John had Paul, George has Gilbert, and The Captain had Tennille. Pairs can be quite magical. Just watch D-Wade and The King do a double
alley-oop in a heated NBA playoff game against their nemesis The Celtics. One here at last on the ground, the other in mid-air. Like Batman and Blake in The Dark Knight Rises.
For a long, long time, my Sony Walkman and I were inseparable. Two first cassette tapes bought: “Kiss Alive II” and Van Halen’s first album. I wore out the spools on those bad boys trying — and epically failing — to learn guitar parts by Ace and Eddie. Then it became the Discman. Irreplaceable. Well, until it got stolen in my apartment along with my Roxy Music CD. (I hope the burglar wakes up one day being trampled upon by Brian Eno’s elevator boots from the ’70s, that’s his oblique strategies trump card.)
Nowadays, paradigms have shifted, the center cannot hold, and gazillions of gadgets grapple for our attention.
Sony, I was happy to find out, is still hot with pairings — specifically the Sony Xperia handset.
Sony Philippines head of mobile business Patrick Larraga says, “Sony Xperia offers a suite of connectivity options that enable easy sharing of pictures, videos and other user content between a mobile phone and another accessory” — allowing users to play Lennon and Macca with technology. You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead…
“We want to highlight the way our devices can communicate with one another,” he explains. “And how flawlessly this communication can happen between these devices. How appropriate this is during this (yuletide) season when people do a lot of sharing.”
He adds that the brand is extending the concept of sharing to not just gift-giving. “It’s basically sharing content — phone to phone, phone to your accessory. It’s the power of shared experience.”
Sony Xperia’s repertoire of promos and deals emphasize the themes of sharing, while building on the signature Sony Xperia experience through its latest series of smartphones — the Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia sola, Xperia U, and Xperia J, among others.
Several of the new Sony Xperia smartphones, according to Larraga, now employ Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allows one to share content to another NFC-enabled device just by touching them together or bringing both into close proximity with each other. “With NFC, you can experience the power of Sony’s One Touch, which is what our holiday offerings are all about. All it takes is a ‘tap’ or a ‘touch’ to send or receive content.”
It’s all about synergy and interconnectivity.
“As we say in Sony, one plus one equals three,” he quips.
Patrick and his team talk about the apps and accessories that would allow devices to “talk” to one another, thereby maximizing the functionality of each component.
There is the Sony SmartWatch, a watch that reads e-mails, SMS and other notifications in one swipe. It allows easy access to Facebook and Twitter, so the user can stay connected with friends anytime of the day.
There is the Sony SmartTag, which is something that “simplifies life with just one touch.” It activates apps and lets the user share easily with the help of NFC.
There is the Sony Smart Wireless Headset Pro, which takes calls and receives e-mail, Facebook or Twitter notifications on its OLED display. Lucky dude or dudette can even listen to FM radio (Dig!) and stream music from one’s Android smartphone. This baby can store up to 2 gigabytes of music.
Maybe listen to Van Halen or KISS again.
Wax nostalgic.
And what an Xperia that would be.
* * *
The smartphones and accessories are available at Xperia concept stores: Metro Manila — Glorietta, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Midtown, SM Fairview, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, and SM North EDSA; Luzon — SM Bacoor, SM Baguio, and SM San Fernando; Visayas — Ayala Center Cebu, and SM Cebu; and Mindanao — Abreeza Davao, and Gaisano Mall Davao.