Sony Corp.

Sony Alpha A77 at CES 2011, E-Firmware Update Soon?

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 5, 2010 | 4 comments

Sony has recently been going around and showing off its prototype Alpha, dubbed “Advances Model”, though it wouldn’t be a hard stretch to assume from its features and designs that this will indeed by the Sony Alpha A77. Rumors put it that the camera will be officially unveiled at CES 2011 and on sale sometime after that. Building off the translucent mirror technology that Sony has used in its A55 and A33, the A77 is said to have full HD video mode, recording in AVCHD. Furthermore, expect an Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, as Sony is noting that it will be “far more powerful than the a55,” with goals to target “serious enthusiast photographers.”

Now for all you NEX owners (and I hope to be one of them by CES), Sony is looking to release a new firmware update mid October to bring “autofocus support to A-mount lenses used on E-mount cameras, aperture control in video mode and customizable keys.” In order to give users even more flexibility, Sony is looking to introduce a total of 10 new A-mount lenses by 2012 and is said to be looking for some partners to offer even a more extensive lineup. More options can never hurt, right?

Box Office: The Social Network Connects

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 5, 2010 | 6 comments

This weeks big film, The Social Network, made tons of friends at theaters, bringing in $22.4 million on its $50 million dollar budget which is slightly higher then the original $40 million reported budget. Although a highly-talked-about film on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace where the movie was ironically heavily advertised, Sony did not rely just on that; marketing the movie was the “dramatic, generation-defining rise of the world’s youngest billionaire” (“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies”). Distributor Sony Pictures’ exit polling indicated that 53 percent of the audience was female and 55 percent was aged 25 years and older. The movie also fared much better thanWall Street: Money Never Sleeps $19 million open which had much greater star power behind it.

Sonys other hit, Easy A continues to please audiences, down only 36% and gaining another $10.9 million for a $44.7 million world wide total. Resident Evil: After Life has also added another big chunk, $31 million, to sit at a worldwide total of $236.2 million, well ahead of other Resident Evil titles while it calms down at U.S. box offices. Action and crime flick, Takers lost more then 50% of its audience this weeks, but still well beyond its $32 million budget with a cool take of $56.1 million. Holdovers The Other Guys is at $139.9 million, Eat Pray Love hits $119.4 and Salt near a new milestone with $284.5. The Virginity Hit continued to miss, grabbing another $48,623, down 83.9% for a whopping total of $535,249 on its $2 million budget. I don’t expect the movie to cross the $600,000 mark too easily, if at all.

The Social Network ($22.4 million)
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole ($41.2 million)
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps ($58.9 million)
The Town ($77.1 million)
Easy A ($44.7 million)

Sony Alpha A55/A33 Having Sensor Overheating Issues?

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 5, 2010 | 4 comments

Various websites are pointing out that the recently-launched Sony A55 and A33 are having sensor overheating issues while recording video. That is to say, if you are recording with Image Stabilization on for a continuous 11 minutes, with temperatures higher than 70F (20C), you will notice the heat from your unit and it will probably shut down on you. This is actually caused by the new translucent mirror technology that Sony is using which has a hard time in high usage. Nikon has the same exact issue, so their solution is to just limit your video shooting to 5 minutes clips. The solution for Sony users? There are a few, actually. First, there is no video recording limit, so feel free to record as long as you feel like it until you actually notice a heat issue, and remember, this is for continuous video recording only. Shooting in few minute bursts is not an issue at all. Second, if you turn off Image Stabilization, your camera can achieve 30 minutes of continuous video recording with no problem.

