We’re heading back to Austin for SXSW 2018. Last year Xperia Touch was the star of the show, this time we’re packing an Xperia XZ1, 3D Creator and a robotic arm in our suitcases.

From Saturday 10^th until Tuesday 13^th March, Sony will host the ‘WOW Studio” inviting visitors to try out some of our most exciting prototypes and previously unseen tech, along with our popular 3D Creator feature.

Our 3D Creator showcase will bring the joy of 3D creation to each visitor as a robotic arm wielding an Xperia XZ1 will scan and create 3D renders of guests heads, who will each receive a video to view on their smartphones and share their experience.

State of the art VR technology will be on display as visitors have the chance to face off in a penalty shoot out against a world-class goalie. Festival-goers will even be able to star in their own movie as Sony’s Free-Viewpoint Visual Technology works to create 3D avatars for users to star as the lead in their very own short film.

Click here to find out more about Sony’s WOW Studio and our other exhibits.

The post Robotic Arms, VR football and movie magic: Sony is heading to SXSW 2018 appeared first on Sony Xperia Blog.

Source: Sony Mobile Blog
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So you’ve made it through month one of your New Year’s resolution to budget and save more money and now you’re wondering how you’ll make it to December…

Luckily, your smartphone is here to help. There are several top budgeting apps on Google Play to help take control of your spending and we thought we’d get you started with some of our favourites.

Mint

One of the highest rated budgeting apps on the market, Mint is a free money manager and budget tracking app that works to bring all of your bank accounts, bills, credits cards and savings together so you have a clear view of how your money is spent.

Their handy budgeting feature looks at where you spend your money and gives you the option to create your own budget plan or use one crafted by them. Mint can also remind you when a bill needs to be paid and can even schedule them for you, so no more overcharging for late payments. You’ll also have access to their free credit score check service and tips on how to improve it. If you’re also considering a life insurance plan, you can visit the life cover quotes website to compare quotes from multiple insurance providers in one place.
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Wally+

Wally+ is a personal finance app that helps you track income against expenses to understand where you money goes. It stores exact details of where and when you spent your money and unlike Mint, it gives you the option to add more detail into spending such as who you were with, the sentiment around the places you visit and even images of receipts.

Its location-based service automatically identifies and categorises places you’ve been and stores frequently visited locations for easy access next time you’re there. Notifications will also remind you of upcoming payments and when you have reached a savings goal.

A great app for someone looking to track details of their payments and to cut down on excessive spending.

YNAB

The only paid-for app to appear on our round up, You Need A Budget costs $6.99 a month (with the first 34 days free) and boldly claims that budgeters can save up to $600 by the second month and over $6,000 in the first year. Impressive stuff.

Users divide their income into separate pots (rent, household bills or entertainment) and works by accounting for every penny and letting customers to move money around depending on over or underspend.

It allows you to easily connect all bank accounts together and shares regular reports to keep you up to date on how your saving is going. Not one to shy away from fun, the platform also encourages users to save money each month for larger expenses such as holidays or birthday gifts.

Do you use your smartphone to save cash? Post your favourite apps in the comments or tweet us @SonyMobileNews

The post The top budgeting apps to keep saving on track appeared first on Sony Xperia Blog.

Source: Sony Mobile Blog
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Sketch is the social drawing app that, since 2014, has been the go-to application for millions of aspiring digital artists on Android. Now we’re excited to finally invite all creative iOS users out there to join in on the action.

With Sketch, users can create everything from professional art to simple sketches. The editor includes a number of brushes, tools, and features that help both beginners and experienced artists to create fantastic art. In the Sketch community users can share their sketches, and get both inspiration and recognition from other users. Every day more than 100,000 sketches are shared by the community.

It is available for free on the App Store now. If you haven’t already got it on Android, head to Google Play to download it now.

The post Sketch application by Sony: Now available on Apple App Store appeared first on Sony Xperia Blog.

Source: Sony Mobile Blog
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You’ve had a brilliant idea for an app, you’re really excited to get it off the ground, one catch, you’ve never coded in your life and the one time you thought you’d give it a go – it felt like a glitch in the Matrix.

Don’t worry, help is at hand – Tara Reed is the founder of Apps Without Code. Tara has a formidable tech background (Google, FourSquare, Microsoft) and has developed her own apps but never learnt to code herself, as we discovered that hasn’t held her back.

