I already know what this is so let’s have some fun with it. What do you guys think?
Sony Corp.
New in theaters this week from Sony Pictures is “The Karate Kid” which is a remake of the 1984 classic. I’m really curious how this movie will do at the box office against an action packed movie like the A-Team (saw it last night and LOVED it. Cannot wait to see it again). I say this with more of a financial tone for Sony Pictures than a movie review, because Sony Pictures has been fairly quiet the last few months in their movie presence. But after this, they are following up with the release of “Salt” which is another movie I’m excited for. I do have say though that so far the Karate Kid has been getting some excellent reviews with the title quote as one, and praise for Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) going on to say “First and foremost, we are completely astounded with how much talent Jaden Smith has in him.” I will hopefully be catching this movie myself tomorrow night so I’ll have a better judge of its box office take but I think if this movie can open in the $40 million range, that it will be a huge win for Sony (and this is actually hard task because Jaden is not really known and Jackie Chan, although I love him, is not a box office-leading actor).
Hit the jump for the movie synopsis and trailer.
As we have reported in the past, Sony is looking to “peter-parker-told-differently”/” target=”_self”>reboot the Spider-Man franchise with a new trilogy and maybe more. There have been many rumors about cast members and recently, Jamie Bell’s name has been tossed around a lot. Now, I personally remember Jamie Bell from Jumper and I liked him in that movie. However, I don’t believe this is for the main role, aka Peter Parker aka Spidey. So could he be the new Harry? Let the speculation begin!
[Via Slashfilm]
Today, Sony is updating its entry Alpha lineup with the A390 and the A290. While they both look similar, there are some noticeable differences between the two that some of the other blogs have missed.
Both units do indeed come with a 14.2MP sensor but while the A290 ($500) will come with a 18-55 mm lens and sport a 0.83x magnification with a slightly larger screen, its higher-end sister, the A390 ($600), will actually come with a 0.74x magnification and slightly smaller LCD. However, the A390 makes it up with its 2.7-inch Quick AF Live View. This will be a very familiar feature for those (including me) who owned the Sony-A717. This basically allows you to tilt the LCD down or up, so if you are looking to crouch or shoot over a crowd or object with your hand up in the air, you can just tilt the LCD to your given position and still take the picture you want. It’s easily worth the extra $100. Look for these units to hit in July.
Hit the jump for a spec sheet picture.
Now that Sony has gone and released information on its 3D TVs, they are also vamping up how they plan to deliver the content to them. We all know by now that the Playstation 3 will be gaining 3D, but for those who don’t want to go that route and maybe want to upgrade their home theater system as well, Sony has a solution with its BDV-HZ970W ($800).
The HZ970W features a full HD 1080p 5.1 channel Blu-ray 3D player has wireless capabilities via the included USB wireless LAN adapter (802.11n) allowing for easy access to the BRAVIA Internet Video platform and Qriocity. Another fantastic option from Sony is the capability to control your 3D Blu-ray player (and any other network based Blu-ray player from them) via its iPhone app. Let’s be honest, how many times were you too lazy to lean forward for the remote, but had your iPhone in your pocket? Sony has also stated that they are working on an Android based remote app as well. Look for this unit to come out in July. Also to top all of this off, this unit is damn sexy!
Sony has finally released information for it’s up coming 3D TVs, the LX900, HX900 and HX800. As expected, the higher end LX900 come in sizes of 52($4,000) and 60-inches ($5,000). The mid end HX900 comes in sizes of 52($3,500) and 60-inches ($4,000). Finally, the lower end of the 3D TVs, the HX800 includes 40($2,100), 46($2,700), 52 ($3,400), 55-inches($3,400).
I have to stress that all of these TV’s are 3D capable, but only the LX900 series comes 3D ready outside of the box. Meaning if you know you want 3D now, get the LX900. If your not sure about but might want to upgrade to 3D, instead of getting a new TV, the HX900 and HX800 can do 3D, you will just need additional equipment. I highly recommend reading our Bravia Guide, because it goes over all the different lineups from Sony and can really help you get the most out of your purchase.
Also, hit the jump for the press release from Sony that actually has a lot of good information for those who are considering a 3D TV purchase soon.
Alright! It took a little longer then I had wanted to, but I promised you guys and gals this video in HD and I was having problems uploading it. Thats all been solved now, so feel free to click the higher quality and watch. A review is still on its way in the next couple of days.
Last week, during its annual Computex press conference, NVIDIA unveiled technology that would give DSLR cameras the capability to turn images into 3D with a post process conversion. This basically eliminates the idea of needing different lenses for your pictures although there isn’t a lot of detail whether this is done in camera or later on via a software. Of course the surprise (or now lack thereof) was that NVIDIA is teaming up with Sony to deliver this technology. Sony is of course going to be offering this feature in its high end Alpha series (sorry Cybershot fans). Beyond that, there is not a lot of information, but I think that this is a fantastic move on Sony’s end. Sony really needs to stick behind 3D and leverage its different brands. So far, its giving the PS3 3D capabilities, individual Blu-ray players, as well as its 3D televisions, camcorders and of course, its releasing 3D movies as well. This just expands the idea of 3D one more level and into the hands of the consumer.
[Via Engadget]
Back again for another look at this week’s blu-ray releases. This week I’m very, very excited for Shutter Island. I’ll be the first to admit Leonardo DiCaprio is my favorite actor. This is not in any way an “Oh he’s so cute” reason, (although he’s not bad on the eyes) I believe he is a brilliant actor and continues to blow me away in all of his performances. Shutter Island is one of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year, and I can’t even get into how excited I am for Inception, it’s a slight obsession. Ok enough of Leo and back to blu-ray releases.
