Sony Corp.

Sony 3rd Quarter Financial Results: PS4, Xperia Strong, TV Divest, PC Sold

by Jonathan Nolan | Feb 6, 2014 | 9 comments

The financial results for the past three months of Sony Corp. were released today, forecasting a net loss of 110bn yen ($1.1bn) for the financial year ending March. This a revision downward from a previous prospect of 30bn yen profit.

The company reported a significant boost to sales and operating income, lifting the stock price. PS4 and Xperia smartphone and tablet sales were strong, as expected. All segments reported increased year-on-year sales and operating revenue, except for devices.

Sony has bit the bullet and sold of it’s PC business and is pushing out the TV division to a wholly-owned subsidary. This leads to impairment charges and write-offs with 5,000 job cuts planned before the end of the 2014 financial year. The PC business is sold to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. to “enhance the autonomy of the business”.

Read on the for full story.

Steve Jobs Wanted Mac OS X Running on Sony VAIOs?

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 5, 2014 | 3 comments

According to an interview with former Sony President Kunitake Ando, during a 2001 golf trip to Hawaii, Steve Jobs surprised him and his team with VAIO laptop running on Mac OS X. It’s no secret that Steve Jobs at the time shared a passion for Sony and was known to be close with Sony’s co-founder Akio Morita. In fact, after his return to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs attempted to model parts of Apple, including factories and their now iconic stores, after Sony. While the story might sound too far fetched, besides his admiration at the time for Sony, Steve Jobs and his top lieutenants were known to go to Hawaii once a year for a retreat where they relaxed and freely bounced ideas between one another. As we now know, the partnership never came to be, with Sony turning down the proposal but the facts around it might be even more intriguing than the reasoning.

Vodafone Australia Confirms Xperia Updates In Testing

by Jonathan Nolan | Feb 4, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony Mobile hasn’t said much since it first introduced major upgrade plans but now hints are coming in.

Vodafone Australia has unveiled update plans for four Sony phones on its website. The world’s third largest network and owner of US carrier Verizon indicates the Xperia M, SP, TX and Z are being tested for Jellybean updates. Read on for the details.

Sony Joins Illumina Inc. for New Genome Research Company

by Jonathan Nolan | Feb 3, 2014 | 2 comments

A new medical deal was recently struck between Sony Corp. and US-based Illumina Inc. creating a new company to collaborate on genome research. The initial aim will be to provide a genome analysis service but is hoped to evolve into being able to contribute to the provision of personalised medicine, which genome research is expected to play a larger part in the coming years.

This marks yet another joint effort between these companies which already work together in the genome research area.

Does this latest venture indicate the company that Sony Corp. wants to become?

Fox Will Use Six Sony 4K Cameras to Help With Super Bowl, Broadcast Still Limited to 720p

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 2, 2014 | 6 comments

Making it a first for the NFL, Fox will be using six Sony 4K cameras to capture the Super Bowl later today which will see Peyton Manning crush the Seahawks (yes I had to get that in there). Specifically, Fox will be utilizing the Sony F55s and F65 by placing two on the sidelines, two on the goal lines, and two on the end lines to enhance the networks “Super Zoom” feature. Traditionally, Fox has relied on their cameramen to zoom in on a specific action or event by using the cameras optical lens. With the extra resolution that 4K has to offer, Fox will instead be able to crop what they need, insuring that no play or detail will be missed with just a wide shot. Jerry Steinberg, Fox’s senior vice president of operations:

It allows us to do an electronic zoom and maintain resolution

Steinberg went on to say:

It’s all about the clarity of the replay and giving viewers the best possible look at a play, and that’s what we can do with these cameras. Since we’re starting with such a high-resolution image, we can zoom in multiple times on a shot and still get a completely clear picture with zero pixel degradation. You see everything in extreme detail, in fact with an extra amount of detail you wouldn’t see in a traditional replay.

Does this mean that those with a 4K set can catch the live event in 4K?

Sony Updates PlayStation Mobile App on iOS and Android With Streaming Features

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 31, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony has released a new update for the free PlayStation Mobile app on iOS and Android. Among your typical stability improvements, the PlayStation app version 1.60.6 brings “Live from PlayStation” to the app, showing you what your friends are streaming under the apps “What’s New” category. Currently, Ustream videos launch the UStream app while Twitch.tv broadcasts open via the web browser. But that’s not all.

Investor Ratings Agency Moody Cuts Sony Stock Grade to Junk; We Discuss the Company’s Outlook

by Jonathan Nolan | Jan 28, 2014 | 8 comments

On Monday this week the Japanese branch of the investor ratings agency Moody reduced Sony Corp. stock from Baa3 to Ba1, leading to a tumble in the stock price.

This news has produced mixed reactions. Moody’s report predictably targets falling PC demand and the troubles that the TV division has had. Fortunately, these areas form a smaller part of Sony’s operating revenue than only a few years ago thanks to years of cost-cutting measures and a reorganisation that targeted higher growth-potential areas such as smartphones, tablets and the gaming sector. Additionally, newer streams of income have been sourced in insurance and medical devices.

What exactly did Moody’s evaluation take issue with?

