At the start of the year, we reported on a number of Sony Xperia smartphones and accessories supporting NFC (Near Field Communication). In that article, we also looked at NFC technology in more detail, provided some use cases, and explained how we work with NFC. And in that time, we’ve introduced even more NFC-supported smartphones. Read on to get the full list and a general recap of what NFC is all about.
This spring, we introduced a brand new technology called Floating touch in Xperia sola. This unique user experience lets you control parts of the user interface (UI) by simply letting your finger hover above the touchscreen. And with the release of the new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update, a Floating touch API is now available. This means you can add Floating touch™ support to your apps! To learn more about this, check out the Floating Touch API tutorial made by Andreas Sandblad, Software Architect at Sony. You’ll get all the details about this API plus a code example, which will enable you to get an innovative edge on your competition!
![Floating touch™ API now available [code example + tutorial]](http://developer-static.se-mc.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/10/FloatingTouch_660x3841-220x128.jpg)
Xperia™ sola is the first smartphone to introduce a brand new touch sensor technology called Floating touch. This unique feature lets you control parts of the user interface (UI) by simply letting your finger hover above the touch screen. And with the latest Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update for Xperia™ sola, the API for Floating touch™ is now available, so that you can add Floating touch™ to your apps and allow users to control app actions through finger hovering. This makes it possible to interact with the UI in many new ways! We asked Andreas Sandblad, Software Architect at Sony, to explain the API in detail. Read further to get more information plus code example.
Have you heard of our new feature called Extended Standby Mode, which became available for Xperia P earlier this autumn? With Extended Standby Mode, you can increase your standby time with up to four times. Now it reaches Xperia U, Xperia sola and Xperia go with the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) software upgrade, and we thought we would give you some more details about how Extended Standby Mode really works, and how much power you can save. Read more after the jump!
![Learn about Extended Standby Mode, Sony’s new power save feature [video]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/XM2fSp1_XuM/0.jpg)
If you’ve ever tried to use your smartphone in the freezing cold, no doubt you’ve had to take your gloves off in order to use it. Or maybe you’ve spent money on special smartphone gloves with finger flaps. Well, keep your money, stick to your old gloves and wave goodbye those cold fingers! With the new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update for Xperia™ sola, you’ll find a new feature called glove mode, which is an extension of the Floating touch technology. As you might guess, this makes it possible to use the touch screen even though you’re wearing gloves. In this article, we explain the benefits of glove mode, and talk to Andreas Sandblad at Sony, who’s the inventor of this technology. Read on for the full story!
![ICS update lets you use Xperia™ sola with your gloves on [video]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/7AgnO6Vvcos/0.jpg)
Right now (or pretty soon, depending on your market), the Xperia™ sola, Xperia™ P and Xperia™ U are available to buy around the world. These smartphones are powered by the NovaThor™ U8500 platform from ST-Ericsson, which is the first OpenGL ES 2.0 conformant, multi-core GPU that provides 2D and 3D acceleration with performance scalable up to 1080p resolutions. In this article, we’ll explain why the NovaThor™ U8500 will give you the same level of CPU performance as from a larger and faster uni-processor CPU while using less power. You’ll also get some pretty interesting insights in what the specs mean for app developers. Read on to find out more.
See the magic happen in the floating touch video.
The new Xperia™ sola announced earlier today, includes a brand new touch sensor technology, called floating touch™, that lets you interact with the phone without even touching it. This unique user experience never seen on a smartphone before lets you control parts of the user interface (UI) by simply letting your finger hover above the screen. At launch, this feature is implemented in the web browser. Floating touch™ enables the phone to register your finger up to 20mm above the screen. This makes it possible to detect not only the screen coordinates that you are pointing at, but also your finger’s distance from the screen. Erik Hellman, research engineer at Sony Mobile and one of the inventors of the technology, explains more after the jump.
![Imagine controlling your phone without touching the screen – floating touch makes it possible [video]](http://developer-static.se-mc.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/03/floatingfeatured-220x163.jpg)
Today marks the debut of the Xperia™ sola, the newest addition to the 2012 line up of Sony Xperia™ smartphones. Xperia™ sola introduces a cool new feature never before seen in any smartphone – floating touch™ technology, which lets you (among other things) browse through your favourite links without even touching the screen. Read more about Xperia™ sola’s floating touch feature, plus the full phone specs, after the jump.
![Newest Sony smartphone announced – Xperia sola, bringing magical floating touch technology [video]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/9Q73bHn9xus/0.jpg)