Two other movie releases that appeal to my taste are From Paris with Love and The Illusionist. I haven’t seen From Paris yet, but this is definitely a renter for me and I wanted to catch it in theaters. The Illusionist came out around the same time as The Prestige, both films about magic and illusion with a romance sub-plot and both were great. I will admit I loved The Prestige more, but the Illusionist was a very enjoyable film that will be on my blu-ray ‘to buy’ list.
Lastly, I must mention a blu-ray set that I forgot to include last week that will be added to my collection, Life. For fans of the incredibly beautiful, Planet Earth, Discovery channel did a similar 10 episode series on wild life around the world. The few episodes I’ve seen, I watch with my jaw open. It’s really amazing seeing what these animals do to survive and the beautiful shots that were captured. I should note that there are two versions of Life, one has narration by David Attenborough, and the other is narration by Oprah Winfrey. Numerous reviews say go with David’s version, it’s slightly more expensive but worth it from the more interesting commentary.
So remember that sexy new little Vaio that Sony announced last month? Well the new Vaio P is now available for pre-order with a late June shipping date. One odd tid bit is that we had stated that they would start at $799 and indeed that was to be the price though currently, on the Sony site, they are listed for $899. Not sure if this is an error on their site or if they have sense changed their pricing structure. We hope its an error because for $899 for an Intel Atom Processor is not something id be signing up for.
[Via SonyStyle]
I like to poke fun at the fact that the US always tends to get stuff last from Sony and for the most part, I dare say its true. But recently, there has been a slightly new trend of us getting products ahead of Japan, like the Sony Cybershot H55. Who knew that we also had the eReader way before Japan? Sony has now announced that its eReader which is available in 8 countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland) will finally be expanding to Japan, China, Australia, Spain and Italy.
I actually always had assumed that this was a world wide launch but as we see its not and it makes sense. Releasing something like the eReader or the iPad isnt just about manufacturing the product, but its also about content and how it will be delivered. That task is also not as easy as “hey US has all of these books, Europe will get them too”. Different books have different published that play by different rules and government regulations in each different country. So releasing just the product is worthless with content and thats something that Sony has done right. So all this time, Sony has been working with its partners to make sure there is a adequate offering of books before its eReader gets launched in those countries. This is also an important launch as the iPad has just recently been launched internationally. Granted, the eReader doesn’t do what the iPad does, so it might not be a fair comparison, but the iPad does do what the Sony eReader and Kindle and Nook do so you bet its’ taking away sales from Sony.
Hit the jump for a fun filled time with the official press release!
The PS3 exclusive and highly rated game, Heavy Rain, is very close to getting a film deal. The rights are rumored to be sold to Unique Features which is a Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne company. They founded New Line Cinema back in 1967. I hope this will be a good game to film feature that is casted well since it is very character based game. The gameplay of Heavy Rain is very cinematic already with camera angles, music and action placement. For those of you that haven’t played the game, the story follows four protagonist that are involved with the mystery of the Origami Killer. It is a drama-thriller that I can very much picture as a movie if they make the story easy to follow because at times, it can be very confusing in the game.
I’m a sucker for concept art, whether it’s for games, movies or technology. A big part of most concept styles will of course never happen or give us a glimpse of what’s possible, not what’s plausible. But then again, take the iPhone back even 10 years and people will tell you that your insane. So this brings us to this Sony Computer Concept itself to be worn. Basically, it’s a slightly bigger watch that can stream data on its screen (potentially using Sony’s Flexible OLED screen?). The cool part happens once you’ve taken the watch off and laid it out on your desk. Then you have access to your apps, a pull out keyboard (and there are laser keyboards out there currently where just a light is shined on a area that shows a keyboard and you type away on it). Also note the projector system built into it. Many tech companies like LG are working on a built-in projector for smart phones. So who knows, maybe we will see this in 10 years. All I know is that if you hit the jump, you can see a ton more dazzling pictures.
I couldn’t be more excited for this camera. The Sony HX5V is here and man I can’t wait to use this beast and give you a review on it. The camera boasts the Sony G lens with 10x zoom, panorama shooting mode, GPS for geo tagging, HD filming and sexiness (that’s a feature right?). Expect the whole shebang with an unboxing that will be up in a bit in 720p (mmmm HD) and then the review a few days later.
Update:
A cool surprise was in the box. This unit comes with a USB to HDMI adaptor so you can plug your camera directly into a TV with HDMI (cable not provided). That makes it easy to transfer/show your HD footage.
This really is a bold statement but if we sit back for a minute and look at all the facts, it might not be as farfetched as the title makes it out to be. Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading business division, said: “Within five years there will be more digital content sold than physical content. Three years ago, I said within ten years but I realized that was wrong – it’s within five.” Basically, the idea is that by year 5, people will have purchased more magazines, newspapers and books on a device like the Sony eReader than in actual print. If you first think about it, the idea does seem farfetched. I mean, think of all the colleges and Barnes & Nobles and little mom and pop bookstores and heck, magazine stands. How could readers overtake them so quickly?
Thats where we need to start putting pieces of the puzzle together. Sony has already sold over 10 million eBooks, Amazon states that the Kindle is its best selling product ever, Barnes & Nobles (a bookstore) is betting on its Nook and Apple has already shipped over 2 million iPads and the iPhone & iPod Touch will be gaining the iBookStore. These are all events that have taken place in the last 6 months. I know that I will never buy another book again. Everything I read and will read (I’m reading some comics and 2 books) will be on my iPad (unless Sony wants to throw an eReader my way).
So while some laughed at the idea and said this is just another provider, boasting their own product, I really do believe we might be headed there and with the facts above, 5 years might not seem like a stretch now. In the end, think about how many trees can be saved and the idea that you no longer need to dedicate an entire wall to just books. One simple device will have any book you want, and if you don’t have it, you can download it over the air in just a minute.
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