Yet another Sony device has been leaked before its official announcement at the IFA 2012 event to be held in Berlin. The latest leaked device, branded as the Sony Xperia J a.k.a ST26i, is said to be an entry-level device. The images of the device have cropped up on a Taiwanese website ePrice along with a set of purported specifications.

According to the images on the website, the Sony Xperia J will feature a 4-inch WVGA touchscreen with 854x480 pixels resolution. The device will be running on the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, and is powered by a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. Other purported features of the Sony Xperia J include 5MP camera with LED flash, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G with HSPA and Bluetooth.

From the leaked images, we can see the device will have a regular candybar design, as seen with the other leaked Xperia devcies. The photos also confirm the device will be available in multiple colours – pink, black and white.

Earlier, Mobile Review leaked images of a new Sony Xperia smartphone, to be known as the Mint. Codenamed Sony LT30p, the device features a 4.3-inch display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, microSD expandable storage, microSIM slot and NFC. Other notable features of the device are a 720p front-facing camera and a monstrous 13MP 1080p rear-facing camera. To know more about the Sony Mint, read our previous coverage.

Another rumoured Sony device to be launched at the IFA 2012 is the LT29i "Hayabusa".

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The good: The Sony Xperia S flaunts an eye-catching design, Android 4.0, and a connection to Sony's large movie and music library.

The bad: The Xperia S has quirky capacitive buttons, slow 3G data, an uninspiring screen, and a pokey processor. Its $559.99 price is also steep.

The bottom line: Sony's pricey, stylish Xperia S is packed with multimedia tricks but is undone by a slow processor and lackluster display.

When Sony unveiled the Xperia S at CES 2012, many Android fans in the know dreamed that this ultrastylish handset could herald a new beginning for the company's mobile electronics. That's why it was even more exciting when Sony announced that the phone would arrive for sale in America. Also, unlike its watered-down cousin, the Xperia Ion on AT&T, the $559 Xperia S features a tricked-out transparent band wrapping its base plus an upgrade to Android 4.0, something yet to grace the Ion. The phone also connects to Sony's large vault of movies, music, and TV shows so you can enjoy them on the device or in the living room. But if you're expecting a halo product to help bring back the golden days of the Walkman, you're in for a disappointment.

Design
I can't deny that the Sony Xperia S looks striking. It comes in hues of fashion-forward white like the model I tested, and a more conservative black. Its design is also very futuristic with the phone flaunting a rectangular chassis chiseled in sharp right angles.

The Xperia S' attempt at high style, however, falls short. While a real head-turner, the boxiness of the Xperia S isn't as comfortable to grip as more traditional oval handsets sculpted with rounded curves.

Another distinctive touch yet one not executed well is an illuminated clear bar running along the phone's base. The bar contains three symbols floating within its transparent surface that indicate the main Android functions for Back, Home, and Menu.

Unfortunately, as on its sibling on AT&T, the Xperia Ion, these symbols are not actual buttons. You must tap corresponding dots above each Android icon, which I found find difficult to hit, especially in the dark.

Inside the Xperia's clear bar are icons for Android functions which aren't actual buttons.

Measuring 5 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick and weighing a hefty 5.1 ounces, the Xperia S is a substantial phone. Still, for Android devices these days that boast massive displays, these measurements are par for the course. For example the Samsung Galaxy S3 (5.4 inches by 2.8 inches by 0.35 inch, 4.7 ounces) and Samsung Galaxy Nexus (5.33 inches by 2.67 inches by 0.35 inch, 4.76 ounces) are both of comparable dimensions.

The Xperia S has a large 4.3-inch LCD screen with a 720p HD resolution. Above the display are a 1.3MP front-facing camera and notification light. The left side holds a Micro-USB port covered by a flap. On top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button, which I found tricky to press while holding the phone one-handed. Placed on the back is the phone's 12MP camera with LED flash.

Hidden under a flap is an HDMI port for outputting video to HDTVs.

Sitting on the right side is an HDMI port, also under a flap, along with a trim volume rocker. Here too is a dedicated camera button which shutterbugs will appreciate.

Display
Sony is quick to tout the benefits of the Xperia S' screen, calling it a Reality Display. Placed head-to-head with its smartphone competitors, the Xperia's 4.3-inch 720p (1,280x720) LCD screen isn't very impressive. Compared with the HTC One X (AT&T) and Samsung Galaxy Nexus (unlocked), the Xperia S produced images with muted colors, low contrast, and narrow viewing angles. In my view, the Galaxy Nexus, with its 4.65-inch 1,280x720-pixel-resolution Super AMOLED display, showed the best screen performance of the bunch, showcasing saturated colors, deep blacks, and excellent off-angle views. The HTC One X (4.7-inch 1,280x720-pixel Super LCD2) was close behind with bright whites, wide viewing angles, and natural colors.

