Sony TRIMASTER EL OLED monitors hit Japan

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on February 16th, 2011

Sony has introduced a new range of OLED monitors that in 17″ and 25″ sizes. You can expect professional hyper accurate color reproduction and perfect image quality without motion blur on fast speed objects. The OLED TVs will come in a super slim aluminum body that looks good.

They measure just 148mm in depth and feature HDMI, DisplayPort, 3G-SDI, SD-SDI and HD-SDI. They will be arriving in Japan on May 25th and in July. The 25″ and 17″ models will be expensive, but we don’t have a price yet.

Sony NGP features dropped to keep the price lower

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on February 15th, 2011

Ever since Sony made the announcement about the Sony NGP everyone has been wondering how much it will cost. Sadly, we still don’t know. But we do know that Sony wanted to keep the NGP price as low as possible, and so they dropped a bunch of features from the Next Generation Portable before the final specifications were announced.

We don’t know what exactly was dropped, but the point is that it will be affordable. It doesn’t matter how many features a device has if it is out of reach of it’s market. The NGP will be priced competitively and not expensive when compared to other portable consoles.

Sony releases Filmy movie viewing app for the PlayStation 3

Posted in PS3 by Conner Flynn on February 9th, 2011

Sony has just released a PS3 app for those people who watch a lot of video using the PS3. The new app is called Filmy and is designed to organize and play videos recorded in the AVCHD (H.264) format and can be accessed from the PS3’s hard drive or from a device attached through a USB cable.

If the videos are geotagged, users will be able to see where they were taken and sort them by date. The Filmy app is available in the media section of the PlayStation Store. The trial version is free, but it will only be fully functional for 15-minutes, after which you’ll need to pay $5 to access the full features.

LG wants the PS3 taken off store shelves

Posted in PS3 by Conner Flynn on February 8th, 2011

Lawsuits. It’s how large companies throw punches at each other. In the latest lawsuit news, LG has asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to block the sale of PlayStation 3 consoles in the US due to a patent dispute.

According to LG, many of Sony’s BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3 itself infringes on four patents held by the Korean company. The complaints about the PS3 have to do with “a way of dealing with multiple data streams, such as different camera angles, as well as a system to reproduce data that’s stored on a read-only device.” If the ITC finds in LG’s favor, it does have the power to bar the PS3 from sale in the United States, though this is rarely enforced in such cases.

Sony announces 3 New BRAVIA TVs

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on February 8th, 2011

Sony Japan has announced three new BRAVIA-branded TVs, and surprise, (Maybe not that much of a surprise) none of them support 3D. But these TVs do offer some nice features, like a 500GB hard drive and the ability to transfer content from the hard drive to external hard drives via USB.

That beats 3D in my book. The flagship model is the 40-inch KDL-40EX52H which features an LED edge-lit display with full HD resolution, a double digital TV tuner, Ethernet port, 10W x 2ch speakers and 3 HDMI ports. It’s priced at $1,800.

Sony VAIO Y with AMD Fusion now shipping

Posted in Notebooks by Conner Flynn on February 7th, 2011

If you’ve been drooling over the AMD Fusion Zacate chips, Sony Style is now offering the VAIO Y. Sony Style is offering pink and white models for $600. For that price, you’ll get an 11.6-inch notebook powered by a dual-core E-350 1.6GHz processor, with Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit running the show.

If you’re looking for something a bit cheaper, Amazon is offering a lower-end model that features 2GB of RAM and 320GB of storage for $50 less. Your wait is over.

Sony posts strong Q3 profits in PlayStation group

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on February 3rd, 2011

Despite a small 6% dip in quarterly sales year-over-year, “due to a decrease in sales in the game business resulting primarily from unfavorable foreign exchange rates,” Sony’s Networked Products & Services group, which houses the PlayStation brand, managed to post ¥45.7 billion (about $564 million) in profits for the third quarter period, which ended December 31. That’s a 135% gain over the prior-year’s period.

Even though quarterly sales of the PlayStation 3 and PSP have lagged year-over-year, Sony is predicting 15 million PS3 consoles sold for the fiscal year, compared to 13 million for the year prior. This has a lot to do with “cost reductions” on the PS3 and significant gains in PlayStation 3 software sales. So things are looking great for the PS3 right now. As for the PSP and PS2, not so much.

