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We’re Looking For New Team Members!

It’s that time of the year again where I like to look back at the site and see where it was in 2011 and where I want it to head towards in 2012. One thing is simple and for certain: that we grew, and grew by a lot. Our website traffic has doubled compared to a year ago and so has the number of stories we’ve covered. In fact, in 2011, we posted 706 different articles and attended many industry events like CES, E3, and PAX. In addition to that, we’ve been busy at expanding our scope and presence so that we can better interact with you. You can now find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr where we’ve offered high resolution pictures, HD videos, live chats, and more.

In 2012, we want to offer even more and that’s where you step in. We want to have a more robust website, more stories and more videos and we can’t do that without additional interns. That’s why we’re opening the floodgates and looking for more team members. So whether Photoshop, CSS, writing, producing, social media, or hosting is your thing, chances are that you will find a home with our team.

Some Criteria:

For writing, you should love tech and the game industry, but more importantly, have a passion for Sony and PlayStation
For writing, you should love to write and want to be a journalist or reporter or writer or something of the sort
Basic experience with the following is a major plus:

Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Flickr
WordPress
FTP
HTML

If you’re looking to stay more in the behind-the-scenes with Photoshop and CSS work, then knowing things like FTP and HTML should be a given
Have internet access (you would be surprised)
Over 18 years old
Self-motivated
Sense of humor (seriously, you should enjoy yourself while doing this)

It should be reiterated that this is an internship so no mulla is involved as we’re not funded by some corporation, just my personal credit card. Also, remote work is perfectly ok so no need to worry if you don’t live in Los Angeles. Also, examples of your work are a plus in our submission form but not required. If you feel like you can contribute to our team in ways not mentioned above, we’re always happy to hear your thoughts. So if you like to argue over the internet on your opinions about a product, are an avid gamer or techie, and/or think you can spot a glitch in the Matrix, then use the button bellow.

Sony Tablet P Price Revealed?

The dual 5.5-inch Sony Tablet P has been a darling of a device for sometime. Available in Japan now for over 4 months, the Tablet P is part of Sony’s strategy of not creating wannabe iPads like others have (looking at you, Samsung). Unlike the currently available Sony Tablet S for the US market, which can only rely on Wi-Fi for internet access, the Tablet P has always been from the beginning a 4G tablet, giving it access to the internet whenever one might need it.

Despite its bold design and 4G connectivity which has huge buzz presence going for it, Sony has yet to reveal an exact release date or price for the US. Now according to CNET, all of this has changed with a rumored pricing of $409 on AT&T. There is no further details to go by, like: is this pricing with a contract or the true MSRP of the device? If not, how much would the device cost with a contract? We imagine that when it comes to leaks like this, if true, then the actual announcement cannot be much further.

Ted Price Addresses End of Resistance Series

Earlier today, news broke out that Insomniac Games would be ending development of any further Resistance games. Resistance originally launched with the PlayStation 3 and quickly became a big hit for Sony. Resistance 2 and 3 were both met with great reviews but failed to hit the sales number that a developer would surely like, especially Resistance 3, which had the lowest selling numbers of the series. Between the declining sales numbers and Insomniac Games moving away from being a PlayStation exclusive studio to being a 3rd party position with EA as their publisher, it’s easy to see why they won’t be producing any future titles within the franchise. Especially with their upcoming game, Overstrike, being multi-platform (i.e. PS3 and 360) and Sony owning the rights to Resistance, not Insomniac Games, the conclusion makes even more sense.

This, of course, didn’t stop the internet and Resistance/PlayStation fans from exploding and expressing their outrage (though I wished they had shown the same passion for the games when they launched and purchased them which might have us talking about a Resistance 4 leak instead). In order to address the matter, Insomniac Games CEO, Ted Price, took took it upon himself to address fans.

While it’s always sad to see a beloved franchise and an era of fantastic exclusives for the PlayStation come to an end, I wish the talented developers and creators at Insomniac Games the best on their upcoming game, OverStrike. Remember folks, they are not ending development for the PS3, just no more exclusives (or at least none that we currently know of).

Sony Refreshes VAIO S Series for Spring

Just in time for spring (yes I know we’re still a bit away but work with me here!) Sony has decides to refresh the VAIO S series. Much like the recent VAIO Z series refresh, there are not drastic changes to the midrange lineup from Sony, instead new generations of previous processors and a slightly new design which allows them to utilize bigger batteries for improved longterm usability.

Start things with the processor, both the 13” and 15” model VAIO S series are getting the latest Intel i5 and i7 processors which mean an i5-2430M processor (2.40GHz / 3.00GHz with Turbo Boost) and a i7-2640M processor (2.80GHz / 3.50GHz with Turbo Boost). Sony is also offering a new and improved graphics option with the AMD Radeon HD 6630M (1GB). Hard drive options are aplenty this round with the addition of solid state drives.

