Sony Corp.

Was Sony Music Hacked?

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 5, 2012 | 15 comments

This is still a developing story and as I’m writing this, SonyMusic.com seems to be back up and running. However, earlier today, we received a tip from one of our readers that Sony Music might be hacked. Upon further inspection, we also found the site to be down, indicating:

Service Unavailable

The servie is temporary unavailable. Please try again later.

With Sony Music still in support of SOPA, hacker organizations in the recent days have states that they would be targeting Sony. It’s unclear at this time if this was indeed the work of hackers or a temporary outage on Sony’s part and just mere coincidence.

Thanks to Mike for the tip!

Sony Reader Wi-Fi Prices Goes Back to $129, Still Cheaper Than Before

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 2, 2012 | 20 comments

Just a few weeks before Christmas, Sony decided to fight off Amazons Kindle by dropping the price of the superior specced Sony Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) to $129, down $20 from the original MSRP. The price which was already below Amazons Kindle Touch would take another $30 reduction, down to $99 the following week and would stay that way till the end of the holiday season. With Christmas behind us, Sony has stuck to its word and has ended the temporary price reduction, pinning the Reader Wi-Fi at $129.

Like all Sony things, I just wished that the strategy was implemented a few weeks earlier and maybe lasted another week or two, ya know, for all those gift cards and checks people tend to get. Still, it’s nice to see them be extremely price competitive for the few weeks and still continue to offer the better price when compared to the Kindle Touch.

Sony Sells Stake in Samsung LCD Partnership for $939 Million

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 26, 2011 | 1 comment

Sony and Samsung are finally going their separate ways, breaking up a partnership that started between the two electronic powerhouses in 2004. Under the new agreement, Samsung will buy the remaining partnership between the two companies for $939 million. As Sony explained,

this transaction will enable it to monetize its shares in S-LCD and aims to secure a flexible and steady supply of LCD panels from Samsung, based on market prices and without the responsibility and costs of operating a manufacturing facility.

Under this new agreement, Samsung will officially become the worlds largest TV and flatscreen panel maker.

More on this as it develops. After the jump, your comments and the official PR release.

Sony Will Give You Up to $50 For Your Amazon Kindle Trade In

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 12, 2011 | 13 comments

If you thought that Sony was taking the eReader market lightly, it might be time to think that thought through again. After offering a pricier answer to the Amazon Kindle Touch, despite a superior build, Sony slashed the price of their Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) to $129, below the Kindle by $10. Then, Sony followed by nocking down the price another $30 to an all time low of $99, beating Amazon at their own price game while offering a thinner, multitouch unit, versus the counterpart while putting the Sony Reader Wi-Fi in Nook pricing territory.

Now, Sony is turning up the heat with another offensive on Amazon which can help you snag a Sony Reader Wi-Fi for just $50. In a new promotion, owners of previous Kindle models can trade in their old unit for up to $50. The gift card can then be applied towards the Sony Reader Wi-Fi or any other Sony product that might interest you. With the comparable kindle running higher in price and only able to match Sony with ads on screen, this might be the perfect time for Sony to start an advertising blitz, announcing their no ads, thinner and multitouch eReader which also goes toe-to-toe with the Kindle in price and their trade in promotion which makes their unit neatly unbeatable.

Let’s talk, after the jump.

Sony Offers DRM Free Music Downloads

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 9, 2011 | 19 comments

In a somewhat under the radar announcement, Sony and the D.C. public libraries have announced a deal which would give members of the library access to Sony’s vast library of music. Sony will be bringing more than 10,000 independent labels to the public libraries website and anyone with a library card will be able to download three music tracks a week, DRM free for…well free. This means a 156 legally free songs a year from Sony Music who has wide range of artists like Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Stevie Wonder.

“For many in the District, their neighborhood library is dclibrary.org,” said Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian for the DC Public Library. “Offering music online extends the role libraries can play in connecting the public with artist and styles that they know as well as helping them discover new genres.”

In a age where you see record companies struggling to understand the nature of the new landscape that they do business in, it’s nice to see Sony take steps towards a new business model that doesn’t automatically assume the worst in people. Best of all, anyone is able to make an account with the library and access/download the free music from their computer, without ever having to visit the physical library (though to local D.C. users, we recommend it).

“Sony Music has an incredibly expansive and popular catalog, and we are really excited to partner with them on this, a very important product for libraries,” said Brian Downing, co-founder of Library Ideas. “A library is a focal point of the community that requires many tools to excite people about library resources. More than anything, that is the reason for the service.”

After the jump, your comments and a link to a list of Sony artists.