Sony Xperia Won’t Gain Android 2.1 Till Late October

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 4, 2010 | 17 comments

Sony Ericsson continues to be one troubled division, seeming to be schizophrenic. There are times where the company gets it and decides to get into the smartphone war with a lower price to gain some shares and even abandon dead formats. Then, during the same big launch, Sony releases its Xperia X10 and Xperia X10 Mini Pro with Android 1.6, already a dated OS. Now, after promising a September release date, Sony wont be giving its users Android 2.1 till late October. This of course wouldn’t be as bad if Android 2.1 hadn’t been out for months, but not only has 2.1 been available all summer, but 2.2 is currently out as well. Sony needs to realize that the smartphone market is moving fast and every other week there is a new device coming out that wants to be king of the hill. Sony Ericsson, who has not had any real presence in the US market, cannot afford to enter the market with outdated software. This then brings us to the point that this is a software upgrade. All Sony needs to do is to give Xperia users new build to download and they will gain all the new features. Now I understand that there needs to be engineering and coding to make sure the build works with all of the Xperia features and layouts but this is work that should have been done months ago. In order for Sony to truly compete, they cannot play catch up with everybody else. They need be aggressive, both in their pricing, marketing, and support of their smartphone lineup.

[Via Sony Ericsson Blog]

This Week at the Movies: The Social Network

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 1, 2010 | 14 comments

Out this week from Columbia Pictures is The Social Network, aka the Facebook movie. Based around the alleged life of Mark Zuckerberg, the movie chronicles the rise of Facebook and how Mark went through Harvard and Silicon Valley to because the worlds youngest billionaire and the life of those around him. I had a chance to see The Social Network last night at Arclight Sherman Oaks here in LA, which is directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) and scored by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). Even with its two hour running time, the movie never seems to drag on as each shot, scene and dialogue is masterfully crafted with intent. For those who want to inspire and become the next big hit or for those who simply want to see an adult movie, capturing the early 2000s, I cannot recommend this enough. Especially for those of who who went to college in the early 2000s, as the movie progresses and shows the expansion and tale of Facebook, I can look back and say “Yea, I remember that and I wast part of that”.

Sony Ericsson Dumps Symbian, Favors Android All Around

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 1, 2010 | 19 comments

Not too long ago, Sony Ericsson was in a huge rut and the marriage between Sony and Ericsson seemed to be all but over. Then Sony introduced the Xperia X10 and the X10 Mini Pro and the company seems to have its mojo back. In the glory days of Sony Ericsson, the company used the Symbian OS which is an open source platform much like Google’s Android along with other giants like Nokia and Motorola. That was pre-iPhone. Since then, Motorola has gone nearly out of business, fully dumped Symbian and now is banging out Android phones while it holds onto dear life. Nokia, once-dominant handset maker, has now zero presence in the United States although the company has a huge worldwide market presence, though that has declined from 51% a year ago to current 41.2%. In order to make Symbian relevant, Nokia and the Symbian foundation are dumping a lot of money into revamping the OS and making it a much better competitor to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Let’s not forget that there is Rim with their new Blackberry 6 OS and Microsoft this winter with their Windows Phone 7. You can quickly see how much work Symbian has ahead of itself. In the meantime, Sony wants to make money, not wait to see if Nokia and Symbian can deliver. As Sony Ericsson spokesperson Aldo Liguori bluntly puts it, “We have no plans for the time being to develop any new products to the Symbian Foundation standard or operating system.” With Sony having many new ventures with Google, this news doesn’t come as a surprise as we expect many new Sony Ericsson products with the Android OS. Still, never say never is a universal lingo for Sony’s statement: they will leave the door open for them to develop future Symbian products, pending how well things turn out for Nokia and their new OS.

[Via BusinessWeek]

Sony Introduces the Stylish BDV-F7, Home Theater Sound Bar

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 30, 2010 | 1 comment

For those who want a nice 5.1 surround sound and Blu-ray but arent home theater geeks (like me) who don’t need a separate receiver, amp, speakers and all the other requirements, Sony is introducing the BDV-F7, part of their Sound Bar category. This unit is the big brother of the CECH-ZVS1, their lower end sound bar. Designed around Sony’s new Home Theater Monolithic Design, the BDV-F7 comes in 3 pieces. There is a sound bar that will sit in front or on top of your TV (can be wall mounted) where the simulated 5.1 surround will be broadcasted from. Then, there will be a subwoofer to give your films the depth they need. Finally, there’s the all-in-one Blu-ray disc player that is also the receiver, capable of playing 3D blu-rays, as well as Netflix, YouTube and Pandora, to name a few, via its built in Wi-Fi.

