Sony today announced two new Xperia Android smartphones designed specifically for the Japanese market – the Xperia GX and Xperia SX. Both Xperia GX and Xperia SX are the first Sony smartphones with 4G LTE support with download speeds of up to 75mbps. These handsets also come with 1.5GHz dual core processors, Reality Display powered by the Mobile BRAVIA Engine, full HD video and Sony Exmor R camera.

Key features of Xperia GX are:

• 4.6” Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine for razor-sharp clarity.
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor for faster performance.
• 16GB internal flash storage.
• 13MP camera with Sony Exmor R for mobile, HD video recording, and Sony technology to take 3D panoramic images.
• Launching on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
• Available in white and black.

Key features of Xperia SX are:

• World’s lightest LTE smartphone, weighing only 95g.
• 3.7” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine.
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor for faster performance.
• 8GB internal flash storage.
• 8MP camera with Sony Exmor R for mobile, HD video recording, and Sony technology to take 3D panoramic images.
• Japanese specific features such as infrared port data exchange, mobile wallet and mobile TV.
• Launching on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
• Available in black and white

Sony Xperia GX and Xperia SX will be available in Japan this summer. No word on pricing yet.

Digitimes is reporting that Apple has placed manufacturing orders for next generation iPhone and a new 10-inch iPad model to Pegatron technology. Monica Chen posted:

Pegatron Technology reportedly has landed orders for a new-generation iPhone to be launched in September and a 10-inch iPad to be launched in the fourth quarter, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. Pegatron is currently an OEM for the iPhone 4S and new iPad.

Pegatron has already finished expanding its equipment and labor force for Apple's orders.

Pegatron first got iPhone manufacturing orders from Apple when CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon was launch. Since then Pegatron has become Apple’s second major manufacturing partner after Foxconn. So it’s very likely that they will be playing a role in manufacturing of next generation iPhone. However, we haven’t heard anything about a 10-inch iPad that will be launched in Q4 2012. Also, it’s very unlikely that Apple will launch a 10-inch model when they are already shipping two 9.7-inch models, as the difference in screen size is very little to justify a completely new product.

Micron today announced development of its first fully functional DDR4 DRAM module. Codeveloped by Nanya and based on Micron's 30-nanometer (nm) technology, the 4-gigabit (Gb) DDR4 x8 part is the first piece of what is expected to be the industry's most complete portfolio of DDR4-based modules, which will include RDIMMs, LRDIMMs, 3DS, SODIMMs and UDIMMs (standard and ECC). For the soldered down space, x8, x16, and x32 components will also be available, with initial speeds up to 2400 megatransfers per second (MT/s), increasing to the JEDEC-defined 3200 MT/s.

Micron has begun sampling and has received feedback from major customers to support quick implementation for applications in 2013. According to Micron, the new DDR4 memory will not only be beneficial for server and workstation market because of its data transfer speeds, but will also be great for ultrathin laptops and tablets as it will consume less power than memory modules based on DDR2 and DDR3 standards.

Olympus today introduced new Olympus TG-1 iHS camera, a waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, crushproof and dustproof Tough Series compact camera. The TG-1 iHS is worlds first compact rugged camera with high speed bright f2.0 lens. It is Waterproof to 40 feet, Shockproof to 6.6 feet, Freezeproof to 14°F and even Crushproof to a weight of 220 pounds. Other features of the camera include 12-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, TruePic VI image processor, 4x optical Zoom, 1080p full HD video recording, 3-inch OLED screen and 30 different scenes including Night, Sport, Beach, Snow, Underwater and Backlight HDR.

Olympus has also released a Teleconverter Lens for that camera that extends the 4x zoom to 6.8x. The camera has built-in GPS and e.compass functions for location and landmark information recording with every image. The Olympus TG-1 iHS will be available in June priced $399.99.

We have all seen our smartphone and tablet screens fade out as soon as we step outdoors. In some cases it’s almost unreadable outdoors even though these devices are designed to be used on the go. To find out which smartphones and tablets worked better (were more readable) in high ambient lighting DisplayMate tested 4 tablets and 5 smartphones. The test were done inside an Integrating Hemisphere using a powerful light source that uniformly illuminates the displays from all directions from 0 lux (Absolute Darkness) up through 40,000 lux (Indirect Sunlight), which is very bright.