Sony Reader Wi-Fi Price Drops to $99, Is Now $40 Less Than Kindle Touch

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 9, 2011 | 2 comments

So continues it’s assault on the Amazon Kindle by dropping the price of their award winning Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) to $99. Late last week, Sony dropped the Reader Wi-Fi price to $129, down from the $149 MSRP. The $20 price drop placed the eReader in Amazon Kindle territory with the competing model from Amazon (Kindle Touch) being priced at $139. If beating that model by $10 wasn’t enough, Sony is now beating the Kindle Touch by $40. Being priced at $99, this also places the Sony Reader Wi-Fi in Nook territory which is also priced at $99.

Sony is also quick to point out that yes you can get the Kindle Touch for $99 as well but why pay the same price for a device that is thicker and features ads on your screen; and I think we can all agree, a little less ads is a beautiful thing. Other features of the Sony Reader Wi-Fi include access to Google Books, again something that the Kindle cannot do.

So lets recap, multitouch support, thinner then competitors, better built material and access to Google books are just a few of the reasons why you should look at the Sony Reader Wi-Fi as your next eReader. After the jump, share your thoughts with us.

Aziz Ansari Hates Sony’s GoogleTV

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 8, 2011 | 24 comments

Aziz Ansari and Jesse Eisenberg recently starred in Sony Pictures 30 Minutes or Less, a film about two fledgling criminals who kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank—or else. The movie, which came out in mid-August, is now available on Blu-ray and Aziz Ansari recently sat down to promote the film. However, it seems that the host was more interested in Sony’s Network Blu-ray Player with Google TV and Aziz Ansari than the topic at hand.

Click the above picture to be taken to the video.

Sony Reader Wi-Fi Drops to $129.99, Beats Amazon Kindle in Price

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 5, 2011 | 26 comments

Not to toot our own horn or anything but I’d like to think that somewhere along the line, Sony management read our story, “It’s time for Sony to reconsider their eReader strategy,” after which they decided to initiate a price drop on the Sony Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1). But even if I have to come off my high horse and admit that it probably didn’t happen that way, it’s still nice to see Sony realize that the price of the Reader WiFi was highly uncompetitive. Now officially priced at $129.99 versus the launch $149.99, the Reader WiFi is actually $10 cheaper then the Kindle Touch which is comes in at $139.99 ($99 if you opt for the version with advertisement on it).

Sony has long argued (even directly with us), that their eReader devices have superior build and quality and to that, we’ve never doubted them on that. However, when the industry leader device (the Kindle) continues to offer starting prices of $99, unless Sony can truly offer something mind bending different, not many will be willing to pay the extra premium offered by the Sony Reader. This especially becomes more and more true as specific device names become synonymies with the product segment i.e. calling all MP3 players iPods and all eReaders Kindles. One can argue that when happens, that company has already won that entire segment and there is little competitors can do. By lowering the price point of the Reader Wi-Fi to that below of the Kindle Touch, Sony is able to not only compete on the dollar to dollar ratio, but also hopefully shake off the image that their device prices always come at a premium.

SGNL by Sony Gives You Their Take on the 2011 Holiday Gift Guide

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 28, 2011 | 9 comments

Anthony and Samia are back again in a new segment from SGNL by Sony where the two techies give you some great shopping tips. In their 2011 holiday gift guide, the two show you all different kind of gift options, starting under $50 and going from there. Worth checking out if you’ve been wondering what to get for that techie this holiday season.

Sony is the 9th Most Desired Company to Work For in the USA

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2011 | 17 comments

A new reports is out by Universum, an employment data and consulting firm, which asks young professionals which companies they most want to work for. The survey which 6,700 early-career professionals participated in, all under the age of 40 were given a list of 200 companies to choose from. Not surprisingly, Apple, Facebook, Google ranked in the top 5 which all have a hip image with a great cultures and success to back them up with. Sneaking into the top 10 list was Sony Electronics, ranked in at number 9, just behind Microsoft which came in at number 8. No doubt, part of Sony’s appeal has always been the PlayStation brand which has in recent years been home to exclusive games such as Uncharted, God of War, LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo.

After the jump, the top 50 most desired companies to work for.

Sony Will Boost Image Sensor Production by 50%

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2011 | 10 comments

Sony has announced plans to boost their image sensor production by 50% within the next two to three years. Sony is currently in a transition that will further boost their current production to 50,000 chips by March 2012. The image sensors in focus are used in a variety of digital cameras and smartphones. Sony hopes that by 2014 or 2015, the company will be able to produce 75,000 image sensor chips a month.

Sony is also hoping that they will be able to attain greater productions at their existing Nagasaki Technology Centre plant in southern Japan where the current CCD and CMOS sensors are being produced. If they can achieve this, the company will be able to increase their profit margins while not absorbing the higher costs of additional plants and workers. It’s unclear if this boost in production is related to Apple new blockbuster iPhone 4S, which Sony provides the 8-megapixel imaging sensor for. Samsung, one of Sony’s biggest rival currently provides image sensors and flash memory for a number of their competitors, including Apple while making huge profits. The profits are then used to further their design, advertising and R&D. I’ve long advocated for such a move from Sony and hope that this is a sign for more component production from the electronic giant to come.

