Sony Corp.

PlayStation Network’s ‘Welcome Back’ Package is now Live. Plenty of Free Games for You

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 3, 2011 | 6 comments

Eager PlayStation fans across the US and Europe were greeted to good news yesterday that the PlayStation Store was up and running. Even though PSN has been back up for nearly two weeks, Sony needed some additional time to sort the store itself out. Still, fans were wondering where the promised “Welcome Back” package which was set to include lots of free goodies and 2 games like,

Dead Nation
inFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

While PSP owners would get to pick two of the following:

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
ModNation Racers
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation

Now, the mystery is no more as Sony has announced that the PlayStation Store ‘Welcome Back’ package is live and ready for both continents. All PS3 and PSP fans have to do is to bring up the store and navigate to the new link/banner that they will see in the store. Other things to look forward to are free movie rentals on the Movie side of the store. Of course, PlayStation Plus fans who pay a monthly fee for additional goodies and cloud game storage will also receive an extra 60 days on their subscription. Fans will have exactly a month to download the free content as the tab containing the free goodies will disappear on July 3rd, 2011.

It’s also been noted that some users are experiencing an issue where after they leave the store and revisit it again, they no longer see the free content. Well after the jump, we have an official fix for you so that you can once again access the free content. Also after the jump, you will find the full breakdown of the ‘Welcome Back’ offering from Sony. So what do you guys think about the free content? Do you like it? And if so, which titles have you or will you be downloading?

Meet the PlayStation 3 Portable, a Water-cooled Laptop

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 1, 2011 | 3 comments

What do you do if you want to take your ultimate gaming machine with you everywhere, you have a thing for taking computers apart and you know a thing or two about software? You built a custom PlayStation 3 laptop of course which of course would be water-cooled because anything else would just be too easy. After nearly three years of designing and testing, Ben from PS3Hax has created the ultimate mobile PlayStation 3. Better yet, this puppy isn’t just portable and water-cooled, but also offers the following upgrades and features:

Water cooled with easy accessible reservoir
HD: 720p/1080i screen (via HDMI)
4x USB
500 gb HDD
External PSU
Built in keyboard
Built in speakers with volume controls with 2.5mm headphone jack.
The stock PS3 was a 40gb SKU (there was no PS3 slim when I started the project).
Dimensions are 16.75”x13”x2.5” (16.75”x13”x3.5”with lid closed)
Weighs ~15lbs.

Coming in at 15lbs though, it might not be something you will take to the office or school but sure beats lugging out your television and additional accessories when you go to your next LAN party. And if this is something that interests you, look no further then eBay as Ben is looking to sell the machine to help pay for his servers while the rest of the proceeds will go towards the tornado relief efforts in Joplin, Missouri.

Hit the jump for some additional pictures, as well as video of the machine in action with some epic music. Is a portable PS3 something you would ever desire? Or better yet, have you ever put anything together like this before? We want to hear your thoughts.

[Via PS3Hax]

[Bid on eBay]

PlayStation Move to come to PSP Go or NGP?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 1, 2011 | 1 comment

If the patent office is an indication to go by to see where a company will be headed in the future, then look no further to Sony’s 2009 filing. The patent which specially points to the PSP Go would allow the handheld system to gain PlayStation Move compatiblity via a dock. Those who own Move for the PS3 will note that you need a camera to make the motion gaming add-on work and that’s exactly what this dock would have offered. A built-in camera in the top center of the dock would much like the PlayStation Eye track the Move controllers, allowing users further freedom and interaction with their PSP Go.

But seeing how the NGP is around the corner and we expect plenty of news on the device at E3 next week, we doubt that Sony would suddenly release such an accessory for the PSP Go, seeing how they have slowed down production for the unit. However, a device like this could further add a special touch the NGP. In fact, seeing how the NGP has a front and rear facing camera, chances are that an implementation of this could be done, without the need of an additional dock like the above patents shows.

“Methods, systems, and computer programs for wireless interaction with a portable device supported by a stand are presented. In one method operation, a communications link is established between the portable device and the stand. The stand tracks the motion of an input device within an interactivity zone. In another method operation, the portable device interfaces with the input device to generate actions associated with game objects in the portable device, where the interface takes place when the input device is in or near the interactivity zone. Additionally, the stand moves when the tracking detects that the input device is outside predefined boundaries near an edge of the interactivity zone. The stand movement information is transferred via the communications link to update the location of the interactivity zone.”

