Sony Corp.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo Delayed Till Q3

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 8, 2011 | 5 comments

The unfortunate tragedies that have recently struck Japan have not been limited to just the people of the country. As more damages begin to get assessed, many of Japan’s largest companies like Sony and Toyota are finding out that their facilities were more damaged then they previously thought which is leading to product delays and slow rollouts. On top of that, even if a companies own facilities were not harmed by the earthquake and tsunami, but a partnering supply companies was, this will still lead to product delays as companies are finding it harder and harder to get their hands on key components like batteries. Because of these “supply chain disruptions”, Sony Ericsson has announced that their Gingerbread based, Xperia Neo is receiving the bump and will instead now be launching in July as the company tried to find a consistent supply chain in order to have a proper product launch.

As Sony Ericsson continues to assess the impact of the situation in Japan on its business, we have communicated to our operator customers and distributors that some volume of Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY and Xperia neo phones has been affected. Xperia neo has already been introduced to the marketplace in limited quantities. However, due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan, we have shifted the timing of Xperianeo’s broader launch and it is now planned for early Q3.

We will address this topic at the time of our Q1 financial results announcement call that is scheduled for April 19, 2011.

[Via Sony Ericsson Italy Facebook]

PSP and PSPgo to Receive Qriocity: Music Unlimited on April 14th

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 8, 2011 | 3 comments

Though the PSP firmware 3.65 added Qriocity support which is Sony’s unlimited cloud streaming music service many months ago, the handheld consoles still required an additional download in order for the service to work which has not yet been available. Now Sony has issued a press release, indicating that the PSP and PSPgo will be getting Sony’s cloud based music streaming service on April 14th via an additional download. Earlier this year, Sony began a roll out of Qriocity in Europe and quickly followed to North America. The $3.99 or $9.99 a month service allows your music to be synchronized and accessible via any web browser and is also available on all PlayStation 3 units, as well as Sony Bravia televisions, and Blu-ray players. Sony is looking to bring the service which gives you access to over 7 million songs to Android and iOS devices though no specific timeframe has been given.

As always, hit the jump for an official press release.

Our Site Editor, Allegra, Unboxes LittleBigPlanet 2: Collectors Edition (Video)

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 7, 2011 | 3 comments

I know we were late to the party when it came to getting our hands on LittleBigPlanet 2, but we really wanted the Collector’s Edition and I was under strict orders that I wasn’t allowed to play the new game till our site editor, Allegra, had arrived back in Los Angeles. Because she was able to spend a week here, we finally got the opportunity to not only play LBP2 but also do an unboxing.

Sony’s XDR-S16DBP Radio Goes Old School

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 7, 2011 | 4 comments

Those who long for the old days, but still want a bit of technology in their home radio life will want to pay attention to Sony’s XDR-S16DBP. The retro, DAB+/FM, clock radio comes with a:

16×2 character LCD display
Sleep timer
Headphone jack
0.8W stereo speakers
Alarm Clock
10 DAB presets
10 FM presets

For those unfamiliar with DAB and DAB+, the technology centers around FM radio, but is instead fed in a digital form and is suppose to give the user a cleaner sound. Seeing how it’s only available in Europe, this radio too will ship only to Europe (though it will work in any country as FM is a standard source) for £79 ($113). For those who are looking for a similar functionality, but with a little less features, Sony also makes the XDR‑C706DBP which comes with only 4 present station for DAB and FM. Also, you will be taking a hit in the audio department as your radio will only come with a 0.4W speaker set and will set you back £59 ($84).

Hit the jump for additional pictures and press release.

Sony Bloggie Duo HD Camera Now Shipping, Costs $169

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 6, 2011 | 61 comments

Sony’s new generation of MP4 camera were shown off during CES 2011 and now the series are starting to trickle out and into the public. Previously, Sony only had the Bloggie Touch which we have covered here. Now, the company is looking to ship three different series and expand their reach in the growing MP4 crowd. The Bloggie Duo HD is Sony’s starting entry model, giving users:

1080p recording
5 Megapixel still camera
2 hours of recording time on a 4GB hard drive
Image Stabilization
Face detection
2.7-inch LCD screen
2-inch front facing screen (design for when you want to take pictures or record a video of yourself)

The Bloggie Duo HD is now shipping for $169 and comes in violet, white, green, and pink. The series then follows with the Bloggie Touch that we mentioned previously, though I believe that it’s also due for a change though I could be wrong about that. Finally, the series ends with the 3D Bloggie which will be shipping in the next month.