Hit the jump for full specs, additional shots, price and release date.

Sonys PS3 Remote Play Feature Comes to US Vaios

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 29, 2010 | 3 comments

In its efforts to further unify the brand and help them build and compliment off of each other, Sony is now giving US Vaio owners the capability of Remote Play, a feature we wrote about a long time ago that Japan had received. Some of the capabilities include using your laptop as the bluetooth keyboard and streaming content like music, video and pictures to your PS3. News is still a little sketchy on exactly which Vaio units are gaining this new update, but the EA series seems to be a sure bet. Keep in mind that if you own a Vaio that this wont be under your Windows Update section. You will have to use your Sony Updater or jump on Sonys eSupport section to see if it’s available for your model.

[Via Engadget]

Playstation Move Teardown

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 28, 2010 | 42 comments

As we conclude our week of Playstation Move coverage, we bring you one last piece. What actually makes the Playstation Move…move? The guys at iFixit took the Move apart and found some rather interesting things. Like many of today’s smartphones, the Move includes a processor, accelerometer, gyroscope, Bluetooth transmitter, vibrating motor, and even a MEMS compass. Another piece that really stands out is the LED light that sits inside the sphere end of the Move, which allows the controller to turn any color of the spectrum, thus letting developers get as creative as they wish with the colors. This is not just a visual feedback for the sake of things, but something that plays into games. For example, during games like Socom 4 and Killzone 3, if your health starts to deplete, your Move controller will begin to flash red and in the upcoming Move game, Sorcery, when you open your green potion, your Move will also turn green. Jump to minute 1:45 to see this awesome interaction or just watch the whole demo.

Hit the jump for some highlights from the iFixit tear down or feel free to follow to jump over and read the article in its entirety.

Sony Adds Seven Titles to Greatest Hits Collection

by Jenni Petot | Sep 28, 2010 | 1 comment

“greatest-hits”-collection/” target=”_self”>Announced today, seven games will be joining Sony’s Greatest Hits collection. Right now there’s about 40 titles in the Greatest Hits library. These titles are reduced in price to $29.99 a game (awesome!). I think it’s great Sony has their Greatest Hits collection. It’s a perfect way to showcase their amazing, top selling games and the collection has a broad range of genres, from first-person shooters to action/adventure, to platform and racing games. With these seven new titles, and now that it’s almost October, I think everyone is gearing up for the holiday season. The lowered price on these games would be perfect as gifts or to treat yourself to a great game you might have missed out on before.

I think I’ve been good and should treat myself to MAG.

Sony Introduces New BDX-S500u External Blu-ray Burner for Mac/PC

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 28, 2010 | 29 comments

Part of Sonys new Optiarc lineup, the BDX-S500u is their new external USB Blu-ray burner and player that’s both Mac and PC compatible. This new burner gives you a speed of 6x for single layer BD discs and 4x for duel layer BD discs. This means that you can burn a 25GB BD in about 20 minutes although that can vary depending on your motherboard and the USB chipset. Another wonderful feature of this is 3D playback as well so for anybody who has a 3D TV or monitor, all you need to do is hook up the computer and voila, you can now play back 3D.

As I mentioned, this is both Mac and PC compatible but with a small caveat. For PC owners, all you need to do is install the given software and Windows XP and above (Vista & Windows 7) will gain all the features I talked about. For Mac users, this works with Leopard and Snow Leopard to the extend that you will need to purchase Toast 10 (9 had this feature as well) to actually be able to burn files a blu-ray disc. This is great for those of us who have large iPhoto/iTunes libraries and would like to have a physical copy as well. The sad news is that there is no playback support. To be fair to Sony, this is not their fault, but there is a lack of BD playback in the Max OS. Look for a release by the end of this month with a low $200 price tag (various anywhere from $214 to $240 from different retailers I’ve seen). Consider me sold; my Mac has been needing some nice physical backups and my iPhoto library is around 90GB so DVDs for backups are out of the question.

Hit the jump as always for the full press release.