Should You Buy ‘Batman: Arkham City?’

by Jan Hutchings | Nov 15, 2011 | 22 comments

Decades of older Batman games forced the titular character in beat-em-up, racing, and arcade-style brawlers, though none of them came close to literally putting players deep into the world of the Dark Knight. The world’s greatest detective and martial artist needed a game that would allow him to use his investgative skills, wits, gadgets, and dangerous fighting styles without having to be shoehorned into tired genre staples.

Thankfully, in 2009, DC had finally broken the curse with Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum; eventually winning countless game-of-the-year awards and achieving retail success in the process. This success allowed Rocksteady to create perhaps one of the greatest superhero games ever made, and definitely the best game of 2012 with Batman: Arkham City.

Sony CEO, Sir Howard Stringer Has No Plans to Step Down

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 15, 2011 | 12 comments

Nearly a year ago, we reported a story about looking internally for a new president who would eventually succeed current CEO, Sir Howard Stringer. Though not much came out of these reports, they once again surfaced earlier this month, with more fuel, after Sony reported a $1 billion annual loss. It’s been no secret that Sony’s had trouble being profitable the last decade while rivals have surpassed the company in market shares and revenue. In fact, since Sir Howard Stringer took control of Sony in 2005, Sony has fallen more than 60 percent, while rival Samsung has nearly doubled its share.

However, as I’ve pointed out before, its hard to assume that things might have played different if someone else was at the helm of the electronic giant. For all we know, the company could have even been worse off. So is it time for Sony to find a new CEO, or is the company finally lining its ducks in a row? The company is currently finishing a deal that would have them buy out the remaining shares of their Ericsson partnership, thus bringing all smartphone ventures in-house. Sony has also begun a restructuring their television business with Sir Howard Stringer saying that their currently developing a revolutionary television in order to take on the likes of Apple. When the Wall Street Journal brought up the topic of his resignation during an event at New York, the Sony CEO was very clear about his intensions with the company, stating that:

“No. I am not leaving this job. It depends on what the board says and all the rest of it, but no, I am fighting. I am up for this fight,”

Sony Acquires Netblender, Looks to Enhance Blu-ray Disc Creation Tools

by Allegra Osati | Nov 9, 2011 | 1 comment

Sony Creative Software, a division of Sony Corporation, has announced the buyout of Netblender, a company that develops a range of Blu-ray Disc creation tools. Netblender, which was founded in 2005, designs and develops “practical and professional Blu-ray technology solutions for the global BD production community.” Netblender has also developed the tools which allow iOS and Android apps to control TVs, Blu-ray players, and cable boxes. Netblender has had a wide reach in Blu-ray adoption, having worked on over 2,000 Blu-ray titles in 31 different countries.

“NetBlender and Sony Creative Software share the same passion for expanding Blu-ray adoption among independent production companies and post houses worldwide,” said John Harrington, CEO of NetBlender. “The combination of NetBlender’s innovative products and Sony’s market leadership will be a powerful force for encouraging growth in the Blu-ray industry.”

Through the agreement, Sony Creative Software will acquire NetBlender’s DoStudio product line of authoring applications to expand its current portfolio of Blu-ray Disc software products which currently includes DVD Architect and Blu-print. Details from the deal were not disclosed, though operations are expected to remain the same at Netblender till the buyout is complete.

After the jump, a letter from John Harrington, NetBlender CEO to the NetBlender community.

Sony and Sony Ericsson Decline On Greenpeace’s Environmental Rankings of Electronics Companies

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 9, 2011 | 1 comment

One of the bright spots for Sony Corporation over the last few years has been their green initiative and their environmentally-healthy products and production plants. Sony regularly beat rivals like Apple, Samsung, and Nintendo in this area, who scored dead last among the top companies listed last year. Now, both Sony and Sony Ericsson have taken a dip in the most recent findings on the Greenpeace’s environmental rankings of electronics companies while rival Apple has now come ahead, ranking in 4th place and beating Sony for the first time.

Sony Ericsson, the soon-to-be-bought-out partnership between Sony and Ericsson is down four spots to number six, compared to last year. Sony Ericsson gets a joint top score on green products and good sustainable operation score but is weak on energy criteria. Sony by itself has also lost four spots in this year’s ranking, landing at the number ten spot while rival Apple is now up to number four. Samsung, one of Sony’s biggest rivals has also lost two spots, down to number seven. Sony receives a penalty point for lobby against stricter energy efficiency standards in California. However it also received top scores for supporting ambitious climate targets in Europe.

After the jump, the full report on Sony.