[Via Sony]

Our Flickr Policy = Full Resolution

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 5, 2011 | 31 comments

Just a little reminder to our readers. As you know, many sites will usually not only water mark their pictures (and some all the way across), but will also limit their flickr feed to a lower resolution if they have one. Having been on the other end where I find an amazing picture of something and I want to use it for a background, project, or whatever else, I know how frustrating that can be. I mean, what’s the point of the picture, especially when it’s posted on a service like Flickr if it cannot be enjoyed at full quality by others (and in my case, with my 27-inch iMac running on 2560 x 1440 resolution, most things can look pretty crap if I stretch them out) so you can see why I’m a stickler for high resolution everything. So it’s with that though process that I want you to all be aware that our Flickr feed is 100% original quality. We don’t crop or compress our photos when we post them to Flickr, which is a little different, compared to photos that we post on this site. This is mainly due to how WordPress displays larger files and the fact that it would slow down the over all site speed for those with slower connections. But again, if you enjoy our photos, please feel free to view, enjoy and download them from Flickr.

[Pics from our Flickr Feed]

Next Generation of Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro Spotted

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 5, 2011 | 3 comments

I guess Sony was being serious when they stated that they wanted to become a top Android handset manufacture. We already know that the company is going to be releasing the Xperia Play, Arc, and Neo this year to name a few. Now, we have leaked images of the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro successor which happens to be rocking some Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Outside of that, we don’t have anything else to report like specs or video, though we’re sure in true Sony Ericsson fashion, we will know everything about the phone, months before it’s released.

[Via IT168]

Sony Confirms That It Will Supply Apple’s iPhone 5 Camera?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 5, 2011 | 10 comments

Nearly a year ago, we reported that Sony was rumored to provide an 8-megapixel camera/sensor combination for Apple’s iPhone 5 which is slated to appear sometime, later this year. Last month again, we heard further news that Sony would be the sole provider of the iPhone camera, seeing how Apple’s current provider, Ominivision had indicated that it could not meet the kind of supply that Apple needed. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that during an interview with Walt Mossberg, Sony’s President and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer mentioned supplying Apple with a camera for their next product.

Early on, he raised the irony of Sony supplying camera components for Apple devices. It “always puzzles me,” he said. “Why would I make Apple the best camera?”

As the WSJ, there isn’t much more news to go off here so it’s hard to pinpoint which device he might be referring to, though we can confirm that Sony currently does not supply any camera sensors to Apple which makes this fall inline with our previous, iPhone 5 rumors. Still, outside of irony, I hope that Mr. Stringer sees beyond the irony of the situation and realizes that somebody does not choose between say an iPhone 4 or the up coming Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, based on their camera features alone. I adamantly believe that one of the reasons why Samsung has been able to so successfully fight off Sony, beating them in the number of commercials they run and products they release is due the fact that Samsung has many supply based deals. Samsung is currently a top flash and ram provider for many other tech companies, including Apple. With deals that are worth billions of dollars in many cases, it’s in Samsung’s best interest to supply these companies with the parts they need as they can then turn around and invest that money in their own product offering, even if those products compete with Samsungs own offerings.

[Via WSJ]

Pictures from Sony’s New Retail Store

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 4, 2011 | 25 comments

Last week, we had a chance to attend the opening of Sony’s new retail store which we have discussed in detail. Now, we have some pictures to share with you from the event. When it comes to building this website and covering Sony events, I attempt to use as much Sony equipment as I can, seeing how it would only be fair to use the products we write about. During this particular event, I went equipped with a Sony Bloggie Touch and Sony Cybershot HX5. All the photos from this Flickr set were taken strictly on our Bloggie Touch, as was the trailer we shot and our up coming video where Sony’s Executive Vice President, Mike Fasulo talked to everybody about the new store and what this means for Sony.