The Xperia S's screen lacks contrast and displays muted colors.

Interface
At launch, the Sony Xperia S initially ran Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Thanks to a recent update, though, the handset now features the more modern Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Sure, it isn't the latest Google can offer, namely Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but the Xperia's fresh infusion of software helps the phone feel new and improved.

In addition to app shortcuts and widgets, you can create and add folders to any of the Xperia's five home screens. Near Field Communication (NFC) is also fully supported by Android 4.0, in a feature from Google called Android Beam, which lets you transfer pictures and other files to compatible phones wirelessly just by bumping them together.

Software and apps
A dual-core 1.5GHz processor coupled with 1GB of RAM drives the Sony Xperia S' Android 4.0 OS. The Xperia also provides the typical Android features such as support for Google services such as Gmail, Maps, Navigation (using the handset's GPS hardware), and Google+ social networking.

Sony also has loaded its own Timescape app, which aggregates updates from your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Proving this device was originally meant for global markets, there's an Xperia Football Downloads app to fulfill your craving for soccer-themed ringtones and wallpapers.

Other interesting software includes a Power Saver app designed to conserve battery life, and NeoReader for scanning bar codes. If you're not satisfied with the Xperia's standard loadout of applications, plenty more are ready for download via the Google Play Android marketplace.

Sony music and video
Sony makes sure to highlight the Xperia S' strong ties to its vast library of entertainment content. Specifically, the Xperia S comes with Sony's Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited digital storefronts installed. Once you create a Sony Entertainment Network account, these applications let you rent and buy movies and TV shows, plus download and stream audio tracks right from the device.

The Unlimited app offers movies and TV shows for rental or purchase.

One big caveat is that while Sony's selection of movies and music is large, there doesn't seem to be a way to browse the entire library of content online. I could only find a few movies and audio tracks to examine listed under what was most popular. To actually add Sony media to my Xperia S test unit, I needed to sift through music and video using the phone-based app. Prices for what Sony offers seems reasonable though, movie rentals cost $2.99 to rent (24 hours) and $14.99 to buy. Video quality, however, is limited to standard definition and not HD.

Sony splits its Music Unlimited into two plan tiers, premium and basic. Costing $9.99 per month, the premium subscription provides on-demand playback of any track in Sony's library, offline storage of playlists you create, and specially curated stations crafted by Sony staff.

Camera
Just like the Sony Xperia Ion, the Xperia S packs a 12-megapixel camera with LED flash. A nimble performer, the phone snapped images quickly, in less than a second. Again like the Ion, however, the Xperia S captured pictures that were soft and had color noise and artifacts that I particularly noticed in low light. Images the Xperia S took of an indoor still life were dark, grainy, and drab.

Indoor still-life shots were dark and soft.

Outdoors in plenty of sunlight, the phone captured images with brighter colors though details still had a flat character. Video quality of 1080p HD movies I shot outside had the same mushy quality with soft details and washed-out color. Motion though was smooth and I didn't experience any stuttering or jerkiness.

This shot in the park could have been sharper.

In bright sun light, colors perked up.

I do appreciate the Xperia S' extensive camera settings. You'll find a wide range of capture modes including several panorama functions, smile detection, and available resolutions starting at 2MP and topping out at 12MP.

Pressing down the dedicated shutter button fires up the Xperia S' camera even when the phone is asleep. Using the button to wake the camera also immediately snaps a picture for fast capture. You can disable this function, though, if you just want to rely on the button to jump to the camera.

Performance
The Sony Xperia S runs a previous-gen 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor backed up by 1GB of RAM, the same as its Xperia Ion counterpart on AT&T. Because of this it came as no surprise the phone coughed up a slow Linpack (Multi-Thread) score of 81.4 MFLOPs completed in a long 3.24 seconds.

Smartphones powered by the newer S4 chip such as the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S 3 (also 1.5GHz dual-core CPUs) turned in faster performance. The HTC One X notched a much higher 170.2 MFLOPs in a third of the time, or 0.99 second. Samsung's powerhouse handset, the Galaxy S 3, came out ahead of both, with an impressive 175.7 MFLOPs in 0.96 second.

As an unlocked GSM device supporting GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900), UMTS, and HSPA ( 850, 900, 1900, 2100) bands and protocols, the unlocked Sony Xperia S is limited to 3G. Connected to AT&T's GSM network in New York, I recorded average download speeds of 2.23Mbps. Uploads were more of a mixed bag, with throughput hovering around 0.9Mbps but speeds dropping as low as 0.1Mbps.