On the tablet side, DisplayMate tested Galaxy Tab 10.1, iPad 2, Kindle Fire and Motorola Xoom. While on the smartphone side they tested Nokia Lumia 900 Samsung Galaxy S, iPhone 4, Motorola Droid X and HTC Desire. All devices showed decreased viewability in high ambient lighting, but tablets performed worst than most smartphones. DisplayMate concluded the results by saying:

The DisplayMate Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light for the displays ranges from a low of 15 (HTC Desire) to a high of 90 (Nokia Lumia 900). From both the Lab Measurements and the Screen Shot Viewing Tests (below) the top performing device for display viewability under Bright Ambient Lighting is the Nokia Lumia 900. This results from a combination of its high screen Brightness and low screen Reflectance, which Nokia calls ClearBlack technology. The Samsung Galaxy S and Apple iPhone 4 are tied for second place. The best Tablets all performed a notch below the Smartphones – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was the leader, with the iPad 2 in second place. The new iPad (not included below) performs better than the iPad 2 and just behind the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The other Smartphones and Tablets performed well below these top models.

You can read the complete shootout results with detailed explanation on how each smartphone and tablet screen performed, and also see the master photo grid showing each device screen in various lighting conditions on DisplayMate’s website.

Nokia Beta Labs today launched City Lens for Windows Phone, an augmented reality app that overlays places to eat, tourist hotspots and points of interest on the phone’s camera display to help you find what you are looking for. You can simply click you chosen destination on the phone’s screen and it will give you walking directions, make a reservation for you or offer more details about the locale.

The application also has a sharing feature that allows you to share your find with your friends via social networks, SMS or email. The introductory video below gives a good idea about how the application works. Nokia City Lens is still in beta, so Nokia says, “we would love to receive your feedback about City Lens, including any enhancements that would help make it a better product.”

A developer, who submitted a suggestion for multi-user support in iOS to Apple’s Bug Reporter system, got a surprising email back from Apple saying the issue is “currently being investigated”. Developers can not only use the Bug Report system in iOS for submitting bugs, but also for making suggestions for new features in iOS.

This developer simply suggested that Apple add support for multiple users to the iPad operating system so that various people in a family can use the device. To his request Apple replied “After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering.”

The developer told AppleInsider “they have often used Apple's Bug Reporter to submit requests for new features. However, this standard form letter is the first time that Apple has actually responded to such a submission from this particular developer”.

This email doesn’t mean that we will definitely get multi-user support in iOS 6, but it is a good indication that Apple is listening to developers and is ready to act on suggestions from developer community.

AT&T today launched Samsung’s first 4G LTE Windows Phone featuring 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen. This is the third 4G LTE Windows Phone on AT&T included the much hyped Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II. Main features of the Samsung Focus 2 are:

• 4-inch AMOLED screen (800 x 480)
• Windows Phone 7.5 operating system
• 5-megapixel back camera and VGA front camera
• 720p video recording
• 4G LTE support
• 8GB onboard memory and MicroSD card slot

Samsung Focus 2 will be available from AT&T beginning May 20 in pure white for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement.

Cult of Mac is reporting that they have heard from a reliable source who has seen the Apple TV prototype in action featuring current Cinema Display like design along with Siri and iSight camera. The website claims “Our source is well placed and has provided us with great tips in the past.” Leander Kahney wrote on Cult of Mac:

Our source claims to have seen a working prototype of the exact device Steve Jobs was talking about when he said he had “cracked TV.”

According to our source, the Apple TV looks a lot like Apple’s current lineup of Cinema Display monitors.

“It resembled an Apple monitor, only much larger,” our source said.

The Apple HDTV makes FaceTime calls using the built-in iSight camera. The camera is sophisticated, with facial recognition and the ability to zoom into the user’s face and follow them as they walk around the room. This allows users to make video calls from the couch across the room, rather than having to stand smack in front of the TV.

In addition, calls are initiated by Siri, the iPhone 4S’s virtual assistant. “[Apple] used Siri to make a FaceTime call,” the source said.

Cult of Mac didn’t get any other information about specs, user interface, pricing or launch schedule from their source. It will be really interesting if Apple bring FaceTime to the living room with their upcoming/rumored Apple TV.

Verizon and HTC announced today that the new Droid Incredible 4G LTE featuring the new HTC Sense 4.0 UI on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will be available in coming weeks. The main features of the LTE powered handset are:

• 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 4-inch super LCD qHD display
• 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, LED flash, BSI, f/2.2 and 28 mm lens
• Front-facing camera for video chatting with friends and family
• Integrated Beats Audio
• Mobile Hotspot capable to share 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices
• Support for up to 32 GB microSD memory card
• 1,700-mAh lithium ion removable battery

No word on pricing yet, but Verizon says Droid Incredible 4G LTE will soon be available in Verizon Stores and on Verizon’s website.