May 21st, 2013

New Xbox Fails To Excite Investors As Microsoft, AMD Stocks Stays Flat While Sony Shoots Up 9%

Sony Vs Microsoft

Wall Street apparently wanted something more revolutionary out of the Xbox One that launched today, as Microsoft’s stock is down 0.66 percent. In turn, investors on news of a potential spin off, pushed Sony shares up 9 percent, coincidentally just after Microsoft announced its answer to the Sony Playstation. → Read More

May 13th, 2013

Sony’s Got A 13.3-Inch E-Reader With Pen Input, Which Is Sort Of Like A Dodo With Antlers

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I’ve heard some suggestions that our extreme fascination with Google Glass is more a symptom of desperation for some kind of genuine gadget innovation than anything to do with the product’s merits, and a new gadget from Sony (via The Verge) has me wondering whether or not other companies are flailing about for something novel. Sony introduced a new 13.3-inch e-ink prototype reader device today… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Sony Launches An Android Open Source Project For The Xperia Z Smartphone

Sony has decided to release a sequel to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for Xperia S it began in August of 2012, and took over from Google in November of last year. This time, the Xperia Z is getting its own project, which means that the company’s water resistant flagship phone will get to participate in the kind of Android development work normally reserved for Google-blessed Nexus… → Read More

March 15th, 2013

Even More Raspberry Pi Now Made In The U.K. As Largest Distributor Of $35 Microcomputer Shifts All Production To Wales

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The Raspberry Pi affordable microcomputer is now almost entirely made in the U.K., after Premier Farnell/element 14 — the largest of the Pi Foundation’s distributors — announced it has shifted all its production to Sony’s Pencoed factory in Wales. → Read More

March 1st, 2013

Sony Xperia C670X Specs Leak, Suggesting A New Android Flagship To Take On The HTC One

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We didn’t see a new phone from Sony at MWC this year, though it did take the opportunity to show off the Xperia Z it demoed early this year at CES, but a new rumor suggests we’ll see a mid-year upgrade in a few months time that packs Android 4.2, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset with 1.8GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. → Read More

February 26th, 2013

The Super-Slim Xperia Tablet Z Feels Like Sony’s Finest Tablet Yet

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After Sony released a string of curious Android tablets that failed to catch on, the company had no choice but to go back to the drawing table and try something different. That something different wound up being the Xperia Tablet Z, easily one of its most conventional designs yet — a choice that may end up paying off nicely. Now that the decidedly non-kooky Xperia Tablet Z is gearing up for an→ Read More

February 25th, 2013

Sony’s New a58 DSLT Camera Features People And Object Autofocus Tracking, Selective Digital Noise Reduction

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Sony today announced a new entry-priced DSLT (Digital Single Lens Translucent) camera, the a58, priced at $600 bundled with a newly designed 18-55mm zoom kit lens, and coming to retail in April this year. The a58 pushes the needle forward for Sony’s DSLR-style interchangeable lens line, with a nice hop-on point for the company’s Translucent Mirror tech for consumers looking to get into more… → Read More

February 25th, 2013

Sony Mobile Chief Says The Xperia Tablet Z’s World Tour Will Begin In Q2

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Sony Mobile Communications chief Kunimasa Suzuki took the stage to deliver something of a state of the mobile union address at MWC early this morning, and took a very brief detour to talk availability for one of Sony’s most promising products. As expected, there was no mention of any new hardware during Suzuki’s address (sorry Xperia SP hopefuls), but he did confirm that the company’s Xperia… → Read More

February 23rd, 2013

What Games Are: Consoles Are Sinking. Get To The Lifeboats!