Sony Releases ‘Join Together’ Television Ad

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 28, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony has recently debuted a new ad titled Join Together that centers around what Sony can achieve when they combine the different expertise the company offers. The minute and a half ad starts with Sony’s most iconic product, the Walkman, and sprinkles their latest devices like the PlayStation 4 and Xperia Z1 with the QX10 attachable lens. The ad is also the first time that Sony is showcasing their new motto, Be Moved, outside of CES, replacing make.believe. To Sony’s credit, the new advertisement is much more clear about what it’s trying to pitch. Till now, most Sony advertisements have lacked a clear message or product pitch, making them a waste of the company’s precious advertising budget which isn’t much when compared to the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung. While the new ad doesn’t pitch a specific product, it instead works to reintroduce the company and pitches why they deserve a look the next time you’re ready to buy a camera, computer, or smartphone.

The ad can be found after the jump.

Sony Enlists the Help of Spider-Man In a Clever Xperia Z Ultra Promo

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 24, 2014 | 2 comments

After being on the market for a few months, it seems that Sony is finally turning its attention towards the Xperia Z Ultra, their ~~mega smartphone~~ Phablet. As a recap, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra offers a 1080p 6.4-inch display that might as well be a small tablet. In fact, it’s likely that thought process which led Sony to announce a Wi-Fi only edition of the Xperia Z Ultra yesterday which in turn makes the unit a tablet. Now, Sony has enlisted Spider-Man and released a clever new marketing spot in Japan that is simple and to the point. Are you listening Sony’s marketing team in the US? The clever ad and the making of it can be found, after the jump.

Should You See ‘Her?’

by Joel Dale | Jan 18, 2014 | 10 comments

Her is so complex in simple ways, it’s hard to keep my thoughts brief and confined to a normal sized review. But I’ll try. This gem of a film by the gem of a director Spike Jonze dishes up two hours of quirky, heart breaking, humorous goodness in ways that are both familiar and uncomfortable. Her tells the story of Theodore Twombly, a man who makes his living writing personal letters for people who are otherwise too busy or too out of touch to express their emotions themselves. His skill at tapping into the most touching thoughts of his clients, whom he gets to know over years of working with them, contrasts with his own inability to express himself. A quality which led to his divorce from the woman he obviously loves. Jonze fills the spaces in the back story by showing silent flashbacks, underscored by the dialogue of the current moment. In this way the present and the past collide in the same space.

Should You Play ‘Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag’ (PS4)?

by Brien Bell | Jan 15, 2014 | 2 comments

There’s something to be said for trying something different. Taking a chance, bucking the trend, eschewing the conventional. Unfortunately, that’s not something said too often about the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Since the seminal Assassin’s Creed II in 2009, Ubisoft Montreal’s tentpole franchise has been reliant upon building on what worked, little by little, while letting some mechanics idle and age with each passing release. With Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the follow up–and partial prequel–to last year’s Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft has pushed forward a little bit more, maybe enough to be something that’s a must-buy for any PlayStation 4 owners.

Sony Xperia 2014 Flagships ‘Sirius’ and ‘Avatar’ Separate Models?

by Jonathan Nolan | Jan 15, 2014 | 1 comment

We’re weeks into 2014 and we still don’t have firm plans from Sony on the next Xperia flagship. But there are many rumours.

Xperia Z2, ‘Avatar’, ‘Sirius’ – which is which? There is a glaring detail about one of these rumours that connects with how Sony launched the Z1 S. The latest news on the ‘Sirius’ helps tell them apart.

Read on to find out why the next Sony flagship is still hidden from view.

Sony Presents Xperia T2 Ultra, T2 Ultra Dual and E1, E1 Dual

by Jonathan Nolan | Jan 14, 2014 | 3 comments

Today Sony has announced two new Xperia smartphones also with dual-sim variants that are aimed for China, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific rim.

The Xperia T2 Ultra is a LTE mid-range smartphone sporting a 6″ screen with a 720 x 1080 pixel display, 13 MP camera including the powerful Exmor RS sensor, running on a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm MSM8928 Quad Core processor.

The Dual model matches those specs and adds the expected second sim slot.

The E1 and Dual variant comes forward with “The most powerful smartphone processor in its class” according to Sony. Besides admirable specs at this price point, it also features a 100 dB loudspeaker.

Read on to find out the full details.

VAIO Windows Phone, US Mobile Expansion, Global Ambitions, New Flagship at MWC

by Jonathan Nolan | Jan 13, 2014 | 5 comments

We’ve only crossed into 2014 but things are really heating up on the Sony Mobile front.

Sony has finally confirmed in an interview recently that they are in talks with Microsoft about offering Windows Phones. This would broaden Sony Mobile’s smartphone catalogue from the current Android-only range. In addition to this, a rumour suggests that the company would present Windows Phones under the VAIO brand and not the usual Xperia label.

The US and China should be seeing much more of Sony Mobile this year. The T-Mobile Z1 S was just the start it seems, as Sony Corp. CEO Kaz Hirai has revealed that the company will be investing big money in the US and China markets in 2014. Further, Hirai disclosed even higher targets in 2014 and 2015 in the mobile division. 2014 might be the year Sony Mobile goes global.

There is more ‘Sirius’ news too. Sony declared before CES in a new year message that it was not yet time for a new flagship, but there are rumours now that Mobile World Congress in February might produce an awesome mobile device. The rumours tell it is US-bound.

Read on to find out the details.

PSA: Sony Core Not a Product but Sony SmartBand Is… Let Us Explain

by Allegra Osati | Jan 9, 2014 | 0 comments

Here at CES 2014, Sony introduced a new wearable device that combines portability and connectivity to offer a unique logging experience for your daily life. The term that the press ran with for this device was the Sony Core… which is only partially correct. Let us explain after the jump.