Sony Corp.

Sony Patents New Two Fold Device

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 14, 2012 | 0 comments

Thanks to the fine folks at the USPO, we’ve just learned about a new patent filed by Sony which allows for two-way folding of devices, think the Sony Tablet P. Under this new patent which seems to target smartphones, touchscreen functionality would transfer from one screen to the next from the two screens which are connected via two rectangular casings that can be “rotated relatively in one of a first rotation direction and a second rotation direction orthogonal to each other.”

As usual, there isn’t a whole lot more information on this, nor is there any word if such a technology will ever even come to a device though a mixture of the Tablet P and PlayStation Vita with rear touchscreen does pose an interesting blend for smartphones.

Sony Announces Q1 2012 Loss of $312 Million, Improves on Last Quarter

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 3, 2012 | 0 comments

Unfortunately not shocking anyone, Sony has announced its first earning report for its 2012 fiscal year with a loss of $312 million while rival Apple just last week announced a $8.8 billion profit on $35 billion revenue. Fortunately, unlike the previous quarter which saw Sony finish out its 2011 year with a record $3.2 billion loss, the company has been able reduce its losses while growing revenue to $19.2 billion. The jump is mostly attributed to the acquisition of Sony Ericsson and bringing in the smartphone division in house under Sony Mobile.

Bringing all mobile operations in house did pose its own problems on the balance sheet as the cost of the buyout resulted in the division losing $143 million, wiping out all profits and leading Sony to its loss. As we reported earlier, Sony has also cut sales estimates of its PSP and PS Vita units by 4 million, down to 12 million units for the year. While Sony has touted the PS Vita as profitable from day one, the new handheld was unable to help offset lower PS3 and PSP sales, resulting in the gaming division to suffer a $45 million loss.

Sony’s other major pillar, digital imaging, was however part of the bright spots for the recovering electronic giant, posting a $160 million profit. While compact camera sales were down year over year, thanks to the rise of quality cameras on smartphones, DSLR and professional products were able to keep the division profitable.

Sony Cuts PSP and PS Vita Forecasts by 4 Million

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 2, 2012 | 5 comments

Today’s Sony Q1 2012 earnings report were the first under new President and CEO, Kaz Hirai who took over the company a little less than 6 months ago. Like the past few years, the earnings report was nothing to write home about though its tough to expect a full turnaround from a company whose been as battered down as Sony. While Sony continued to take big losses in the television division (expected), the company drastically reduced their business ending year forecast for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita by 4 million, with the PS Vita having only been released for 5 months in the US.

Should You Buy ‘Sorcery?’

by Jan Hutchings | Jul 23, 2012 | 0 comments

I’ll be honest; I wasn’t super excited to play Sorcery on the PlayStation Move. I guess the trailers and the demo on PSN didn’t really sell me on the game’s premise and potential compared to other PS Move games. Color me surprised then when I actually sank my teeth into the full game. What I found was a fun action game with a fairly interesting story that was greatly enhanced by its responsive motion controls. What would’ve been just another action game turned into an immersive (yet physically tiring) experience that’s unique to the PlayStation Move.

Sorcery casts players as Finn (voiced by Uncharted’s Nolan North), a young magician’s apprentice that gets embroiled in a one-man fight to protect not only his world, but the world of his friend Erline as well. The Nightmare Queen has sent her massive armies to take over the land, destroying everyingthing and everyone in their path. Finn and his feline companion Erline must travel through the different locations to discover new and more powerful magics to defeat the Nightmare Queen in one final battle.

After the jump, our full Sorcery review.

New Text Scam Masks Itself as Sony Ireland

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 9, 2012 | 0 comments

Over in Europe and specifically Ireland, a new text messaging scam has surfaced where users are directed towards Sony.ie which claims to offer free prizes from Sony Ireland. Trouble is, Sony is not partaking in such a promotion and the domain is not owned or operated by Sony. Sony has taken to their Ireland Facebook page to warn its community while also reporting the site to COMREG, the National Consumer Agency and the Garda Fraud Squad.

More on this as it develops…After the jump, Sony’s official response.

New Sony PRS-T2 Reader Ousted

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 5, 2012 | 0 comments

Thanks to the fine people at the FCC, the PRS-T2, the next generation Sony Reader has been ousted before its official public unveiling. Though the FCC isn’t in the spec leaking business, all devices carrying a wireless chip have pass through their halls for approval. What we do know is that the device will once again retain its 6-inch design with 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a microSD card for additional storage. 3G doesn’t seem present this time around which points to a probably lower entry cost for this device. Expect a mid to late September release date for the next generation Sony Reader PRS-T2.