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While the Sony press event this week has largely been received as a wasted opportunity, it speaks more to the fate of the game console than the PS4. Microsoft may win the next generation, but will winning really look like total victory or merely an example of being the best loser? With microconsoles shaking up the entire industry from top to bottom, the game console as we know it looks doomed. → Read More

February 20th, 2013

PS4 Is Sony’s Last Stand, And It’s Wasting It On A Tired Strategy That Ignores How The Gamer Is Changing

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Sony’s PlayStation 4 made its grand debut today in a presentation with all the theatrical flair to be expected from an electronics company that’s also a media company that’s also a producer and publisher of blockbuster video games. But the pomp hides a hurting heart, and it didn’t show off anything that resembles medecine for the company’s ailments at today’s show. → Read More

February 20th, 2013

Sony Officially Unveils The PlayStation 4: X86 CPU And 8GB Memory, But About Experiences, Not Specs

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Sony had an event today and as expected, it introduced the PlayStation 4. The next-gen platform is designed to shift focus from the living room to the gamer, Sony said, and overall, PlayStation’s approach is meant to make it possible for gamers to play wherever they want, whenever they want. The console has 8GB of memory and an impressive x86 CPU, but that’s not what Sony claims to be focused on. → Read More

February 20th, 2013

The New, New PlayStation: Watch The 2013 Sony PlayStation Meeting Live At 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific

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Join us live at the 2013 PlayStation Meeting where Sony will hopefully unveil what’s next for their iconic gaming console. The event runs from 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific and I’ll be posting images and commentary in our liveblog below. → Read More

February 20th, 2013

Here Comes The Next PlayStation! Join Us Live At 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific For The Sony Event Liveblog

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The war for your living room is about to heat up. While Microsoft is still keeping its own next-generation console under lock and key, rival Sony is gearing up to take the stage in New York City and show off exactly what it’s been working on for the past few years. Naturally, we’ll be liveblogging the whole thing starting at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific tonight. → Read More

February 17th, 2013

What Games Are: The “Beyond Games” Mirage

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Both Microsoft and Sony like to wow us with big numbers proclaiming how they are moving beyond games, but the numbers don’t really stack up. For all its vaunted efforts in TV partnerships, for example, the average Xbox is only used for a couple of movies per week. All the rest is games. Both need to stop distracting themselves with some ur-market fantasies of media hubs, or be destroyed. → Read More

February 14th, 2013

The Fall TV Lineup May Include Apple Dominating Gaming

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What I’m about to say is undoubtedly going to piss some of you off. And that’s fine. Because in a few years, I’ll be right and you’ll look silly.

While everyone is focused on the next generation video game consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft — the latter two of which should be coming later this year — Apple is going to dominate them all. And it won’t even be that… → Read More

February 12th, 2013

Sony Entertainment CEO Lynton Says Netflix, DVR Change The Way People Watch TV

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Today at the D: Dive Into Media conference, Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Corporation of America and Sony Entertainment, said that the rise of Netflix, DVR are fundamentally changing the way that viewers watch TV content. And that now changes the type of content is being produced and the quality of it. → Read More

February 2nd, 2013

What Games Are: Should Sony Move Beyond PlayStation?

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On Feb 20th, Sony is holding a press conference in New York for which we assume is the PlayStation 4. Yet, is that really the smartest move that the company could make? With the argument that the PS idea’s time has gone, wouldn’t Sony be better served by rejuvenating their entire operation (including its brand) and letting go of the past? → Read More

February 1st, 2013

Sony Likely To Unveil PlayStation 4 On Feb. 20, But We’ll Need To See More Than A Spec Show

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Sony is gearing up for a big announcement on February 20, according to invitations it sent out to the media on Thursday. The smart money was already on a next-generation PlayStation console being the topic of discussion, but the Wall Street Journal came out and blatantly declared that’s what we’d be getting. But while we have a good idea of what, generally, Sony will be talking about, it’s the… → Read More

January 28th, 2013

Japan Planning To Broadcast 4K TV As Soon As 2014

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4K TV, the 3840 x 2160 pixel technology that blew everyone away at CES this year, is still a glimmer in most of the world’s collective eye. Japan, however, could get 4K broadcasts via satellite as soon as 2014, thereby pushing the state-of-the-art forward at a speed nearly unprecedented in the TV industry. → Read More

January 21st, 2013

With The Xperia Z And Xperia Tablet Z, Sony Has Finally Found Its Mobile Soul

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There was a time when Sony defined mobile. Its products, along with wares from its partner Ericsson, where the very best looking and performing mobile devices. But that was a decade ago. Sony hasn’t been part of the mobile conversation since before Apple crashed the party and it never picked itself up in the aftermath. But it seems Sony might be back. Its latest mobile products are stunning and… → Read More

January 21st, 2013

Please Let This Leaked 6.4-Inch 1080p Sony Phone Be A Joke

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According to a forum posting on Chinese site Digi-wo, Sony may have a 6.44-inch 1080 device in the works. We don’t know much else about the alleged device, other than that it’s said to have no capacitive navigation buttons and a very thin bezel. It also has no Xperia branding, but the Xperia Z’s branding is on the back of the device, so that’s a wash.