The Xperia S served up pleasing call quality in my tests. In New York and connected to AT&T's voice network, callers reported my voice to be warm and with a good touch of bass. That said, they could definitely tell I was calling from a mobile phone, but it wasn't immediately apparent. On my end, the phone piped clear, hiss-free audio through the earpiece. The Xperia S, however, didn't get terribly loud even at its maximum setting. My voice when heard through the speakerphone did have some warbles and volume on my side lacked much punch.

Powered by its 1,700mAh battery, the Sony Xperia S turned in solid battery life. In anecdotal testing, the phone played an HD video file continuously for 6 hours and 51 minutes. That beats the HTC One X's time of 6 hours and 35 minutes performing the same task.

Conclusion
I have to say I had high hopes for the Sony Xperia S. Its aggressive futuristic style will certainly turn heads, something few smartphones are capable of. There are risks to pushing the design envelope, however, and the Xperia S stumbles in places. Its capacitive buttons are tricky to operate and the phone's illuminated band may be slickly distinctive but is more style than substance. At $459.99, the Xperia S is pricey, too, regardless of its unlocked and carrier-unsubsidized status. A better option for an unlocked Android device is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Not only does it offer a recent upgrade to Android 4.0 Jelly Bean, it has a better screen and smoother performance, and can be found for about $420. Still, the Xperia S isn't without its merits, particularly the phone's strong ties to Sony's music and video library. That said, unless there's a particular title you're dying to watch, the beauty of the Sony Xperia S is skin-deep.

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1. To Root, or not to Root?

Rooting your Android smartphone might seem like a daunting task, but we'll show you how to make the process as easy and painless as possible.
Zoom
Rooting your Android phone enables you to use the superuser, or root, permissions of the Linux-based operating system (OS). This gives you and apps that take advantage of the root permissions more control over the Android operating system and the device. Rooting can be entertaining for techies, but there are also plenty of practical benefits.
Keep in mind, there are numerous phone models out there that use the Android operating system. When I say Android phone in this article, I mean any phone manufacturer/model that uses the operating system; it doesn’t have to be labeled an “Android phone”.
Unlike jailbreaking (equivalent to rooting) an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you can search for and download apps that require rooting directly from the official Android Market. The official market is generally more secure and contains less malware than some other third-party markets and other websites. In contrast, Apple doesn’t allow apps that require jailbreaking to be listed in the App Store.
Before rooting, you should understand the two main risks. For starters, rooting can void your phone’s factory and/or service provider warranty in many cases. However, most rooting applications and methods can be easily reverted. Additionally, if the rooting process doesn’t complete correctly it could damage the software. This would require a factory recover, causing all data on the phone (contacts, apps, media) to be lost, or it may even render your device useless, to the point where it can’t be saved unless examined by a technician. However, if you follow the instructions for the rooting method you use carefully, you shouldn’t have a problem. Of course, before attempting any sort of root or jailbreak, make sure your phone’s data is backed up.

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Tudor Brown says at the age of 53 he thought it was "time to move aside for some younger people"

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When Tudor Brown stepped down as president of ARM Holdings earlier this month, he left behind one of Britain's and indeed the world's, most successful technology companies.

The designs it produces have been licensed and used to build processors at the heart of many of today's bestselling gadgets.

Samsung's Galaxy phones and tablets, Amazon's Kindle e-readers, Nintendo's 3DS hand-held games consoles and Canon's cameras are just some some of the products to use its chip architecture.

October's release of an ARM-compatible Windows system and new super-low powered microprocessors point to further growth.

But looking back, Mr Brown is first to admit that his time at ARM was not all rosy.

"All of ARM's early products failed commercially," he tells the BBC.

"There's a long list of them: the Acorn machine, the Apple Newton, the 3DO multi-player - the world's first CD-based games console - there were a whole bunch of things like that."
From Archimedes to Apple
Mr Brown's involvement with ARM predates its existence to 1983 when he was employed as an engineer at Acorn Computers. The firm was riding high off the launch of the BBC Micro and had asked him to help evaluate processors from Intel and Motorola for follow-up products.

He recommended it develop its own RISC-based processors - what were to become the first ARM (Acorn RISC Machines) chips.

But the project was hamstrung by the fact it took four years to develop the computer that ran them, the Acorn Archimedes.

The Acorn Archimedes featuring the ARM2 chip launched in June 1987

"By that time Acorn wasn't able to aim at industry because the PC was getting a foothold, so it was forced into the education market again," Mr Brown says.

"It just wasn't big enough to sustain Acorn as a company, which is why it kept on going bust."

Mr Brown says it was around this time Apple first started showing interest in the ARM technology. The US firm initially rejected it because it viewed Acorn as a competitor.