Silver Satin PS3 hits Japan on March 10th

Posted in PS3 by Conner Flynn on February 1st, 2011

Most of us have a plain old black PS3. If you’re lucky you have a white version or a titanium blue. This PS3 is a sexy silver satin and is bound to hit Japan on March 10th.

As usual, you get the same specs, with the 160GB model CECH-2500A SS selling for ¥29,980 (about $366) while the 320GB CECH-2500B SS is ¥34,980 (about $427). It even has a matching vertical stand for ¥2,000 (about $24) if you like your PS3 vertical.

Sony says NGP may run longer on battery, cost more than 3DS

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on January 27th, 2011

Sony’s SCEA president Jack Tretton hinted in an interview that the NGP might ease some of the worries on battery life, but not on price. He said that the company would “certainly look to improve” the PSP’s battery life even with the five-inch screen and quad-core hardware. Engadget thinks that means more than the 4.5 to seven hours of typical use.

Regarding price, he hinted that the device might be a bit expensive. We are talking more powerful hardware and hopefully good content. He said, “I think if the quality’s there, then the people will find a way to buy it, within reason,”.

GameStop guesses that Sony PSP NGP will cost $999.99

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on January 27th, 2011

Sony’s Next Generation Portable (PSP2) has been called a PS3 for your pocket. It is codenamed the NGP. So how much does it cost? Sony has no answer to that yet, but GameStop has the device up for pre-order and they have a price in mind. The Sony NGP page on their website has an estimated price of $999.99.

They probably just want to make it look like it had a price cut the day it comes out. Sneaky. Sony hasn’t mentioned when they will be announcing the actual price, but with the device is scheduled for an end of year release.

Sony MDR-XB1000, MDR-XB41EX and MDR-XB21EX headphones

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on January 27th, 2011

Sony is debuting three new and colorful headphones in Japan. The MDR-XB1000 model offers enhanced bass and are traditional over-the-ear style.

Sony’s other two new offerings, the MDR-XB41EX and MDR-XB21EX earbuds are both high-end, with unique designs and a whole bunch of color choices. We don’t have any word on pricing yet, or any idea when they will hit the states, if at all.

Sony’s next PSP, codenamed NGP

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on January 27th, 2011

Sony’s next PlayStation Portable is codenamed NGP and will be based on five key concepts: Revolutionary User Interface, Social Connectivity, Location-based Entertainment, Converging Real and Virtual (augmented) Reality. It will be compatible with the PlayStation Suite and is backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games and content.

It has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks, 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing, an electronic compass, and cameras on the front and back. Expect it to be available this holiday season.

Sony ICZ-R50 Radio Recorder

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on January 24th, 2011

For those of you in Japan who are looking for a new radio, this may be the one. The Sony ICZ-R50 radio recorder is now available for purchase in Japan. This device comes packed with 4GB of storage space, an AM/FM radio recorder and an SD/SDHC card slot for storage expansion up to 32GB.

Sound good? If so, the Sony ICZ-R50 can also be used as an MP3 player or an IC voice recorder. Sadly, we don’t have any info on pricing right now, but hopefully soon.

PSP2 may have 3G connection, AMOLED screen

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on January 23rd, 2011

We have some more PSP2 rumors today. Nikkei believes that Sony’s new handheld will have a data-only 3G connection allowing an always-on way to play multiplayer games or access the PlayStation Store. The connection would come from NTT DoCoMo in Japan and maybe other carriers.

We don’t have any info on how pricing would work. Discounted 3G rates could be the ticket here. Users might get a free but small amount of data every month and pay extra only when they need to expand the amount of data they use. In other news, the handheld’s touchscreen is now AMOLED rather than the expected LCD. Is that realistic though? Maybe not. AMOLED’s chief supplier Samsung is still facing production shortages that would keep it from large-scale AMOLED production until later in 2011.

Sony MHS-FS3 3D Bloggie Touch Camera available for Pre-Order

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on January 18th, 2011

The Sony MHS-FS3 3D Bloggie Touch Camera was unveiled at CES 2011 is now available for pre-order. It features a 2.4″ LCD touchscreen and an LED light for taking photographs in low-light situations. With this camera, you can capture 2D or 3D videos which you can play on Sony Bravia 3D HDTVs or the new VAIO F3D laptop.

You can also quickly upload pictures and videos to Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa through the USB cable. Great if you are sharing photos constantly. You can find it on Amazon for $249.99.