Seeing how one of Sony’s goals has been to create a seamless gaming experience between the NGP and PS3, allowing users to start gaming on one device and continue it on the next as Hideo Kojima has pointed out, using the PlayStation Move could be further prove of concept for such a vision.

Hit the jump for one more picture from this patent. While you are there, let us know what you think about this accessory. Would it be something that you would want to purchase for your PSP or NGP? How about if it was built in?

[Via Free Patents Online]

Sony Ericsson Brings Android 2.1 Update to AT&T Xperia X10 Owners

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 3 comments

Do you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 running on AT&T? If so, good news for you. Sony Ericsson has just released a new update for your smartphone, bringing it now to Android 2.1. So there you are folks, a free update for you to consume! But fret not, despite Sony’s earlier statements that the Xperia X10 would go no further then Android 2.1, Sony Ericsson a few months back had a change of heart and will be releasing Android 2.3 for the X10 at a later date.

Are you an X10 owner? Let us know your experience with the device in the comments section below.

[Via Sony Ericsson Blog]

PogoPlug Video Unboxing and Preview (video)

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 3 comments

As promised in our website 2.0 post, our goal is to provide more original content for you, our readers and we’ve just achieved two more notches in our belt when it comes to that promise. You see, not only will we be attending Sony’s E3 press conference next week, but we have also received a PogoPlug Video to unbox for you.

The PogoPlug Video was brought to life between a partnership between Sony and Cloud Engines with a simple, but complex and yet complex idea at the same time. Make sharing of AVCHD video, a format that all of Sony’s Cybershot, Alpha, NEX and Handycam camcorder shoot in natively which provides superior audio and video, both simple and hassle free. With the AVCHD format, comes larger file sizes and a format that YouTube and Facebook aren’t so keen on supporting. With the PogoPlug Video and Sony’s partnership with them, you simply need to drag the video from your camera into your shared PogoPlug video folder, and the free PogoPlug app for your Mac or PC will allow you share this content for free and provide you near instant streaming capabilities. All this “cloud storage” and streaming capabilities also come to you with no monthly fees or bandwidth limits whatsoever. But before we get into our review, here is an unboxing for you.

If you have any questions about the PogoPlug, let us know about in the comments section below. Also, do you have a preferred cloud storage system setup? How about a home server? Let us know!

NGP to be “More Affordable” and Less Costly for Sony

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 2 comments

We all now by know how the PlayStation 3 saga played out. Though this current generation is far from over, the road ahead is bright for the PS3, unlike the first two years of the consoles life. When the PS3 was born, long before the E3 debut and Tokyo Game Show trailers, Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and then PlayStation 3 had one clear goal in mind. To create the most powerful and cutting edge machine that he possibly could. This meant offering features that many at the time would not be sure of like a Blu-ray player, 3D gaming and movies. Now of course, in retrospect, those have all been fantastic choices as Blu-ray is the definitive and ideal way to playback HD, 3D movies and 3D games. However, with Blu-ray, 3D, Bluetooth, Cell Processor and custom graphics cards, Sony paid a huge price for it. Not only did the PlayStation 3 come out a year later then the Xbox 360, it also cost a lot more which slowed the adoption rate and Sony was still losing $300 on each machine sold. This dug a big whole for the PlayStation division which was losing a massive amount of money, due to the high cost of the machine. Now nearly 5 years later, the PlayStation division is doing fine and is about to unveil more information for their second generation PSP at this years E3, codenamed the NGP.

So would Sony repeat the same trend that the PS3 set? Not so says Massaru Kato, Sony’s Chief Financial Officer when he spoke to the WSJ. The NGP will be less “investment heavy” and instead, rely on less custom GPUs and parts and more off the shelf products from partners. This means that Sony can turn to a manufacture who is already producing the parts they need in high volume and therefor, be able to get a lower price on the part, unlike the PlayStation 3’s cell processor for example which is being used exclusively in the PS3. Lower component costs for Sony will also translate to a lower product price for consumers, meaning that the NGP will be much more competitively priced to Nintendo’s recently released 3DS.

What do you think about the NGP and the price tag it will carry? Will it be PS3 expensive or something less? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via WSJ-Subscription Required]

We Will Be Attending and Live Blogging from Sony’s E3 Press Conference

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 11 comments

This year is already shaping up to be a great year for us when it comes to live Sony events. We’ve so far have had the pleasure of attending CES and Coachella. Next week, we will be crossing off E3 from our to attend list and follow that up the next month by going to ComicCon. So although you typically get some great insight for those who will attend E3 during the normal 3 days, we ironically don’t have an in for that. Instead, will be attending Sony’s E3 press conference this Monday, June 6th which kicks off at 5PM (Eastern time), which is the event where real news is made. But there is more; we won’t just be there to attend, gather information and report back the following days. Rather, we will be there equipped with our laptop while we live blog the entire press conference! So if you have some questions, please drop them below in the comment section or check back with us the day of and we will try to answer them for you, during our live blog which will allow you to comment and interact with us. Gotta say, with CES under our belt and our new site design which will allow us to provide some very cool live blogs, I’m pretty damn excited about this.