Is Sony Bringing its Sound Forge Audio Editing Software to the Mac?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 28, 2012 | 0 comments

While many might not be aware of Sony’s software prowess, the company is responsible for some excellent consumer video and editing software which includes Vegas suite, designed for video editing with native 3D support and Acid, their advanced audio creator tool and Sound Forge. Thanks to MacRumors, we’ve learned that new site called FinallyOnTheMac.com has gone live which consist of a single teaser video which can be seen bellow, titled “Countdown to a revolution.”

Kaz Hirai, Sony’s CEO, Promises Revival Plan Will Work

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 27, 2012 | 7 comments

If there’s ever been a company between a rock and a hard place, its Sony. The company, which experienced phenomenal growth in the 80’s and 90’s, was able to expand in all markets, from digital clocks, to high end televisions and the navigation in your car that will hopefully lead you to a store to purchase their products. At its peak, Sony enjoyed a dominant position in almost all marks, but the 2000’s saw the company face stiff competition, thanks to the revival of Apple and a surge of products from Samsung. The company, which was unprepared for the digital revolution, has fallen behind in most categories, and only in the past 6 months, under the new CEO, Kaz Hirai, have we seen them pull out from less than favorable markets and end legacy products under the ‘One Sony‘ initiative.

Speaking to shareholders today, Kaz Hirai promised that his plan will save the troubled Japanese giant and once again outlined his initiative which will see the company’s Xperia line of smartphones, gaming with PlayStation, and digital imaging lead the way. Though in details, Kaz also promised to triple their online gaming network sales (PlayStation Network) by 2015. PSN is currently enjoyed as a free service with premium content to purchase like avatars, games, and videos on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and the recently released PlayStation Vita.

Hirai has also taken the troubled television division, which is responsible for the Bravia brand and much of Sony’s losses and potential profits, under his own personal leadership. Sony has already announced a partnership with Panasonic which will see the two Japanese makers c0-develop OLED televisions in 2013. Hirai plans to “expand group sales by a third to 8.5 trillion yen ($106.97 billion) in two years with an operating margin of more than 5 percent.”

Since Hirai has taken over the company, Sony shares have slid by 36% though that’s hardly a reflection on his performance and it is impossible to expect drastic changes within such a large company in such a short period of time. Instead, the decline is a result of a further realization of Sony’s position while the world markets have continued to decline, due to the ongoing Euro crises.

Playstation Store Update (06-26-2012)

by Chris Quibol | Jun 27, 2012 | 0 comments

If you own a Playstation 3 and haven’t played the first two games in the Uncharted series yet, you’re probably crazy, but this week’s Playstation Store update has you lunatics covered. Available for full download this week for the first time on the Playstation Store are Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, available separately or together as a savings bundle.

Two new releases also make their way to the Playstation Store, as the movie tie-in The Amazing Spider-Man and Resident Evil: Chronicles HD are both now available for download. The Amazing Spider-Man looks to recapture the magic of past Spider-Man games with a fully explorable New York City and revamped web-sling controls. The game also acts as an epilogue to the upcoming Sony Pictures film.

Resident Evil: Chronicles HD features two early games from the franchise, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles andResident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, both available on a Playstation console for the first time. These two on-rails shooters are also Playstation Move compatible and have upgraded HD graphics for there PS3 debut.

And finally, if you’re a Playstation Plus subscriber, be sure to check out all sorts of discounts for various games, including all of the aforementioned titles, Journey, Skullgirls, Madden 12, and Fifa 12.

Check out the entire Playstation Store update after the break.

Music Unlimited now Available on iOS Devices

by Sohrab Osati | May 29, 2012 | 12 comments

Just a week ago, Sony announced that the long-available Android and PlayStation app, Music Unlimited, Sony’s subscription based music streaming services, would finally be coming to iOS devices in a week’s time. The two-year-old subscription service offers would-be users two plans, consisting of a $4/mo for unlimited music streaming with basic channel access while $10/mo will allow for playlist creation, and access charts, new releases, and premium channels. The premium membership also allows you to sync your personal music to the cloud, giving you access to it on all Music Unlimited devices and web browsers. First time users can sign up for a free 30 day trial.

Now, the free iOS app is finally available for download on the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch users. iPad users can also get in on the action though the app is not natively written for the popular device.

Sony Ends Sharp LCD Joint Venture, Loses No Money in the Process

by Sohrab Osati | May 24, 2012 | 18 comments

It shouldn’t be news to anyone whose followed Sony the past few years that their television division has been troubled. With 8 consecutive years of losses, Sony in the last year has begun reassessing their stake in LCD production which lead the company to sell their stake in S-LCD production back to Samsung. Without the headaches of small LCD production, Sony was left with their joint venture with Sharp who they developed and created larger LCD screens, fitted for televisions. In late March, news broke that even that co-operation between the two companies was beginning to breakdown as Sharp was even in a worse financial condition than Sony. Now, we have confirmation that Sony had ended the join venture between the two companies. Details, after the jump.

