review:

The whole process for geocoding images is quite simple. Just turn it on when you start your voyage and activate the “hold” function to disable the buttons to avoid unintentional input. For geocoding open the back cover and insert your MS/SD card. Sadly no support for other memory cards types and older generations are not supported.

Memory Stick media is slightly thicker than newer MS cards, and SD card works perfectly. In our test we used a 8GB SD card. After inserting close the cover and select “Matching” from the menu. It automatically detects the images on your memory card and puts geocode information into the EXIF data.

Check out the full review and more photos at akihabaranews. Sony GPS-CS3K currently goes for $113 on Amazon and is in stock.

Sony just keeps adding GPS receivers to their camcorders. Back in January we talked about HDR-XR520V, HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V which were the first camcorders to include a GPS receiver and maps. Today Sony announced HDR-TG5V Handycam, a small hi-def camcorder that integrates a GPS receiver.

The camcorder’s built-in GPS antenna and NAVTEQ digital maps geo-tag your videos and photos so you can document your destinations on a map. Geo-tagged content is marked by a push pin at each shot location and can be played back on the camcorder map index display on the 2.7-inch (measured diagonally) wide LCD touch panel. You can also enjoy this feature on the PC using the included Picture Motion Browser software.

A small issue here is that there’s really no industry standard for storing location information in video format so you’ll have to use Sony’s proprietary software to make use of the GPS features.

You can expect to pay $1000 for Sony HDR-TG5V starting this May.

Sony Ericsson just unveiled a new really good looking phone called Sony Ericsson T707 with 3G goodness and GPS capabilities.

Before we move on to important things such as photos of Mario Sharapova holding the Sony Ericsson T707 let’s go over a few boring details:

• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Media player
• Light effects
• Pulsating light notification
• Gesture control
• Day and Night changing theme
• FM radio with RDS
• Geo tagging of photos
• Google Maps

Depending on where you live you’ll either get T707 with GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSDPA 2100 or the T707a with same GSM but UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100.

Now onto some Maria Sharapova photos to make your Friday more pleasant: read »

This is not quite news but we thought we’d mention the new Sony VAIO P which was just made official at CES 2009 couple of months ago.

Sony VAIO P is kinda special because it is the only 8″ netbook out there that includes a GPS receiver. Another amazing feature you’ll like on this device is the Gobi mobile broadband technology and the instant-mode option that will get you online faster than anything else.

But you still get those older technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooh, MMC, SD card slots, and a G sensor :)

3G broadband connectivity is offered by Verizon.

Pick up Sony VAIO VGN-P530H/R on Amazon for $900.

Sony’s really not wanting to leave the GPS market I guess. They just introduced a new model for the Japanese market called Sony NV-U3C. Very similar to the other models in Sony NV series this one also does split screen view. However different than their US counterparts the Japanese model does realistic street sign view, lane assistance, and something called PetaMap data which provides updates and sales info from restaurants and stores around you.

It has a 3.5″ screen QVGA screen with 4:3 ratio, 4GB of internal memory. It is available in three colors: obnoxious pink, boring gray, and snow white… read »

Sony Ericsson IDOU will probably be the highlight of the MWC 2009 (mobile world congress in Barcelona) for the company. However keep in mind IDOU is only a concept name until they’re ready to market it.

Until we get a list of full specs you’ll have to make do with these features:

• Symbian OS
• 3G
• 12MP camera with Xenon flash
• 3.5″ screen
• GPS receiver

Here is a demo video:

If you find yourself asking “what am I supposed to do with 12MP camera on my phone here is your answer from a commenter an engadget:

ANY cameraphone which uses a single, fixed lens smaller than a US dime will be diffraction limited at laughably small resolutions. We’re talking 2, maybe pushing 3 Mpxl if it’s a particularly good lens given the constraints. Any more pixels simply capture diffraction effects; you get precisely zero additional sharpness by putting more pixels behind a piece of crap lens.

Furthermore, cramming 12 million pixels into a sensor measuring a few millimeters in each dimension means terrible noise performance. This is particularly true as sensitivity gets ramped up, so this thing is an absolute joke for any use except in broad daylight.

Moral of this story? Sony is flexing their marketing E-Peen here, so they can claim they have the camera with the highest number of pixels. Nevermind that those pixels are effectively unusable, and because of the noise performance actually will turn out performing WORSE than if they’d put a 3 Mpxl sensor in there instead.

If you fall for this crap, you deserve to have your money taken away.

Sony Ericsson just announced their latest walkman phone just in time for MWC. Called Sony Ericsson W995, this phone includes an A-GPS receiver like every other high-end phone these days.

They’re marketing the W995 with “Video on the go” tag line since the device is optimized for video playback and comes with a feature called Media Go which transfers, plays and organizes your media files to your mobile phone. You can also watch YouTube videos using Turbo 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity.

It also comes with an 8MP digital camera, with flash and face recognition software and even built-in stereo speakers, but if you’re on your own you’ll make use of the 3.5mm headphone jack:

Clear Stereo, Clear Bass and the included HPM-77 premium headphones make music on the move feel like you’re sitting in a recording studio listening to your favourite band live! For the next level of clear audio experience, in selected markets the HPM-88 noise cancelling headset will replace the HPM-77.

Other specs of the Sony Ericsson W995 include the 8GB memory stick micro, 2.6″ display, an accelerometer, quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual band UTMS/HSPA, and of course the A-GPS receiver for location based services. Unfortunately the press release contained no information about GPS related software. W995 will be available in selected markets from starting second quarter of this year. W995 specs page.

Sony Ericsson today announced the C903 Cyber-shot cell phone. This is very slim slider 5MP camera phone with a protective lens cover. C903 is also equipped with an A-GPS receiver which can be used to geotag your photos or for door-to-door navigation.

aGPS helps you keep your bearings. Tag your photos with info on where they were taken and find your way with Google Maps or Wayfinder Navigator.

The phone can take take 5MP pictures with flash, auto detect smiles, and show them off on its 2.4″ auto rotating display. You can even display them on your TV using TV-out port.

Sony Ericsson C903 and C903a and will be available starting in second quarter of this year. Difference between C903 and C903a is in the supported networks. C903 does UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 where as C903a can do UMTS/HSPA 850/1900/2100.

The location-based services include like we mentioned geo tagging of photos and Google Maps. But you also get a 3-month trial version to Wayfinder Navigator.

Sony has quietly revealed a brand new photo tagger called Sony GPS-CS3KA. We came across the new Sony GPS-CS3KA on Amazon where it is available for pre-order for $150. The new Sony CS3 is obviously the successor to the popular Sony CS1 that was released about two years ago.

Sony GPS-CS3KA can identify location of both photos and videos in addition to their date, accepts both MS and SD memory cards, and has a battery life of up to 15 hours.

This GPS image tracker is compatible with most Cyber-shot digital cameras and camcorders.

The smart thing Sony engineers did with CS3 was to give you the ability to use Alkaline or Ni-Mh batteries so hopefully you’ll always be able to find a way to power your device.

Expect the new Sony GPS-CS3KA to ship on March 29th.