Welcome to SRN 2.0 Our Entirely New Site Design

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 20 comments

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SRN 2.0, the most significant change in the Bebi Corp. site design of SonyRumors.net since our original launch back in early 2008. During that time, the site launched as an independent channel of news, rumors, and talk, covering all topics Sony. The goal back then was and continues today to be to provide a singular destination for fans of all things Sony and to create a community based on that. Today, we cover all topics and events related to Sony and its many divisions like Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures, PlayStation, Sony Ericsson, and the many sub categories under them like the Alphas, VAIOs, Dash, NGP and more.

Over the last several years, we’ve grown our presence beyond our website in order to interact with our fans and expand our scope in any way possible. We have ever-growing Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Vimeo, and YouTube pages that we constantly feed with video unboxings and coverage of events like CES, Coachella 2011 as well as the upcoming E3 and ComicCon. Now we are looking to once again venture into new territories with a weekly podcast and forums section to let you further discuss Sony and their products.

However, with our previous design, as dear as it continues to be to my heart, it could not accommodate our ever-growing features, nor did it provide an adequate way for you to comment on our stories, unless you had a WordPress login. Now, with the SRN 2.0 design, you can comment with your Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, or OpenID account, making commenting far easier and more convenient for you. Commenters will also note that you can now sort the comments in ways such as “Popular Now,” “Best Rating,” “Newest First,” and “Oldest First,” making it easier for you to see the comment section as you wish. Hand in hand with that is the new sharing feature which gives you access to many popular destinations such as Blogger, Buzz, Digg, and of course Twitter and Facebook.

Another change you can take note of is the much wider design, making the site perfect for those of you who own larger screens with higher resolution, and yet it’s still designed to scale for anybody who is accessing our site with any setup. With a wider and higher resolution, we can now also display higher resolution pictures and videos, without the need for you to open new browser pages, allowing you something like HD experience of our site. We also have some 3D ideas cooking up but nothing to report yet on that. Moving on, without ever leaving the site, you can also view our tweets and Facebook comments on the right hand side as you scroll our pages and posts. We have a fully mobile version as well, perfect for those of you who want to stay in touch with us on your smartphones like the iPhone, Android and Blackberry platforms. We are also working on a specific and optional iPad design that, though just like our mobile platform, will be optional and users can always switch to the full desktop version.

Of course, there are behind the scene changes for us as well. Moving away from WordPress.com to WordPress.org allows us to have full access to custom widgets and a full CSS stylesheet which makes for powerful configuration and customization, like the many features I discussed above. This also allows us to design our site to be much more Google-search friendly, in hopes of reaching new audiences. I have to also point out that this new design also allows us to introduce Google Ads and Amazon deals which we hope will both help you save some money and also gain us some cash-flow. Throughout the site’s many years, hosting, server fees, event entree and hotel fees have all continued to stack up. As we continue to keep our independent views, this means that there is no corporation behind us that funds our site or our views. This of course means that the rest of the staff and I work out of passion for SRN and so I hope that these new advertising avenues will help balance out the site’s many fees.

Another thing I would like to highlight is our new tip box. You will note that both on the right hand panel and in the drop down menu, under About, there is a new link for you to click. Here, you can submit news stories, give us tips and leak us any information, if you deem it appropriate. But the concept is not the thing I want to point out. Instead, how the system is powered is the real difference from the SRN 1.0 site. Once you click the link, you will be taken to a secure and encrypted website where you can fill out the information you wish to share with us and have it securely sent to us. Powered by a company called Wufoo, this system allows tipsters to fill out as much information about themselves as they want or stay 100% anonymous, unlike our previous system which required you to have an email. This way, we hold no email for you (unless you decide to offer it) and there will be zero IP trace, making your interaction with us 100% safe and secure. Wufoo also powers our back end hiring system as well for those of you who wish to join our team. You simply need to click the links, which again are located on the right hand sidebar or top drop down menu under About, and you will be taken to a new form which is encrypted and transmitted to us. On this page, of course, we will require a tad bit more information from you for obvious reasons.