Obviously, this is completely unconfirmed… → Read More

January 20th, 2013

Sony (Finally) Moves Past Kooky Tablet Designs, Introduces The Svelte New Xperia Tablet Z

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This latest Xperia tablet has been the stuff of rumors for a few days now — a release from Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo first hinted that the so-called Tablet Z was in fact a real thing earlier this week — but the time for rumors has passed. Now Sony Mobile Japan has officially lifted the veil, and (to my utter surprise) the Tablet Z is both real and rather striking. → Read More

January 17th, 2013

Sony Corp Sells Its U.S. Headquarters Building for $1.1B

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Sony’s U.S. unit is selling its NYC headquarters to a group of investors led by Chetrit Group for $1.1 billion, the cash-strapped company announced today. Sony said it will use the proceeds to “undertake a range of initiatives to strengthen its financial foundation and business competitiveness and for future growth.” → Read More

January 11th, 2013

Sony May Kiss Low-End Smartphones Goodbye To Better Compete With Samsung And Apple

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Sony Mobile’s top-tier Xperia Z may have been one of CES’s most pleasant non-surprises (seriously, is there anyone Sony didn’t brief about that thing?), and it turns out that the company’s future efforts may be more of the same. According to a recent CNET interview with Xperia Product Manager Stephen Sneeden, Sony is contemplating leaving the entry-level smartphone market to other companies. → Read More

January 1st, 2013

Per These Leaked CES Pics, Sony Is Actually Capable Of Making A Memorable Android Phone

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Quick! What’s Sony’s current high-end Android phone? Anyone? Yeah, Sony has a problem with brand recognition, one it likely hopes will be resolved with a big CES debut next week. While that could still happen, Sony’s Japanese press site just prematurely posted pics of the Xperia Z “Yuga” and the Xperia ZL “Odin”. And, surprising, the phones actually look like something worth remembering. → Read More

December 1st, 2012

Games Industry Transitions In 2013: Will Consoles And Windows Rise Again?

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For retailers and publishers in video games, Christmas is the busiest time of the year. On the digital side, Christmas is often one of the slower periods but, when the dust settles and spring begins, often new heroes emerge. For both, the holidays mark when we begin to wonder what’s going on for games in 2013? → Read More

December 1st, 2012

Gift Guide: Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Compact Camera

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Sony’s compact camera with pro features including manual focusing and RAW support comes with a hefty price tag, but it costs that much for a reason: This is simply the best camera currently available for shooters who want something that fits in a front pocket but still delivers image quality so breathtaking, your friends will think you’ve been toting around a DSLR. → Read More

November 16th, 2012

Sony Mobile Chief Acknowledges Its Smartphones Suck, Promises An iPhone, Galaxy S III Competitor Soon

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Sony makes a lot of really nice things, but it has never taken smartphones seriously. That’s to change if Sony Mobile’s sales chief, Dennis van Schie, is to be believed.

Speaking to the Financial Times Deutschland, he basically acknowledged that Sony’s current phone lineup does not have a direct competitor to the iPhone or Galaxy S III. → Read More

October 19th, 2012

Dissecting The Sony Nexus X, The Fake That Launched A Thousand Stories

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So hey, remember that Sony Nexus X image that made the rounds earlier this week? The one that more than a few commentors called a hoax after I ran a story about it? Well, the skeptics among you were right — creator of the faux-Nexus came forward not long ago with a tell-all Tumblr spelling out what he did and (more importantly) how he did it. → Read More

September 28th, 2012

Report: Apple’s Pandora-Killer Hits Licensing Trouble With Sony/ATV

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One rumor that was nearly forgotten amid the iPhone 5′s launch and iOS 6 media circus was that Apple was reportedly looking to release a Pandora-killer soon. The streaming music service would be a natural next step in the progression Apple’s taken with digital music, but it looks like licensing issues may have stepped in the way once again. → Read More