Leaked renders purport to show Sony Xperia SL's fresh coat of paint

Sony's IFA 2012 line-up has been subject to some major leakage over the past couple of weeks. We've already seen leaked photos and spec sheets for the international Xperia GX (LT29i Hayabusa), the Xperia J and the Xperia Tablet, and now it's the turn of the "Xperia SL."

As previously rumored, the SL seems to be an Xperia S with a fresh coat of paint and a shiny new CPU. In addition to the black and white exteriors used by the Xperia S, the SL brings silver and pink to the table. And the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 powering the S is clocked up to 1.7GHz in the SL. Essentially, it's a spec bump similar to the move from the Xperia Arc to Xperia Arc S in late 2011. There's also a fairly important software change, too -- the SL runs Andorid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box.

The images above (and the couple more after the break) have appeared over on Chinese site ePrice, along with specs for the rumored device. They're unconfirmed at this point, but ePrice has proved fairly accurate at sniffing out unreleased Sony phones in the past.

Anyone tempted by this re-vamped Xperia S? Let us know in the comments.

Source: ePrice; via: XperiaBlog

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Fresh Galaxy Note 2 rumors suggest IFA launch, 5.5-inch screen

The Samsung Galaxy Note is one of the surprise success stories of the past year, and as a successful product, it's no surprise to see rumors of successor circulating. The latest Galaxy Note 2 reports give some pause for thought, however. Korean news site MK says it's talked with "an official familiar with Samsung's product development," and is claiming to have details of the next Galaxy Note, including some tentative hardware specs, and news that it'll launch at this year's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany.

The IFA news isn't too surprising when you consider that's where the original Note made its debut in 2011. But the reported spec list makes for tantalizing reading -- a 5.5-inch screen, quad-core CPU and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean are all claimed for the Galaxy Note 2. And there's the suggestion that the camera may be upgraded to a 12 or 13MP unit, compared to the 8MP sensor in the original Note. Interestingly, Samsung's thinner, lighter Unbreakable Plane (UBP) display tech will apparently not be debuting in the next Galaxy Note, with the manufacturer instead opting to save it for the next major product, MK says.

If the Note 2 does launch at IFA, we can probably expect a Q4 international release, which would tie in with MK's? reports that the new phone-tablet hybrid will be positioned to compete against Apple's next iPhone.

Given the popularity of the original Note, a successor was always going to be on the cards, and everything MK? is reporting certainly sounds feasible. Whatever Samsung shows at IFA this August, we'll be there to bring you full, live coverage

Source: MK.co.kr

Sky Go for Android gets fresh on-demand content, ICS support inbound

British broadcaster Sky has announced some major updates to its Sky Go streaming application for Android. The update adds on-demand streaming of Sky Movies content, and "popular entertainment channels" including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living and Sky Arts 1. The new channel listing brings the Sky Go Android app up to par with its iOS cousin. There are also additional account controls built into the new app, which allow customers to view their Sky package and monthly bills.

Compatibility is still an issue, as Sky's been slow to test and certify new devices (likely due to licensing restrictions rather than the broadcaster's own intransigence.) Right now official support is only available for the HTC Desire, Desire S, Desire HD, Incredible, Sensation, Sensation XE, as well as Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy S II. And they're only supported on Android 2.2 and 2.3, so you're SOL once you get that long-awaited ICS update.

In any case, Sky says a future update, due by the end of July, will add support for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Note. There's no word on Jelly Bean support, though right now the app refuses to install on our Nexus 7 and I/O edition Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Note, it seems, is currently supported, according to the Google Play Store listing.

If you're a Sky subscriber, hit the comments and let us know how you're getting on with the new version. We've got Sky's press release after the break.

Download: Sky Go

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