In the end, I want to express my deepest appreciation for you, our readers, because we wouldn’t be doing any of this had you not stuck around with us during the last three years. We hope that the new site design furthers your experience with us as we continue to grow and bring in new readers and services to our site. As always, your thoughts are appreciated so hit our new commenting section and let us know what you think!

PlayStation Store and Qriocity to Return by Weeks End

by Sohrab Osati | May 30, 2011 | 1 comment

Sony and Sony Computer Entertainment have just announced the time table for the full return of PSN, including the PlayStation Store and Qriocity services in the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia, excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea and it couldn’t be coming at a better time, the end of this week. This means that by Friday, PSN will be back to its former glory and everything will back to as it was. End the end, just know that before E3, you can have full access to the following:

Full functionality on PlayStation®Store
In-game commerce
Ability to redeem vouchers and codes Full functionality on Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PCs
Full functionality on Media Go

“We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “We appreciate the patience and support shown during this time.”

As we’ve previously reported, there is a large “Welcome Back” package awaiting for PlayStation fans which includes free games like LittleBigPlanet and Wipeout while all Qriocity customers will be receiving an additional 30 days of service, on top of the days of the outage.

Hit the jump as always for the official press release.

Happy Memorial Day

by Sohrab Osati | May 30, 2011 | 7 comments

As many of you have probably noticed, the site has been getting a bit of a make over. Over the last 48 hours, my eyeballs have been looking at either my MacBook Pro’s screen or the TV which has been having a Top Gear marathon. In all honesty, it’s been both and that’s why today, instead of more site tweaks, I’ll be on my way to Santa Barbra for a relaxing day and hopefully recover some of my eyeballs strength. I suggest you do the same though and put your favorite tech piece aside for the day and enjoy a BBQ or the local lake or beach.

As I begin my day of relaxation, I hope the rest of you are spending time with your family, friends or pets or whatever that makes you happy this Memorial Day weekend. None of this would also be possible without the sacrifice from the women and men who are serving in the military, so a special thanks for all they have given to us and continue to give. The site will be back to it’s normal updates, starting tomorrow when I will fully unveil our redesigned website.

Intel to Make Custom Chips for Sony?

by Sohrab Osati | May 29, 2011 | 6 comments

Usually when it comes to writing articles, I don’t like to stretch out and look for information that isn’t there but the truth of it is, that when the head of a company speaks out, you should listen. Upon that, usually nothing is said without some form of meaning or angle behind it. This brings us to Intel’s CFO, Stacy Smith who recently during an investors meeting discussed the possibility of the company moving beyond their x86 chipset platform and creating custom chips for their clients.

A little backstory on this entire topic will further guide your thought process to that of mine. The x86 platform is the chipset and design in which Intel creates their processors for. Like the Pentium 4, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo and i7 processor of today, all these are designed within a certain design structure and standards and x86 is exactly that. You cannot simply take a i7 processor and attempt to place it on let’s say, Sony’s upcoming S1 and S2 tablets. The flip side of this equation is that you also cannot take Apple’s A4 and A5 custom chips and expect them to power a laptop or at least note yet but that’s an entirely different story and we’re not an Apple blog. Sony has long been a partner of Intel, having first dibs on many of Intel’s newest processors on the PC side. As far back as I can remember, when the Pentium 4 came out or the Pentium M which was Intel’s first mobile processor, Sony was given access to them first, and then the likes of Dell, Gateway and HP would follow. Sony has also used Intel processors exclusively till two years ago when the company decided to use AMD processors in some of their lower offering models.

But today is no longer the computing world of 10 years ago, or even three years ago. Instead, todays hot sectors is mobile computing and I don’t mean laptops. Instead, smartphones and tablets are the real growth sector and the future of computing. This of course does not mean that the laptop or desktop won’t be around in 10 years, but that less people will need them for their everyday use. With exponential growths in that segment, thanks largely to Apple’s iPhone and iPad and now the slue of Android smartphones and tablets, Intel is left in the cold. You see, the x86 platform was never designed for such use. Instead companies like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm and Apple’s custom A4 are powering the mobile scene. This then brings us back to Stacy Smith’s comments.

“If Apple or Sony (SNE) came to us and said ‘I want to do a product that involves your IA (Intel architecture) core and put some of my IP [intellectual property] around it’, I wouldn’t blink,” said Smith. “Then you get into the middle ground of ‘I don’t want it to be an IA core, I want it to be my own custom-designed core,’ and then you are only getting the manufacturing margin, (and) that would be a much more in-depth discussion and analysis.”