[Via Flickr]

Sony Ends Alpha A33 Production

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 4, 2011 | 25 comments

After being on sale for only 7 months, Sony has decided to end production of their entry level, translucent mirror based DSLR. As we reported back in October, Sony was experiencing some troubles with the A33, specifically an over heating issue which was caused if the camera’s Image Stabilization was turned on and the user recorded video a continue video for over 11 minutes. During that time, it was believed that the translucent mirror’s in the camera were the culprit though a confirmation of cause was never given. Furthermore, Sony has other translucent based camera’s in the market currently which none poses these problems so we are not entirely sure what the true culprit was. Regardless of that, Sony of Japan has indicated that production for the A33 is over. Fear not though, fans of the A30 series as we’ve heard rumors that a replacement will be coming shortly, though the reported dated is indeed off.

[Via Sony]

The New Sony Retail Store (Video)

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 1, 2011 | 56 comments

We had a chance to attend Sony’s VIP launch party for their new retail initiative. During that time, I recorded some videos, covering the event with a Sony Bloggie Touch. Here is a quick little trailer overview.

Sony Rebrands Retail Stores, Kills off Sony Style and Launches a New Store Initiative

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 31, 2011 | 13 comments

On March 30th, Sony kicked off what will be a year-long endeavor to rebrand the company’s retail stores and experience. Sony, who currently operates 27 retail stores in North America and more worldwide, unveiled not a concept store but a fully functional Sony retail outlet that will be the basis of all future stores and old ones. During our conversation with Sony’s Executive Vice President, Mike Fasulo, it was clear that Sony’s goal is to expand the Sony retail experience to many new stores, while also converting existing stores to this new layout which he hopes the company will complete by the end of 2011.

Fasulo, who joined Sony in 1984 as a junior financial analyst, has seen the company go through many different phases and he stressed that this is their most important shift yet. Part of the rebranding will be to make Sony simpler for the consumer. Unlike Apple, who enjoys a singular brand and experience, Sony has been a bahamut, with brands ranging from Sony Electronics to Sony Pictures, Sony Music/BMG, PlayStation, and Sony Style, which are the key branches, each which have many sub brands under them. This means that Sony’s retail outlets, currently called Sony Style, will now simply be called Sony. Though not in place yet, consumers simply need to visit Sony.com where they will find the destination of their choice (though each individual brand will still have their own dedicated site like PlayStation). By simply having Sony.com be the key domain for all things Sony, and having Sony retail stores simply called Sony, Fasulo and other execs hope that this simplified image will resonate better with consumers and create one compelling name and destination.

Hit the jump for additional photos and the continuation of our coverage.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Ad Helps You Blow Up Stuff

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 31, 2011 | 10 comments

Do you like having a smartphone with email, calendar, thousands of apps, and camera/camcorder with geotagging access? Do you like to watch lots of YouTube videos but have an itch to blow $h*t up more often than not? May we present you the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

Crackle to Offer Free Movie Streaming to Sony’s Bravia TV’s, Blu-ray Players and PS3

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 31, 2011 | 3 comments

First, a shameless promotion for a pitch we sent over to Crackle last year can be read here. Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Crackle, the site is owned by Sony, and allows for free movies and TV shows to be streamed to you, via the web browser on your Mac or PC. Now, Sony is looking to expand the reach of Crackle by giving their 2011 Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players, and even PlayStation 3 access to Crackle’s library of free movies like The Da Vinci Code, Ghostbusters, Big Daddy and Bad Boys via their web browser. Sony is also letting Crackle expand into non-Sony product territory with the Roku gaining streaming access as well. There’s no word yet on if there will be an official app for PlayStation 3 users, but from what we have heard, there is one in the works although no specific timeline was mentioned. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Live Blogging From Sony’s VIP Reception Event (updated)

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 30, 2011 | 10 comments

A little over a week ago, we were invited to a VIP reception event that will take place today at a Sony Style store in Santa Monica. Though we weren’t given much information to go off of, we can confirm that the event will help kick off a new vision for Sony and their retail initiative, bringing a store that is set to be very different from the current stores. Sony will also take this time to highlight and update us on what is happening in Japan. For this event, Sony has also invited some celebrities which will not only add some glamour to the night, but will also help bring attention to a few charities that Sony hopes people will contribute to. The event is set to kick off at 6pm (PT) tonight, which I will be covering and live blogging from. So feel free to bookmark this page and follow our live blog as it happens after the jump, or follow our Twitter feed.

Update:
We’ll be bringing a lot more tomorrow. Our live blog didnt go quite as planned. The scene was a little too hectic to pull out the iPad and post with.