Sony Updates Vaio F and E laptops and L Touchscreen All-in-one Desktop

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 27, 2010 | 14 comments

Just in time for fall, although probably too late for all those back in school, Sony is updating the Vaio F, E and L series. Starting off with the Vaio F, the 16.4-inch laptop is packing in a new NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M graphics card with 1GB of video RAM and duel USB 3.0 ports, targeting the gamers and pro users out there. Next up, the Vaio E series is again getting the color of “Passion Purple” and gaining accessing to the Intel Ci5-580 and Ci5-460M. For those looking for a viasual push, an upgrade option is available for trading up the default 1366 x 768 displays for 1920 x 1080 full HD which will be free till October 9th and a $50 fee after that. Last, the Vaio L Touchscreen all-in-one desktops is gaining access to an upgradable 2TB hard drive, Blu-ray burner and Intel Core 2 Quad processor and of course is touchscreen.

Hit the jump for shots of the Vaio F and E series.

[Via Sony Blog]

Box Office: The Virginity Miss (Sept. 24-26)

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 27, 2010 | 7 comments

During the last weekend of September, Sony released The Virginity Hit witch turned to be a giant miss while its other hold-overs continued to do well with titles like Resident Evil: After Life and Eat Pray Love continuing their worldwide expansion. The Virginity Hit made a total of $301,885 at 700 locations which is considered to be one of the worst openings on record. The plot centered around a comedy about three pals documenting the progress of their socially-awkward friend who tries desperately to lose his virginity. The selling point of this film was how these friends would film and upload their friends life on YouTube and the humor and drama that it would cause. But as many YouTube videos that fail to get their 15 seconds of fame, this film failed to capture the audience that it was intended for as well.

Slipping to the number 4 spot, Sony’s Easy A continued to be a draw to audiences, grabbing another $10.6 million, down 40% from last week, putting its total earned to $33.8 million on the $8 million budget. Down 3 spots to number 7, Resident Evil: After Life is officially the highest grossing in the series, capturing $4.9 million this weekend, putting its world wide total to $205 million on its $60 million budget. This puts it ahead of Resident Evil: Extinction, the prior record holder Resident Evil title that sat at $147.7 million for its world wide total. Other Sony titles like Takers is down to number 9, down 46.4% from last week, putting its total to $54 million on its $32 million budget. No worldwide release yet for this title. Speaking of worldwide, The Other Guys has added a total of $8 million from its international release, putting it at $125.8 million gross. Eat Pray Love, the Julia Roberts drama, has an even bigger worldwide gain, adding $19.9 million to its gross, putting the title at $98.8 million total. Expect Sony’s early summer hit Salt to bow out of theaters soon with $279.8 million bagged already.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps ($19 million)
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole ($16.1 million)
The Town ($15.6 million)
Easy A ($10.6 million)
You Again ($8.4 million)

Sony Looking to Shake Up the eReader Market?

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 27, 2010 | 5 comments

Over the last year, Sony has slowly tickled out new technology prototypes, based around the concept of displaying a high quality image on a flexible screen. So far, we have seen the Sony OLED screen which is has thin as a piece of hair. Now in Japan, during its annual Dealer Convention, Sony has shown another step in this technology. Currently, all eReaders from the Kindle, to the Nook and Sonys own Reader all use a glass or plastic based e-paper. While the quality of them might be great, what isn’t is the flexibility. Thats why we tend to see them all in the same shape and size format. With this new flexible e-paper, Sony could then develop many different versions of eReaders, heck one that you can probably roll and fold up. Of course we have to note that this is still indeed prototype so don’t expect to see an announcement from Sony at this years CES.

[Via Engadget]

Sony and Subway Promotions Expand Beyond Playstation Move

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 25, 2010 | 17 comments

Sony and Subway as of late have been no strangers when it comes to promotions, kicking things off by giving those who try their new subs a chance to win LittleBigPlanet 2, Playstation Move and Sony Bravia TVs. Now that the Playstation Move has launched, Sony and Subways are kicking off a new promotions where you can win Playstation 3 games and gear like the new Sony Bloggie or Bravia HX810.