At its Demand Great event in New York today, Sony Mobile announced the Xperia Z3v, the US version of its flagship smartphone coming to Verizon on October 23.
The $199 Z3v packs a 5.2-inch 1080p display and 20.7MP rear camera. The device is waterproof, and, starting in November, it will offer PlayStation 4 Remote Play support, either through touchscreen controls or paired with a DualShock controller.
Sony rekindled its relationship with Verizon earlier this year by launching the Xperia Z2 Tablet. Customers that purchase the tablet and phone together can save $200 for a limited time. Also in October, Verizon will begin selling the SmartWatch 3 . Once the page is live later today, you can register with Verizon for information about pre-ordering the phone.
Check out TNW’s Xperia Z3 review for more information on the international version of Sony’s latest high-end smartphone.
OnePlus’ latest product is a palm-sized drone
Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus picked a great day to launch an unexpected product. The DR-1 is a tiny quadrocopter that you can pilot with an included remote for a bit of fun.
The company claims that the DR-1 is the smallest remote-controlled drone in the world. It can fly for about eight minutes on a 20-minute charge, and can perform four-axis flips on command.
An April Fool’s Day prank and a real product in equal measure, the DR-1 is available in limited quantities via OnePlus’ site for $19.99.
You can’t buy it through OnePlus’ online store for India, but you can enter a giveaway to get your hands on one via the company’s local Facebook page .
➤ OnePlus DR-1
Sony’s new Xperia C3 smartphone wants to help you take the best selfies ever
A smartphone that’s optimized to help you take the best selfies ever — that’s how Sony is positioning its latest device, the Xperia C3, which it launched today .
What is notable is that the Xperia C3 comes equipped with a five-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera that allows you to capture more in the frame, as well as a Superior Auto Mode that adjusts pictures automatically for suitable lighting conditions. There is also an auto scene recognition function, which works together with HDR and LED flash for optimal lighting in your selfies.
To complement its selfie focus, the Xperia C3 comes loaded with selfie camera apps. AR Effect lets you add graphics and animations to your selfie pictures and videos, while Portrait Retouch gives a makeover of up to two people per image from 10 different beauty styles, frame options and eye pattern changes. Timeshift-burst lets you capture 31 frames in two seconds so you can choose the best-looking image to put up on your social networks.
The 5.5-inch device, which comes with a 720p HD IPS display, is just 7.6mm thin and weighs a mere 150g. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, comes with 1GB of RAM and features a battery stamina mode that helps you to save on battery drain by detecting when you’re not using your display and automatically turning off the functions you don’t need . As for the rear-facing camera, the Xperia C3 has an eight-megapixel snapper featuring SteadyShot to help shoot smoother videos.
The Xperia C3 also includes support for 4G networks and dual SIM cards. The device will be launching globally some time next month, starting with China first.
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