Sony and Samsung Force Retailers to Stop Offering TV Discounts

by Sohrab Osati | May 23, 2012 | 3 comments

We’ve reported extensively on the decline of Sony’s stock which has hit a new 25 year low. After the drop in stock prices and the company recording a record $5.7 billion annual loss, many analysts began to reconsider their position on the electronic giant which caused the company’s prospects change to ‘sell,’ down from a ‘hold’ position. While many attribute Sony’s decline the past few years with their inability to compete with Apple in the mobile market, Sony’s woes began nearly a decade ago as consumers and the industry began to transition from rear projection televisions to the newer and thinner LCD technology. Sony, then the largest TV manufacturer, downplayed the new trend and was slow to adapt LCD, allowing room for companies like Samsung to offer more models. As Samsung continues to eat into Sony’s TV share, the company was able to leverage its size for better component pricing and beating Sony in the one area consumers probably care the most about, price.

Despite superior products, Sony has reported 8 years of losses for their television business while this year will likely mark the 9th consecutive annual loss from selling TVs. To get into the growing television business, much like the PC business, many competing companies like LG, Vizio, Sharp, and Samsung soon entered into a price war with one and other, driving the price of LCD TVs down drastically. While the move resulted in better prices for consumer, now like the PC business, there was little to no profits left in each unit sold while other would sell at a loss, hoping to drive up their revenue and making profits else place.

Now, global TV shipments fell for the first time since 2004 resulting in Sony and Samsung, the number 3 and number 1 TV manufacturers, to take a new approach to pricing their televisions which would no longer allow retailers to offer discounts. More details, after the jump.

Sony Stock Downgraded from ‘Hold’ to ‘Sell’

by Sohrab Osati | May 23, 2012 | 25 comments

Unless you happen to be one of the Sony execs who ignored the transition to smartphones, tablets, and did little to properly prepare the company for the LCD television wars, you know that the company has been in trouble the past few years. After reporting a record $5.7 billion annual loss, (its fourth year to post such losses), the company stock hit a new 25 year low with share prices dipping below $15. Sony has promised that 2013 will be the year they are able to turn back to profitability but with another year of potential losses ahead of the company, even if their turnaround plan works, the company has years of losses to make up for while its competitors sit on piles of cash. With a wave of new portable devices likely to hit from Apple in the next few months and the company’s rumored entry in the television business while Samsung continues to offer more competing products, analysts have downgraded Sony stocks from hold to sell, citing:

company’s weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow.

More details after the jump.

Sony’s Music Unlimited Comes to iOS with iPhone Support

by Sohrab Osati | May 21, 2012 | 16 comments

Sony’s Music Unlimited has long been part of the company’s digital strategy to compete with services like Spotify, Pandora, and, to a lesser extent, iTunes. Music Unlimited, much like other services, is based on subscriptions which start at $4 a month for unlimited music streaming with basic channel access. Those who pony up $10/mo will be treated to the ability to create playlists, and access charts, new releases, and premium channels. Sony also allows you to sync your music to the cloud, giving you access to it on all Music Unlimited devices which include the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Android devices, and Sony’s 2011 and above line of Bravia televisions and home theater systems. Sony has also long promised iOS support which would include support for 200 million new devices.

Now, Sony has been to deliver on the promise by releasing Music Unlimited for iOS. The free app is currently only available to download in New Zealand but that should change as the app passes through and hits more Apple servers. Though the app will run on the iPad, its current form was designed for iPhone and iPod Touch users. While not a deal breaker, it once again points to Sony being behind on the curve while most modern day apps on iOS launch with support for both platforms.

A list of countries with access to Music Unlimited and picture of the iOS app await you after the jump.

Sony Patents Wireless Power Plant for Cordless Charging

by Sohrab Osati | May 18, 2012 | 0 comments

We’ve all dreamed of living in a totally cordless world and in the last few years, thanks to new standards like wireless N which allows for faster streaming of data, wireless syncing with iTunes, and backups to services like iCloud, we are inching closer than ever to a totally wireless world with each passing day. Still, when all is said and done, your iPad or PS Vita still needs to be plugged into an outlet to be charged, making a wireless world for our ever growing arsenal of portable devices still a far off dream. Sure some wireless accessories exist but they still require you to place your phone on a specific pad which is plugged into the wall. You not only still have to deal with that device being plugged in, but also have to deal with slower recharge times, making you opt back for the original charger that came with your device. Now, Sony thinks its may have the solution, thanks to a recent patent filing which would have the company daisy chaining your devices for a wider charge area and faster charge times. Lets talk details after the jump.