Archive for Sony

Sony XDV-S700 Bravia 1Seg portable TV

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on September 2nd, 2009

Sony XDV-S700 Bravia 1Seg portable TVThe Sony Bravia line of TVs aren’t just all about huge TVs for your living room, they also want to help you with keeping things portable, with the XDV-S700. The XDV-S700 is the latest portable Bravia 1Seg TV that features a mere 5mm chassis with a 5” widescreen display that sports WQVGA resolution.

Other features include 2GB of Internal memory, an integrated FM and AM radio in case you get sick of TV, and double the reception sensitivity of older models. No info on pricing, but it shouldn’t be too bad.

Sony DPF-D72N/BQ digital photo frame

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 28th, 2009

Sony DPF-D72N/BQ digital photo frameSony’s DPF-D72N/BQ digital photo frame looks like it was halfheartedly attacked with a bedazzler in order to make it look like one of those fancy cowboy shirts. Swarovski crystals aside, the frame features a 7″ LCD WVGA display at 800 x 480 resolution, 1GB of internal memory and an Auto-Resizing adjustment system that will downsize photos without much image deterioration.

It will accept a wide range of popular memory card formats and also sports a USB port. You’ll also get a calendar, clock and a few different view modes. The Auto Rotation sensor lets you display images in either landscape or portrait mode.

Sony RM-PZ3SD universal remote

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 27th, 2009

Sony RM-PZ3SD universal remoteSony is offering up a drip-proof remote with the RM-PZ3SD universal remote control. So worry not, you can sit on the couch and spill your drink and be as sloppy as you like while flipping through channels with your pizza greased fingers.

The RM-PZ3SD is able to withstand all of your food and drink related abuse, just don’t completely drop it in your beverage and you should be alright. Plus the buttons look big enough that your grandmother can easily use it.

Sony Daily Edition Reader

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 25th, 2009

Sony Daily Edition ReaderSony just released its Reader Daily Edition wireless model that sports 3G. The Daily Edition is the latest in its line of Readers, along with the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition. The Reader Pocket Edition has a 5″ electronic paper display and comes in navy blue, rose and silver for $199.

The Reader Touch Edition sports a 6″ touchscreen panel in red, black or silver for $299. The newest, the Reader Daily Edition lets you stay connected wirelessly through AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network to Sony’s eBook store. The Daily Edition Reader will be sold through a bunch of retailers incuding Best Buy, BJs, Borders, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target, Toys “R” Us and Wal-Mart.

Sony intros two 32GB Memory Stick cards

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 20th, 2009

Sony intros two 32GB Memory Stick cardsLooks like Sony is still going full speed ahead with their Memory Stick line. They just recently announced their 32GB PRO-HG Duo HX card and a 32GB PRO Duo card, which doubles the capacity of current products. The 32GB PRO-HG Duo HX was developed for use mainly with Sony’s Handycam camcorders, Alpha DSLRs and Cyber-shot compact cameras, and features a 20MBps read speed and 15MBps.

The PRO Duo Memory Stick is for all around use. The 32GB PRO-HG Duo HX Memory Stick and 32GB PRO Duo Memory Sticks will retail for $249 and $200, when they arrive next month.

Sony debuts ALTUS multi-room audio line

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 18th, 2009

Sony debuts ALTUS multi-room audio lineSony has a new ALTUS audio product range for the iPod/iPhone. The “premium” ALT-SA31iR multi-room iPod package is comprised of an iPod / iPhone docking station and a pair of wireless speakers, along with an AM / FM tuner and an LCD-equipped S-AIR remote commander.

The AIR-SW10Ti iPod docking station adds a wireless subwoofer, while the ALT-SA32PC multi-room audio package has an S-AIR transmitter that connects to your PC via USB and a pair of wireless speakers. While the ALT-A33PC has an identical USB S-AIR transmitter, but also includes a universal receiver with analog audio inputs.

Kmart leaks PS3 price cut

Posted in Sony by Shane McGlaun on August 18th, 2009

kmartps3-sbThose rumors of a price cut coming from Sony on the PS3 have been swirling for months. There have even been lots of game developers that have pressed Sony to cut the price of tits console but Sony has kept insisting no price cuts were coming.

Sony is expected to make a big announcement at Gamescon today. The expectation is that the PS3 Slim will be unveiled and the PS3 will get a price cut. Kmart has jumped the gun, placed the PS3 slim up for preorder, and has run an ad that talks about the new lower price PS3.

Sony warns laptop owners of defective NVIDIA GPUs

Posted in Sony by Shane McGlaun on August 12th, 2009

nvidia-logo-sbNVIDIA GPUs have been at the center of some notable issues with laptops. The GPU was a weak link in some Apple notebooks when the new Mac models with NVIDIA GPUs debuted. Sony is also having a problem with the GPUs in some of its notebooks.