500GB (5400rpm) hard drive
750GB (5400rpm) hard drive
128GB (128GB x1) solid state drive
256GB (128GB x2) solid state drive with RAID 0
512GB (256GB x2) solid state drive with RAID 0
1TB (512GB x2) solid state drive with RAID 0

With optional features like up to 8GB RAM, Blu-ray drive and standard 1366 x 768 (1600 x 900 on higher end 13″ and 15″) resolution screen, the VAIO S series gives the none professional crowd a lot to choose from with a $799 starting point.

Sony Drops Price of Bloggie Touch Down to $129

In lieu of of the new Sony Bloggie Live and Bloggie Sport, Sony has dropped the price of the Bloggie Touch by $70, now down to $129. The Bloggie Touch, which we’ve reviewed in the past, is part of Sony’s now-growing line of MP4 cameras which are designed to give those who like to make films or capture moments a low-cost and simple-to-use option. As the name suggests, the Bloggie Touch is a touch-based device with a 3-inch LCD screen with only three physical buttons; on/off, camera (to take pictures), and record.

The Bloggie Touch is available in an 8GB configuration with full HD 1080p video and a 12.8-megapixel stills. Coming in black, silver, and pink, which is exclusive to Sony retail stores, the Bloggie Touch is both Mac and PC compatible.

Sony Ending Development of the Dash?

Say it aint so! A recent app developer for Sony’s Chumby OS based Dash was contacted by Sony who indicated that development would soon be ending for the tablet-like device. The Sony Dash was released nearly two years ago, long before the announcement and release of Sony’s true tablets. The device was meant to attract those who want a more 21st century device by their bed. The Sony Dash would have traditional features like an alarm but also had what we expect from modern devices, like an app store which gave the device access to Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix to name a few. Where your old alarm click might have accessed FM radio, the Dash instead had Pandora. In fact, we had a chance to review the device a few years back and had some great things to say about it. That’s why, though it’s not definitive, Sony’s response towards the app developer does not look promising for the future of the Dash.

Beginning February 29th, 2012, the Sony Dash developer website will close and no longer support development of new applications. This closure includes the Dash developer forum and Dash developer support, which will close on March 31st. Sony Dash applications will remain available. Thank you for your contributions and we encourage you to continue your development activity on Sony’s other platforms available at SonyDeveloper.com

Again, thank you very much,

Team Dash

In my opinion, the Sony Dash was always a very interesting device that was never properly supported or advertised (see a familiar theme here with other promising Sony devices?). Living in such a connected world, I do believe that there is a proper market for those would like to wake up to an alarm that play their Pandora station instead with your weather and tweaks on screen. Take the idea to the next level with integrated support with Sony tablets and smartphones and a potential injection of Android and you’ve got yourself a killer product. We’ll have more to report on this when/if Sony reveals any more information on the matter.

Sony to Help Olympus and Their Financial Woes

If you think Sony’s had some financial woes in recent years, then you haven’t heard of this little big company called Olympus. The famous and long-time camera maker, among other things recently posted a $1.6 billion account loss with further internal turmoil which has members suing the leadership. Step in Sony who is rumored to be the company to be coming to the aid of Olympus. Sony, who already owns 0.03% stake in Olympus, is expected to help the company with a much-needed cash injection and management restructuring. Details are yet to be released but rumors point to a press conference next week that should shed further light on this situation.

Lets talk after the jump.

Sony Refreshes VAIO Z Series for Spring

If you’re planning on purchasing a Sony VAIO Z, we recommend that you either make sure that you get a great deal on one or hold off for the latest spring refreshes. Unlike a traditional update which might see drastic changes, Sony is instead refreshing the VAIO Z for this spring with minor, but noteworthy, updates. First, out with the old and in with the new as Sony brings in the newest 2nd generation Intel processors which include the Intel i5 and i7 with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 3.50GHz. Also gaining a speed boost are the hard drives with RAID 0 solid state drives.

New to the spring lineup is a Carbon Fiber Silver color option which bring the total color count to four ( joining Carbon Fiber Black, Carbon Fiber Gold, and Premium Carbon Fiber Black). With a 14-hour battery life and included Power Media Dock, the most substantial new feature might be the optional LTE modem with 4G network connectivity, giving those on the go a way to connect to the web, without having to seek a Wi-Fi signal. Weighing in at just 2.57 lbs., this $1849.99 13-inch laptop with AMD Radeon HD 6650M (1GB) graphics card and Blu-ray disc burner via the Power Media Dock is now available.

