Sony Xperia Z1 f (Mini) official: Snapdragon 800 and 20.7MP camera inside a bite sized shell

Tales of a smaller, more easily pocketable Sony Xperia Z1 have been rumored around the internet almost as long as the full sized model. This Sony Xperia Z1 Mini as it was known (Honami Mini) was said to be big on specs, while small in overall stature. Today, during the same NTT DoCoMo event that confirmed the Samsung Galaxy J, the Sony Xperia Z1 f (Mini) too was finally announced, arriving on the Japanese carrier later this year.

The Z1 f features the same metal frame as its larger sibling, sandwiched between 2 layers of silky smooth glass. The phone will be available in 4 colors at launch: black, white, pink, and yellow, with a size only a hair larger than that of the Motorola Moto X. Where the Moto X arguably skimped on specs, the Z1 f goes all out, coming in hot with the same powerful Snapdragon 800 processor and 20.7MP Exmor RS as the big Z1. Sony pulled no punches when it came to this phone.

Sony Xperia Z1 f

• 4.3-inch 720p X-Reality Triluminos display
• 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB internal storage/micro SD card slot
• 20.7/2.2MP camera
• 2,300mAh battery
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Dimensions: 127mm × 65mm, 9.4mm thick
• Water/dust proof
• NFC

The Z1 f isn’t due out in Japan until late December, so there’s no telling when (or even if) this little device will ever make its way to other markets. With the current trend of “bigger means better” Android devices, the world could use a few more high-powered petite devices like the Sony Xperia Z1 f.

It’s crazy to think that it was only a few years ago that the 4.3-inch form factor was once considered “large”. How far we’ve come. If you want to see the Sony Xperia Z1 f in action, Sony’s promo video can be found below. Spoiler: there’s dinosaurs.

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EA closes North Carolina studio

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One of the many caveats to working in the video game industry these days is that mass layoffs and studio closings have become all too common: and neither small nor multi-million dollar companies are completely safe from the sways of the industry’s constant changes and demands. So it is with a heavy heart that we here at Gamezebo have to announce today that Electronic Arts has made the decision to close down its North Carolina studio, which operated under EA’s “All Play” label and worked on casual and free-to-play mobile games.

Samsung goes gold with the Galaxy S 4

Samsung has gone gold. Well, specifically, they have gone gold with the Galaxy S 4. Coming by way of the Samsung Mobile Arabia Twitter account, we are seeing the announcement for the new Galaxy S 4 Gold Edition. The announcement comes along with a bit about how “elegance is a touch of Gold” and about how this handset will bring a “style that’s uniquely yours.”

That being said, aside from the few images and the few teaser lines that were posted, the details are on the light side. For one, we have yet to see anything suggesting that Samsung would have the Gold Edition Galaxy S 4 available on a global scale. This could be a release that stays in the Middle East. Needless to say, even we cannot help but notice the timing. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago when Apple came forward with the gold iPhone 5s.

HTC One Developer Edition Receiving Android 4.3 This Week

After deciding that the Android 4.2.2 update was too minor to worry about here in the States, HTC will go ahead and push Android 4.3 to the HTC One Developer Edition this week. Jason Mackenzie, HTC’s president of global sales, took to Twitter this afternoon to announce the news. The update will include the latest Sense 5 experience, along with a number of Android enhancements (notification toggles for one) that were introduced in 4.2.

Google Music v5.1.1109K Removes SD Card Support Hack, Adds Very Little

So, there's this extremely minor Google Music update floating around in the "rollout" ether that will take you from 5.1.1107K to 5.1.1109K. I poked around in it and found a few boring changes related to Chromecasting, but the "new feature" that some people will really notice is the removal of the SD card hack we told you about last month.

[APK] Download Google+ 4.1 With Swipe-Down-To-Refresh, Drive Photos, Easy Account Switching, Better Location Sharing, And More

Earlier today, Google announced a pretty significant update to the Google+ app for Android. Version 4.1, which follows 4.0.2, brought the following new features:

NVIDIA SHIELD software update rolling out now, fixes audio lag when game streaming and other bugs

Owners of the NVIDIA Shield are being greeted with yet another over-the-air update, this time in the form of a 402.6MB software update to address audio latency issues. Apparently some users have been reporting audio that was delayed and not syncing properly with the visuals when game streaming from a GeForce equipped PC. Aside from the usual bug fixes and enhancements, this update 51 should patch up that audio problem nicely.

When it comes to niche devices like the NVIDIA Shield, prompt software updates help ease our concerns that the device would suffer in the support department. If you have a Shield and have yet to receive your update, you can check for one manually by jumping into your Settings app > About Shield > and selecting System Updates.

Anyone out there purchase a Shield? If so, let us know how the handheld and the update is treating you.

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