Sony Corp.

Sony Bloggie 3D Now Available, We Have Specs

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2011 | 1 comment

For those of you who are ready to jump on the 3D bandwagon early, you will be pleased to know that Sony’s Bloggie 3D camera is now available and ready for your film making career. Capable of recording in 2D and 3D, this 1080p, 5 megapixel camera is capable of recording 4 hours of 2D footage on 8GB of memory and 80min of 3D footage. Of course, the real story here is the ability to record in 3D for just $249. 3D fans will be pleased to know that you can playback your 3D recorded content via the Bloggie’s 2.4-inch LCD without the need of any 3D glasses and if you are looking for a little larger screen, you can output the 3D footage to any 3D television via the onboard HDMI though glasses will be needed at that point. The Bloggie 3D specs include:

Reminder, Even with PSN Down, Netflix and VUDU Still Work on your PS3

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2011 | 40 comments

It goes without saying that the last two weeks have been a trying time for PlayStation fans and employees alike who we sometimes we forget are really taking the short end of the stick. Not only is their service down too, but they are getting the brunt of the frustration for an event that is not in their hands to control. I figured this was as good as anytime to point out like the previous article we ran that while PSN is down, your PlayStation 3 still has plenty to offer and entertain you with. Our previous article was mainly pointing out the PS3’s offline functionalities like Blu-ray movies, photos, and single player games. So what about those of you who want some more media via the web? Well I can indeed report that both Netflix and VUDU still function 100% without PSN. Though they will ask you to log into your PSN account, you can actually bypass that and enjoy the full offering from both services as they are not tied to PSN in any shape. All you need is a internet connection like before.

Welcome Our New Staff Member, Jesse!

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2011 | 23 comments

Our 2011 year has already started off with a big bang. In just these last few months alone, we have already beat our readership of all of 2010. In fact, by the time Summer kicks into full gear, we will have beat our readership count for 2009 and 2010 combined. Part of our philosophy for the website has been to create a community for Sony and none Sony fans alike. This community means giving you, our readers as many avenues as possible to interact with us and enjoy our content. Besides our website here, we have our dedicated communities on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. We will also be expanding our presence shorty to other avenues like Vimeo as well. Our belief is that this community should be present behind the scenes as well. This means having a robust and engaging behind the scene presence for our staff members. That is why I couldn’t be happier to announce our new staff member, Jesse Fogarty.

Jesse Fogarty found a passion for technology at an early age, during which he was exposed to various gadgets. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Jesse has no plans on leaving the country, other than a vacation. He enjoys video games here and there when he’s not blogging – his real passion; however, is WordPress web-design as well as SEO. Since then, being exposed to the online world and expanding his knowledge of technology has been Jesse’s number one goal.

Jesse, in edition to covering the PlayStation related news of the website will be helping us with our core services and website offering. Although we don’t have anything to announce at this moment, we will have more for you on this subject matter shortly.

NEX-C3 Instruction Manual Appears Briefly on Sony’s Czech Site

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2011 | 12 comments

Did you know that is a new NEX-3 replacement around the corner called the NEX-C3? Originally planned to launch late last month, the now delayed camera, due to the recent events in Japan, (though I guess something that has yet to be officially announced I guess cannot be delayed) is becoming more and more official as Sony’s own Czech website accidentally posted the manual online before quickly pulling. Still, there was enough time for a screen shot of the camera’s new button layout which isn’t a huge departure from the NEX-3 and NEX-5. Even though we don’t know all the details about the NEX-C3, we do know a few little tidbits about it like the 16.2 megapixel image sensor that it will come with. Expect plenty more news on the C3 as Sony begins a rollout of it which seems to be sooner then later if this accidentally published manual is any indication.

Hit the jump for a picture of the leaked manual.

Resistance 3 Demo to be Bundled with Battle: Los Angeles Blu-ray

by Jesse Fogarty | May 3, 2011 | 24 comments

Those of you that can’t wait for the release of Resistance 3 have a chance to get a taste of the game before the September release. It was announced yesterday on G4TV that the hit movie Battle L.A. will feature a 30 minute action packed single-player demo when purchasing the Blu-ray. The game demo will come installed directly onto the Blu-ray disc, so y’all don’t have to worry about multiple disks.

That’s not the only way to get your hands on the demo – there is one more. For those of you who purchased the SOCOM 4 add-on “Full Deployment Edition” count yourselves lucky – you’ll also be recieving a copy of the Resistance 3 demo.

The down fall to this is I’m unable to report if the demo will be available for download through the PSN. A multi-player demo is still in the works.