Tell us about Apps Without Code.

Apps Without Code is a global education company teaching entrepreneurs how to build profitable apps with limited resources. Our programs are kind of like business school for your start-up idea. We have students in 14 countries. And graduates of our programs have built really awesome apps and licensed them to companies like Coca-Cola or entire school districts in Florida.

How did you get started?

As a business, Apps Without Code sort of happened by accident. I built my first app, Kollecto (Netflix for affordable art), as a non-technical entrepreneur, stringing together a bunch of existing technologies, without writing a single line of code. We had some really great success — we raised $300,000 in investment, made $150,000 in revenue, and got into the 500 Startups accelerator, in less than a year. But as time went on, it was amazing how many aspiring entrepreneurs came to me asking, “How’d you do that?” There were all kinds of “non-technical” people who wanted to learn how to build apps without code and launch startups on a budget. So a couple years in, I launched a second company called Apps Without Code. Today we run a startup school for entrepreneurs and also partner with nonprofits, universities, and corporations on entrepreneurship training programs.

What are the main benefits of creating an App without code?

There’s nothing wrong with coding, but it doesn’t make sense for everyone. It takes most people a long time (a few years) to get proficient enough in a coding language to build their full app idea. But the tech industry moves really fast. So 1-2 years is a long time to wait before you launch your business idea. Also, outsourcing the work to professional developers can be super expensive and if you’re not technical, it is super difficult to translate your creative vision to an affordable developer.

Building your own app without code means you can bring your product to market in a few weeks. It also means you can be really scrappy and efficient, and develop your app at a fraction of the cost. So it’s really an attractive option for bootstrapping entrepreneurs who aren’t backed by investors.

You’ve previously said concentrating on code can be a disadvantage to the consumer, is the customer journey your primary motivation?

The customer journey is definitely part of it. Building an app without code means you can respond to user feedback almost immediately, without the cost and time associated with traditional software development, which ultimately means a better product and experience for your customers.

You previously worked at Google, Foursquare and Microsoft – what inspired you to set out on your own?

I’d been kicking around my own app ideas while I was working at Microsoft, but I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, and it was difficult to see how I would ever get something off the ground. Then one day a close friend and mentor said to me, “Tara, you are way too smart to not be taking more risks.” I cried when he told me that. And the next month I was on a plane to New York City to start a Bootcamp program for people wanting to start a side business. Kollecto was born from that process, and I left Microsoft shortly thereafter.

You are helping a host of entrepreneurs to create their own tech empires, any we should keep an eye out for?

There are so many amazing ideas that our Bootcamp students and alumni are working on. Many of our most successful students are actually “tech outsiders” — they don’t have much if any experience working in the tech world, but they have a ton of experience and expertise in other areas, like health care, or manufacturing, or education. One of our alumni saw a problem in the manufacturing industry and developed an app to streamline processes. A few months later, he was able to quit his job, and he’s already landed a contract with Coca-Cola for his app. This is life-changing stuff and it’s happening every single day.

What advice would you give to aspiring app developers who would be keen to follow your example?

I attribute a lot of our success to a willingness to fail. I’m always pushing my team to experiment. Most of the time, it doesn’t work out, but we learn from it and do better the next time. So I always tell other aspiring entrepreneurs and app builders, just go for it. Don’t wait. Just get something in front of people and see what happens.

How important has mobile technology been to spread your message?

It’s huge. Not only are we helping entrepreneurs develop mobile apps, but we’re also actively connecting with people that way. Instagram, for instance, is one of our most effective marketing channels. And in February we’re hosting an online conference that entrepreneurs can attend from literally anywhere.

Where can we find out more about Apps Without Code?

You can learn more about the Bootcamp program at AppsWithoutCode.com. We also run a free online workshop for people interested in building apps without code, and you can sign up for that at workshop.appswithoutcode.com as well.

Follow @TaraReed_on Twitter

The post Industry Innovators: Meet Tara Reed, the woman changing the way we think about developing software appeared first on Sony Xperia Blog.

Source: Sony Mobile Blog
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Prize: Win a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
Enter: https://click2win.it/sony
Ends: November 30th

Good Luck!

Prize: Win a Sony Xperia XZ1
Enter: https://click2win.it/xz1
Ends: October 31st

Good Luck!