Apple Confirms Sony As iPhone 4S Image Sensor Producer

Almost a year prior to the iPhone 4S announcement, we ran a story about how Sony might be the supplier to offer a new 8 megapixel camera in Apple’s next generation iPhone. As the iPhone 4S became official and the specs were revealed, the story began to seem more and more true. However, Sony’s CEO, Sir Howard Stringer would eventually question why the company would want to supply its competitor with some of their best optics. Not to be outdone, Sony’s executive deputy president, Kaz Kirai, would eventually sit down with Walt Mossberg to discuss all things Sony where the topic of the image sensor would surface.

Walt: Why did you sell your camera sensors to Apple?

Hirai: Can you really define who your competitors are, these days?

We sell to Apple. We buy from Samsung. We sell to Samsung.

Though Kaz didn’t officially confirm the speculation, it seemed clear that the company was indeed supplying the iPhone 4S image sensor. Now, we have the final piece of this puzzle as Apple has come out and published a list of 156 suppliers (PDF) representing 97% of the company’s procurement expenditures. In that list, Sony Corporations is listed as one of those companies. Seeing how Sony doesn’t manufacture much, it seems fairly clear that the story has come full circle with a confirmation that Sony is indeed supplying Apple which has already shipped nearly 20 million handsets.

With the iPhone being on store shelves for only four months, this should prove to Sony that striking manufacturing deals like this is extremely important to the companies bottom line and that they can then take this easy earned cash (opposed to having a superior camera and then having to advertise that their camera is better then the iPhone which A. people don’t buy a phone just for a camera difference and B. It’s not like Sony actually advertises) and reinvest the money back into the company.

Is 2012 the Year of Sony?

2011 was originally going to be the year of Sony with the electronic giant planning on releasing a host of new software and hardware products that were designed to help the ailing company not only catch up to competitors but also offer something new. Things however would quickly change for the company when their main operations in Japan were hit by devastating earthquakes and tsunamis that would cause supply constraints and delays to the PlayStation Vita. Speaking of all things PlayStation, in mid 2011, hackers would have their way with the PlayStation Network, leaving Sony to take the service down for over a month for a complete rebuild, and forcing Sony to eventually rename their Qriocity services. Designed to compete with Apple’s iTunes services and perform as the backbone of Sony’s digital efforts, Qriocity (now titled Music and Video Unlimited) is designed to power and feed Sony’s growing array of products like their tablets, Android phones, and Bravia televisions with digital content. Late in the year, Sony’s Thailand plants would submerge under water due to massive flooding because of which their new and highly anticipated NEX cameras would be delayed for months.

In short, Sony’s strategic comeback, which had been in the works for the past few years, quickly led to the company to fall further behind competitors while the company recorded massive losses. So will 2012 be any different? A quick look at Sony’s product lines, and recent acquisitions will paint a much brighter picture.

PlayStation 3 and PS Vita

Despite being affected by the PSN outage, the PlayStation 3 continued to gain traction on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which came out a year prior to the PS3, and has enjoyed a lower price point compared. Now, the PS3 leads against the 360 in both Europe and Japan while the 3D-enabled console has made considerable headway in the US, leaving a less-than-2% total sales difference between the two consoles as sales come ahead of expectation. With a slew of exclusives planned for the console, including StarHawk, Twisted Metal, and The Last of Us in addition to a likely price drop to $199 at E3, the PlayStation 3 could finally dethrone its rival from Redmond.

The biggest stumble for the unreleased PS Vita, due to the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan, has been the fact that the PS3-like portable console has yet to be release in the US, causing it to miss out on crucial holiday sales. Still, the PS Vita was released in Japan with great initial sales and has received praise from across the board with excellent reviews. With a solid series of launch games, including UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss, wipEout 2048, and ModNation Racers: Road Trip, the Vita has something to offer for all gamers.

Sony Smartphones

Luckily for Sony’s smartphone devision, 2011 had no real bad news but with no big gains for the company, 2011 would end on a quiet note. Competitors should have heeded this as the calm before the storm as, though things were quiet on the sales and expansion from Sony during 2011, the company was anything but quiet behind the scenes. Sony Ericsson’s biggest fault in the US has always been a lack of partnerships with major carriers. While releasing unlocked phones at full price in Europe and Japan might work, the US market has long been tied to two-year contracts with prices of phones cut by 2/3. Sony has since learned this lesson as the company partnered with Verizon and AT&T to offer their Xperia PLAY. Speaking of partnerships, Sony Ericsson, the company once behind on Android releases, has been quick to bring Android 2.3 to their smartphones and has an aggressive plan to release Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich on a range of their smartphones. With Ericsson now out of the picture for 2012 after Sony bought out the remaining stakes in the partnership to bring all mobile phone operations in house for 2012 and on, a new set of friends at AT&T and Verizon, and an aggressive Android strategy, all Sony needs is to align the three pillars with a new lineup of phones and a marketing strategy to start winning back shares from main rival Samsung and HTC.

