Sony Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact and Z3 Tablet Lollipop upgrade spreads to NA and more EU countries

Sony today announced that the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade for the Sony Xperia Z3, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet would start to reach more regions as soon as today, including those in North America and many more countries throughout Europe (it was previously only available in Nordic and Baltic countries).

As most other OEMs have done with Lollipop, Sony integrates the best of the new update’s features — including notifications on the lock screen, mult-user support and a new notification shade — with the suite of software they already provide. That beloved software has also been upgraded with a Material Design look and feel across the board for those who are into that sort of thing.

Want the upgrade? You’ll have to have a computer handy as this is an over-the-wire process. Download Sony’s upgrade tool here (PC and Mac only, sorry Linux folks) and connect your smartphone, and it should find and download the necessary firmware to get you up and running on Lollipop.

Sony also took this opportunity to confirm that the Xperia T2 Ultra and the Xperia C3 will eventually get aboard the Lollipop train. There’s nothing to worry about for folks of other Xperia Z devices — even the very first one — as the company previously announced all of them would eventually see the new drags. Let us know how the upgrade is treating you once it’s hit your smartphone!

[via Sony]

Sprint Direct 2 You delivery service spreads to 4 new major metro areas, 4 more next month

Sprint has expanded their delivery service to 4 new major cities today. Folks in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver are all being treated to Direct 2 You, a personal and in-home delivery service that’ll have an agent speeding to your door with your new Sprint phone in hand.

Agents help you set the phone up, transfer contacts and content, even answer any questions you might have. It’s a nice option for those who find the in-store experience a bit too time consuming but still want in-person help to set their phone up.

Best of all is that it’s free with the purchase and activation of any new Sprint smartphone, so if you’re not up to the task of heading to the store then there’s no reason you can’t take advantage.

The expansions include surrounding major metro areas for the four cities, and it brings the list of applicable cities to a whopping 28. Here’s the full list for you as of today:

• Los Angeles metro area: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Newport Beach, West Hollywood, Pasadena, San Pedro and Santa Ana;


• New York metro area: New York City and these cities in New Jersey: Newark, Jersey City, Edison, Elizabeth and Paterson;


• San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Berkeley;


• Denver metro area: Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Golden


• Chicago


• Miami


• Kansas City

Moreover, Sprint has confirmed that Detroit, Washington DC, Tampa and Dallas will get it early next month.

[via Sprint]