Battle: Los Angeles is slated to invade your Blu-ray player on June 14th while Resistance 3 is looking at a September 6th as for its own personal invasion.

Hit the jump for a video trailer of Resistance 3, exclusive on the PlayStation 3.

Sony & Qriocity Users Recieve Compensation For Outage

by Jesse Fogarty | May 2, 2011 | 14 comments

April 21, 2011 was the start of the massive PlayStation and Qriocity service outages, one day later its announced the outage was due to an External Intrusion widely speculated as being the product of the infamous hactavist group Anonymous. As days went by users took to social media sites to speak their frustration – lately its been all the more common to see speculation of compensation for the PlayStation and Qriocity users effected by the outage.

I’ve seen some pretty… I hate to say it but dumbass ideas such as “1 free game download, or at least $40 PSN store credit…” – most of those “dumbasses” are comparing this outage to the 2008 and Xbox LIVE outage in which users were compensated for their lost time… Lets stop right here and take a moment to shut up these fools – Xbox LIVE is a pay to play service which those users are paying monthly to play – are you paying monthly for the PlayStation Network or is it free? (Those users with PlayStation Plus and/or Qriocity service please disregard this)

With that being Sony announced in their latest blog update that their users WILL be compensated for the recent outage and their “Patience”, so thank you to all those who hadn’t went on a criticizing commenting online rampage you are the reason for this.

Hit the jump for the full offering of the “Welcome Back” package.

New Black Ops Map Pack Releasing May 3rd 2011

by Jesse Fogarty | Apr 30, 2011 | 29 comments

Call of Duty fans we have something to look forward to during this PlayStation Network fiasco – Activison recently added some new screenshots and trailers to the Call of Duty site to hype up the May 3rd (For xbox live) debut of the second Call of Duty: Black Ops Map-Pack. The pack includes 5 new intensive combat maps as well a new addition to zombies featuring an more in-depth story line to get users more into Zombie packed fun.

The multi-player section of the pack features 4 new maps for players to dive themselves into – the first map “Hotel” takes place on the roof of a Cuban luxury hotel, where players battle against the backdrop of old Havana. The next map players have to indulge themselves in is called “Convoy” and as the name suggest the map takes place at the scene of an ambushed US military convoy – the perfect map for those who like fast-paced close-quarter combat. Third on the multi-player list is “Zoo” which takes place in an abandoned Soviet Russian Zoo. Lastly we have “Stockpile” placing players in a remote Russian farm town housing secret weapons of mass destruction facilities.

Sony S1 and S2 Tablet Size Comparison

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2011 | 6 comments

With two new Sony Tablets headed towards us for a Summer release, we all natural want to know about them, like specs and offerings. Though we have some information in regards to the S1 and S2 tablet, there still hasn’t been a whole lot of details released. However, one detail that we can indeed show you is the size of these devices. Many times, just saying that the S1 comes with a 9.4-inch screen or that the S2 will come with a hybrid, dual 5.5 inch display might be meaningless unless you actually saw it in use and not in just a press release shot. The above photo is of the S1 while after the break, you will find a picture of the more interestingly designed S2, which should give you a good idea about their size and form factor. What do you guys think about the new designs? Is the hybrid dual 5.5-inch screen interesting to you?

New Information About the PSN and Qriocity Outage

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2011 | 18 comments

Now that we know what took place during the last week to have Sony shut down their PSN and Qriocity services, gamers have began to ask focus on specific questions like what would happen to their Trophies and Download lists. Sony has a released a new set of answers that should help shed a lot of light.

Q: Will our download history/friends list/settings be affected by the PSN downtime?
A: No, they will not.
Q: Will trophies that were earned in single-player offline games during the outage be intact when the service resumes?
A: These trophies are intact and will be re-synched when the network is once again operational.
Q: Will my PS+ cloud saves be retrievable?
A: Yes, once PSN is restored.
Q: What if we have a subscription to PS3 MMOs DC Universe Online or Free Realms? Will we get compensation for that?
A: From Sony Online Entertainment: “We apologize for any inconvenience players may have experienced as a result of the recent service interruption. As a global leader in online gaming, SOE is committed to delivering stable and entertaining games for players of all ages. To thank players for their patience, we will be hosting special events across our game portfolio. We are also working on a “make good” plan for players of the PS3 versions of DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Details will be available soon on the individual game websites and forums.”
Q: Will there be a goodwill gesture for the time we haven’t been able to utilize PSN/Qriocity?
A: We are currently evaluating ways to show appreciation for your extraordinary patience as we work to get these services back online.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

New Sony Television ‘Refined’ Commercial

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2011 | 27 comments

For the past week, some of you might have seen parts of Sony’s new Television Refined commercial campaign, especially if you have been tuning into the NBA. Still, the commercials that air are only party of the story. The above video is the 60 second commercial in its entirety. Although I personally still have my problems with it as a “pure” commercial, which I believe should cover a specific device and tell you what it’s so great or why you need, as oppose to it covering an entire range, it’s still a very well done commercial and much better then some previous efforts.