Sony Televisions

Sony fans tend to cringe when they hear Samsung televisions being compared to their beloved Bravia TV. While the two companies have shared an LCD plant, Samsung has had a barrage of advertisements with lower-priced television sets, leading Sony to lose market share and post an eight consecutive loss for their Bravia division. On the other hand, Sony has been unable to properly market their televisions and educate customers on the difference between the two brands. So how will 2012 be different? The big news from Sony was just announced last week that the company would sell its remaining shares of their Samsung LCD partnership for $939 to Samsung, instead opting to buy from the company. With Sony now a customer instead of a partner, the company hopes to achieve better costs on LCD while removing the headache and costs that go into manufacturing them. The other shakeup that started in late 2011 and could lead to big things in 2012 is from a company who currently produces zero televisions: Apple. With the passing of Steve Jobs and release of his biography, the Apple CEO famously stated that he had finally “cracked” the television market. With nothing more than a line, the TV business has gone into a frenzy, attempting to beat Apple to the punch in what they believe will be a television, powered by Siri, Apple’s all new voice-enabled assistant. So how does this translate for Sony? The company who’s fallen behind to Samsung in sales and to Apple in imagination is looking to reinvent the television and you can bet that Music and Video Unlimited will play a big part of it in addition to recent restructuring plans. We don’t know what else is in store from the electronic giant but Sony’s CEO seems to think the company has an ace up their sleeve.

Sony Cameras

If the above sounds like a picture perfect year for Sony, then let’s not forget Sony’s award-winning camera lineup. 2011 might not have been a good year for Sony’s camera division but that was mainly out of the company’s hands. In 2012, the Sony NEX-5N and NEX-7 are looking to challenge the competition with the compact 16- and 24-megapixel cameras with 1080p already receiving praises from users and reviewers. With proper production in 2012 and Sony’s Alpha A77 joining the lineup, Sonys hybrid and DSLR cameras are beating rivals Nikon and Canon with innovation and creativity while they continue to offer more of the same.

Agree or disagree? Let’s talk after the jump.

Capcom Announces Resident Evil 6

Earlier today, Capcom announced Resident Evil 6; the newest title in their venerable survival-horror franchise.

Set 10 years after the events that destroyed Raccoon City, Resident Evil 6 will star a number of protagonists led by series stalwarts Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield. Leon’s story is set in the fictional city of Tall Oaks. It’s been overrun by zombies (that’s right, zombies are back!) and the president of the United States has become one of the undead. It’s up to Leon and his partner to survive and learn the secrets of the new infection.

Sony Personal 3D Viewer Overview

Another great piece of Sony tech that we were able to get our hands on during CES was the Sony Personal 3D Viewer. Shown off as a prototype at CES 2011, many attendees, including myself, believed that this was purely for research purposes and no device based on it would soon come into the market. Less then a year later, Sony introduced the device for $799, and it is capable of delivering 2D/3D content at 720p on two 1280×720 0.7-inch OLED panels which are mounted in front of each eye with an integrated 5.1 Surround Sound headphone system that is built into the Head Mounted Display (HMD). With a 150-inch screen simulated before my eyes, I gave the 3D visor with Gran Turismo 5, racing seats, steering wheel, and paddles a spin:

PlayStation Vita 3G Cannot Play Multiplayer Games on 3G

We’ve just recently learned about AT&T’s 3G pricing structure for the PS Vita Wi-Fi + 3G model. We’ve also known from past reports that, on 3G, the PS Vita would be limited to 20MB downloads. This meant that the PS Vita with 3G would be capable of download small games, DLC material and updates for gaming. On the social side, trophies, chatting, and location updates in addition to GPS could be used to enhance your experience. So where does this leave gaming on the PS Vita with 3G?

After talking with several members of the PlayStation team during CES, it seems that the PS Vita with 3G won’t be gaming on 3G after all. The possibility is left open for some small games that might require light internet connectivity like Words with Friends (this is purely an example and I’m not indicating such a game is in the works for the PS Vita); games like wipEout 2048 and Call of Duty have been ruled out. The limitation in this case is purely reliant on the lack of 3G strength, speed, and fluctuations of signals that one can encounter versus a lack of power from the PS Vita. It’s also to easy to see why developers might not want to support something like this if they can never properly rely on the number of users in a game with proper up and down speeds. Although this might seem like bad news, the frustration that one can encounter when trying to frag someone online while they skip around due to lag is a good enough reason to not support it in my eyes and keep online multiplayer to Wi-Fi only. Multiplayer fans should be hopeful of the future with 4G coverage growing and the potential to an updated PS Vita 4G model in the future.