But after an aborted effort to use a product from the telecoms firm AT&T, it returned in 1990 seeking help to build the Newton, the world's first PDA (personal digital assistant).

The two companies agreed to create a joint venture - ARM Holdings - but once again success proved elusive.

"Newton launched in 1992 and it was another commercial flop," says Mr Brown.

"It was way ahead of its time, it was too big, it was too slow, its handwriting technology didn't work. The sort of vision of what it was supposed to be was remarkably close to what the iPhone is today... but the technology wasn't fast enough for the time."
Rise of the mobile

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

The profit margin we make out of every chip that is sold is tiny, but our business model allows our partners to ship an awful lot of chips”

End Quote Tudor Brown Former president, ARM Holdings

Mr Brown notes that the device may have failed, but the cash Apple later made from selling its shares in the firm proved useful.

"[It] sort of rescued Apple financially, and a few years later Apple started using ARM technology in the iPod, and eventually that same technology got transferred into the iPhone and iPad."

ARM itself was also shaped by the failed project in ways that would serve it well later: a focus on low-power usage which forced it engineers to aim for a "simplicity and elegance" of design.

Its fortunes turned when designs based on those principles were used by Texas Instruments to build chips powering Nokia's GSM phones.

Their popularity helped propel ARM to a successful stock market flotation in 1998, linking its fortunes to those of the mobile industry. But it always had wider ambitions.

"If you look at our marketing material right back to the IPO days we were saying that ARM technology is applicable to a wide range of products - TVs, disk drives and cars," says Mr Brown.
Internet of things
Those products may have accounted for a smaller proportion of ARM's business than expected, but the firm now believes that much of its future growth will come from microprocessors based on its new super-energy "Flycatcher" designs.

Apple helped create ARM Holdings to build a chip for its ill-fated Newton

These are targeted at connecting things like fridges, medical equipment and energy meters to the net.

"The internet of things will start to see appreciable volumes in about 2015," says Mr Brown.

"It's starting to get there because ARM technology is getting so small and so cheap at the bottom end of the scale.

"A few months ago we brought out our smallest ever product, the Cortex-M0+.

"I did a quick sum on the numbers being presented and it told me it could run at a reasonable speed for 20 years on a single AA battery. That enables a whole bunch of things that wouldn't otherwise be possible."
Avoiding factories
There is an obvious temptation for ARM to want to make such devices rather than rely on royalty and licence fees, but Mr Brown says it would be wise to resist.

"It's often discussed, but dismissed in the same vein fairly quickly," he says.

"I've always said it's not the technology that's driving this company forward, it's the business model that's put ARM where it is today.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

There's no question right now we are living through a patent bubble and the valuations that are being paid for these patent portfolios don't really bear sense”

End Quote Tudor Brown Former president, ARM Holdings

"Yes, the profit margin we make out of every chip that is sold is tiny, but our business model allows our partners to ship an awful lot of chips."

He adds that he thinks Britain's days as a "strong" manufacturer are behind it, but admits the picture becomes more complicated when it comes to trying to map ARM's success to the wider economy.

"There is manufacturing in this country, but the psyche of the British people with its chaos and flair means we are quite good at inventing things but not so good at doing things repetitively," he says.

"If I look at wealth creation, then the UK should be doing the kind of things we're doing - the high-end high-value stuff.

"But if I look at employment, it's a rather more difficult story, because obviously a company as successful as ARM only employs about 1,000 people in this country."
'Patent bubble'
As a business that does not physically produce any goods, ARM relies on its intellectual property rights. But Mr Brown sounds dismayed by the rising number of patent lawsuits and portfolio sales.

"There's no question right now we are living through a patent bubble and the valuations that are being paid for these patent portfolios don't really bear sense," he says.

"It doesn't seem sort of fair and it's hurting people.

"ARM has spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing technology, and we should be able to protect it... so in that sense patents are essential and sometimes you have to fight in court.

ARM only charges a 13-20p fee for each microcontroller based on its Flycatcher design, but believes billions may be built

"But that's quite different from some of the perceived values of these portfolios being sold around."

Some analysts have suggested that ARM's rich patent portfolio could make ultimately make it a takeover target.

After Hewlett Packard's acquisition of another UK tech giant, software firm Autonomy, last year there has been speculation that the chip designer could be bought by one of its clients.

But as he walks away from the firm, Mr Brown says he is hopeful it will remain independent.

"ARM is a completely unusual company, it relies on being at the hub of this complex ecosystem that we've built," he says.

"We'll happily license any company our technology for a few million dollars while it would cost them several billion dollars to buy us. We can't really see the industrial logic of why anyone would want to buy us.

"But you can never say never, some wild things can happen."

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