The comment of Apple is an easy one to consider, seeing how Apple has been the true growth creator of the mobile segment and continues to push the largest volumes of any mobile device creator. However, Sony comes as a surprise to us, seeing how the company has always been a premium product maker in the PC world. It’s really only been as of late where the company has started to put together a smartphone strategy and we won’t be seeing their tablets till later this year. This then makes me wonder if Sony has hinted at future products like their tablets which will need a custom solution and started to look else place for chips and this is Intel’s way of bringing the company back to the negotiation table.

[Via Barron’s]

David O. Russell Leaves ‘Uncharted’ Movie

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2011 | 5 comments

Fans of the PlayStation 3 exclusive series ‘Uncharted’ will breath a sigh of relief as David O. Russell, the acclaimed director has left the project, leaving Sony Pictures to look else place if they want to continue with the project. It was just under a year ago that the director and Sony announced their collaboration to bring the Uncharted franchise to the silver screen. Though it’s not everyday when a highly praised director like Russell will come onto a video game adaption, fans soon soured as they found that long time partner of Russell, Mark Wahlberg would be set to play the games hero, Nathan Drake.

Furthermore, it seemed that Russell did not want to play to the source material and instead had an idea about a family of thieves who would go on a great adventure together. Later on, it was reported that the director also wanted to bring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci onto the project. Though never confirmed, it was believed that Robert De Niro would play Sully while Joe Pesci was either to be an uncle or the villain.

Despite being a respected director who was willing to bring big time actors to the film, many fans were understandably upset by the directors choice to throw out the nature of the story and not cast the fan favorite, Nathan Fillion. Now with David O. Russell out, many expect that Mark Wahlberg will also leave the project which begs the question, will the film continue at Sony Pictures or will the process start all over again? Regardless of that outcome, it seems like fans will be happy to hear that the video game adaption will be going a different route in the future.

What about you guys and gals? Are you happy that David O. Russell is off the project? And who would be your dream director for an Uncharted movie?

[Via Deadline]

Sony Announces New Ultraportable VAIO SA

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2011 | 23 comments

Are you in need of an ultraportable and powerful laptop that can have 15 hours of battery lifetime? Yea, so are we and thankfully, Sony has the cure. Meet the Sony VAIO SA, an ultraportable 13.3-inch magnesium-and-alloy chassis laptop. Despite being only 0.95 inches thick, the VAIO SA packs some serious power with,

Intel Core i7 Processor
AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics and 1GB of video memory
1600 x 900 resolution
LED Backlit Keyboard
Intel Wireless Display 2.0 (for video streaming to your television)
Mic/Camera with Face Tracking and Exmor Sensor (allows the camera to automatically adjust focus and follow you as you move around while video chatting.)
500GB hard drive
Fingerprint reader (perfect for those who want a little extra security)
Blu-ray drive (reader and writer)

For those who want a little more out of their VAIO SA, Sony will allow you to custom order one with a dual channel solid-state drive which if combined with their sheet battery upgrade ($150), will let you achieve 15 hours of battery lifetime. The SA series start around $1,350 and will be available this June.

As always, hit the jump for the official press release and more pictures. What do you guys think? Do you fancy smaller more powerful laptops or do you prefer a larger screen with all that power?

Sony Alpha A850 Officially Discontinued

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2011 | 33 comments

Fans of the Sony Alpha A850 need to act fast if they want to snatch up the remaining stocks of the now discontinued camera. As Sony removes these models from their online store and begins to prepare for upcoming models, you can bet that you will find some nice prices on the A800 series. Rumors also have it that the Alpha A900 will take a drop in price to $2,000 down $700.

Sony Ericsson’s Canadian Store Hacked, 2,000+ Account Data Taken

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2011 | 28 comments

We hate to be right on the subject matter but it is indeed another day and another Sony website has been hacked. This time, it’s Sony Ericsson’s Canadian store that has seen intruders illegally break in and steal customer information. More than 2,000 Canadian Eshop customers data were taken this but again, just like the previous attack, there is good news. Sony has stated that customer passwords were all encrypted, thus making them useless to the culprits and no credit card data was accessed. As Naked Security put it in our last article:

when this is over, Sony may end up being one of the most secure web assets on the net.

I think it’s important to note with all these hackings is that Sony is not the party to blame and instead, the real anger should be towards those who are stealing your information. As I wrote an extensive piece on this before, no matter how you view the company, it’s in their best interest to have events like this not occur but at the end of the day, the criminals are the hackers.

[Via BBC]