Sony Drops Price of PS3 + Move Bundle to $349. Saves You $77 (expired)

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2011 | 2 comments

If you’ve been eyeing yourself a PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Move, the following will be welcome news to you. Sony has dropped $50 off of the PS3 + Move bundle to bring it to $349. The bundle gets you the following:

320GB PS3 system
Dualshock 3 wireless controller
PlayStation Move motion controller
PlayStation Eye camera
Sports Champions game

Have to say, this is not a bad deal at all. Especially if you consider that the PS3 is ($299), Move Motion controller ($49), PlayStation Eye ($39) and Sports Champion ($39) which totals $426.

[Via Sony]

Sony’s MDR-DS6500 7.1 Wireless Surround Sound Headphone

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2011 | 15 comments

For those of you who want to enjoy some entertainment at home in your own bliss or you simply don’t want to wake others late at night, Sony’s new MDR-DS6500 wireless surround sound headphones might become your new best friend. Featuring a 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound and Sony’s Virtualphones Technology, these wireless headphones will give you 20 hours of listening time with a 100-meter (330-foot) operating range. For those of you who will put this guy to use, you will also be happy to hear that the unit will achieve its 20 hour charge with only 3 hour of charging. The MDR-DS6500 will be available in late May for $299. Hit the jump for official and always fun press release.

Sony’s Executive Vice President Mike Fasulo Talks About the New Sony Retail Store Initiative (Video)

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2011 | 9 comments

For those of you who might have missed the news a few weeks back, Sony is officially killing the SonyStyle name and is instead, rebranding all of their retail stores to simply be called Sony. Continuing this theme, the stores will all see a major overhaul in design and functionality, which will bring them closer to the famous Apple stores while still being exceptionally unique. I had the opportunity to visit the grand opening for the first of these stores and they are simply beautiful. However, the new name and store design is only part of Sony’s plan. Sony’s Executive Vice President, Mike Fasulo was at the new store launch where he presented the store to the media and answered some questions from the crowd as well. At minute 12, we even get a chance to sneak in our own question. After the jump, you can also find a video trailer we put together to show off this new retail initiative.

Personal Information Leaked in PSN and Qriocity Attack

by Jesse Fogarty | Apr 27, 2011 | 22 comments

PlayStation Network and Qriocity users what you’ve feared most has come true – today Patrick Seybold Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media for Sony posted on the US PlayStation blog that before the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services went offline personal information such as Addresses, zip codes and purchase history were compromised.

We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network.

Further on Patrick alerts all users that Sony will not contact you asking for any personally identifiable information such as your social security or credit card number. Its goes without saying that scams will be on the rise; therefor, PlayStation Network and Qriocity users are urged “to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information”.

There is a bright side to this seemingly dark post – the team at Sony working on restoring the PlayStation and Qriocity “have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week.”

It’s also important that when services are restored users change their passwords as well as look over recent account summary and monitor your credit reports – you want to make sure your account is secure still.

So to all those frustrated by the outage that have taken to the web to criticize Sony and the job they’ve done – to end this post here’s the final paragraph to the outage update, and please remember if Sony didn’t love their users they would offer a paid service like Xbox LIVE.

Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions.

Meet the Sony Freestyle Hybrid Touchscreen PC/Tablet and the Ultimate Mobile PC

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 26, 2011 | 19 comments

If you thought last nights Sony Tablet surprises were the only thing out of the Japanese electronic giant, then you haven’t heard the whole story. After the tablet presentation was done, Sony also showed off two new concept VAIO computers that are going to be coming to the market sooner then later. Though spec are still unknown, what we do know is this. The first which is called the The Freestyle Hybrid PC is more a PC Tablet like device. With a full touchscreen display and Windows OS (though we are not sure which), this seems to be the answer for those who want to work on the go with a Tablet. The other is called the Ultimate Mobile PC that comes with a 13.3-inch screen and follows in a more traditional laptop design. Both units are believed to be utilizing Intels Atom Processors. If those details seem scarce, that’s because they are. There isn’t really a whole lot of information to go off of, beyond what we have just reported. More to come as Sony releases more information.

[Via ITMedia]