Sony is warning owners of its Vaio laptops that the GPUs from NVIDIA inside the machines may be faulty. The fault could cause the GPUs to overheat and ultimately fail. Sony says that it is offering free repairs and an extended warranty on certain Vaio models that feature NVIDIA graphics made with faulty die and weak packaging.

New Sony Lithium Ion Batteries: 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutes

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 11th, 2009

New Sony Lithium Ion Batteries: 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutesSony is working hard to try to improve it’s batteries, and so it’s announced a new lithium-ion battery that should be more stable, as well as last much longer than typical batteries. This is thanks to olivine-type lithium iron phosphate for the cathode material, which helps boost the battery’s life to about four times that of conventional lithium ion batteries.

It will also have 80% capacity retention after 2,000 charge-discharge cycles. The biggest news is that it offers a promised 99% recharge in only 30 minutes.

Sony intros automated, photo-taking camera dock

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on August 6th, 2009

Sony intros automated, photo-taking camera dock Sony has introduced the Party-Shot personal photographer. The camera dock is designed to work with the DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1 Cyber-shot digital cameras and can be programmed to tilt up to 24 degrees and pan a full 360 degrees to capture any subject you like.

It might not put any paparazzi out of work, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. It can also detect faces and then take a decent photo. It will cost you $150 and will be released in September.

Sony 400-disc Blu-ray changer hits next month

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on July 23rd, 2009

Sony 400-disc Blu-ray changerWell, it’s about time. We first saw the 400 disc MegaChanger in May and we had hoped that it would be out by now. Looks like the wait is almost over though. Sony has officially announced plans to release the BDP-CX7000ES in August for $1,900. Yeah, it’s pricey, but that’s about $300 cheaper than the price we had listed in May.

You are getting a lot for the money. Assuming you have 400 discs. This baby will handle any Blu-ray Disc, DVD or CD and works with the latest codecs delivered via bitstream or LPCM. Your other option is to hold off for a few months for the BDP-CX960, which is $800. But there will be no RS-232 and IR-in.

New Sony S-Series Walkman caught in the wild

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on July 22nd, 2009

New Sony S-Series Walkman caught in the wildSony has done well with the S-Series Sony Walkman. That’s no surprise with it’s super-thin form, music and video capabilities, long lasting battery, FM tuner, etc. Well, the folks at Sony Insider caught wind of this picture from one of their sources and the theory is that this is the successor to the S series.

It looks great in red, blue, pink and black. Interestingly it appears to have speakers on the front. Awesome for those who like to use their music players without headphones. The design is pretty eye catching and it looks larger.

Sony’s PlayStation Eye to get facial recognition

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on July 19th, 2009

playstation eyeSony has some plans to add facial recognition capabilities to their PlayStation Eye webcam, trying to one-up Microsoft’s Project Natal. According to Kish Hirani, Sony Europe’s head of developer services, the functionality will soon be added to the existing hardware, with developer libraries available for games studios so that they don’t need specific coding for the new system.

According to Hirani, the technology will be able to “detect gender and even the age of the face, separate facial features such as the nose, eyes and ears, and even detect whether you’re smiling or not.” Sounds a little too good to be true. It will also work with the upcoming Sony Motion Controller, with the Eye camera tracking X, Y and Z motion by using the area of the glowing sphere.

Sony adds Netflix streaming to BRAVIA sets

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on July 9th, 2009

Sony adds Netflix streaming to BRAVIA setsYou will now have access to Netflix on Sony’s line of Internet-ready Bravia TVs. Newer sets come with built-in support while older models will need the add-on Internet Video Link. You can Watch Instantly and stream movies or TV shows straight on your set, though we aren’t sure if the footage is in HD or not.

The update will be available later this fall alongside competing services already live for Sony’s TVs, including Amazon Video On Demand and Sony’s own movies. Sets already have access to non-commercial video services like Crackle, DailyMotion and YouTube as well as radio from Slacker.

Sony intros new DVDirect camcorder-to-DVD recorder

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on July 7th, 2009

Sony intros new DVDirect camcorder-to-DVD recorderIt’s about 60 percent smaller in size, which is nice, but aside from that Sony’s new VRD-MC6 DVDirect looks and acts like the previous VRD-MC10 and VRD-MC5. It can take 1080i video with 5.1 audio from your Handycam’s drive or Memory Stick and shoot out an AVCHD DVD that plays back on compatible Blu-ray drives.

You can also bring in SD video over FireWire, composite, or USB to churn out regular DVDs with automatic chaptering and custom menu backgrounds, or you can just drop in an SD card full of photos and MP3s to create a slideshow.