Sony Corp.

Vodafone Australia Introduces Updates to Existing 4.3 Software (Updated)

by Jonathan Nolan | May 3, 2014 | 3 comments

We’ve been keeping an eye on software updates around here, hints of KitKat and beyond, but there are still rounds of 4.3 rolling out too.

Some hints (here and here) have been coming out about an update to the already released 4.3 uplift, and users here and over at Xperia Care have been crying out for fixes to a few bugs. Some of the downsides of the 4.3 uplift seem to include a drag on performance, some freezing and some models can’t install the new Xperia themes – despite being a feature we were told to expect.

The latest post from Vodafone Australia gives plenty of detail of what to expect, but there is still some ambiguity. Read on for the details.

Sony Experience Time Lapse Video Showcases Sony’s Rise in Retail

by Sohrab Osati | May 2, 2014 | 2 comments

The Sony Experience is set to go live in mid-May across 350 Best Buy stores that will help Sony bolster its retail presence. Not only does the Sony Experience cost considerably less money versus the company attempting to follow Apple by building its own retail empire, but they also place Sony along side other companies who’ve taken a similar approach like Microsoft and Samsung. Sony hopes that each location will be able to draw consumers in with interactive displays and a massive array of 4K products like Sony’s 2014 televisions and 4K AX100 camcorder. To that end, Sony has released a time lapse video of the first of its kind store being built which you can find after the jump, alongside additional pictures. Ironically, the video isn’t in 4K or 1080p…

Sony is Second Most Admired Company in Japan

by Sohrab Osati | May 1, 2014 | 0 comments

The business firm Risk Monster recently concluded a new study in Japan to see which national companies they were most proud of in the world. Unlike a traditional poll, Risk Monster has specific conditions, like those polled between the age of 20 and 59 had to be currently employees. Equally, only companies which had over 250 billion yen in yearly sales and more than 5,000 employees are eligible.

While Toyota swept the number one spot with 64.5％ of the votes, Sony came in at second with 40.6％, and Honda grabbed third with 40.5%. Nintendo, which has seen its user base dwindle in the past few years, thanks to the rise of mobile and a lack of consumer interest in the Wii U, came in at number 7. After the jump, the top 20 most admired Japanese companies.

Sony Gets Back Into Retail In a Big Way With 350 ‘Sony Experience’ Locations

by Sohrab Osati | May 1, 2014 | 5 comments

In late February, Sony made the shocking announcement that they would be closing 20 out of their 31 retail stores in the United States. The move, in essence, would kill Sony’s entire retail presence which was already weak at best. This left many Sony fans wondering how the company would survive and battle the likes of Apple and Samsung. As it turns out, the answer is to do what exactly what those companies did. Prior to Apple building its own arsenal of now iconic stores throughout the world and becoming the most profitable retailer on the planet, the company built mini Apple stores inside of Best Buy and now-defunct CompUSA stores. These stores helped Apple gain a strong foothold with consumers while offering a much lower cost for the company. Eventually, Apple would become so successful at this model that the company built its own fleet of retail stores. Eventually, as Samsung does, the company copied the model from Apple and in the past two years, has launched a massive network of small stores inside of other big box retailers that highlight their products.

Not to be outdone, Sony has announced that they too will be inside of 350 Best Buy stores with what they call the ‘Sony Experience.’ Let’s talk details.

PlayStation App 1.70.13 Brings Major Changes on iOS Like Native iPad Support

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2014 | 0 comments

The PlayStation App 1.70.13 has just been released by Sony for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) and with it comes a host of changes. Till now, while the PlayStation App ran on iPad, it was never created natively for the larger display, resulting in an upscaled version of the iPhone app. With the most recent app update, Sony has brought native support for iPad 2 and iPad mini. This of course is still behind where Apple is with their iPad line and still doesn’t include Retina display support, which was introduced in the iPad 3 (early 2012) and the new iPad mini, but it’s a start.

After the jump, we tell you what else this 9.2 MB update brings with it.

Should You Buy ‘Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut’ On PS4?

by Trevor Rodenberger | Apr 21, 2014 | 0 comments

Since the release of the PlayStation 4 (and even before, with the PlayStation 3), Sony has made it clear that they want more indie developers and games on their console. I personally enjoy these smaller game experiences and as I play more of them I am finding myself drawn to them as much if not more than the standard AAA title. Having said that, I was very excited to get my hands on the space shooter Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut. Strike Suit Zero was originally funded through Kickstarter in 2012 and released on PC in 2013. The game comes to PlayStation 4 in Director’s Cut form with new features and updates. Does Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut shine on the PlayStation 4? Keep reading to find out!

Sony Updates PlayMemories Mobile for iOS With Notifications and More

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 15, 2014 | 0 comments

Sony has just updated their PlayMemories Mobile app for iOS devices. The PlayMemories Mobile 4.2.3 update brings with it improved compatibility for the company’s line of attachable lenses which require to be connected via the app to function. The update now allows for an improved photo-taking experience on the QX10 and QX100 by allowing you to touch the shutter icon to focus on the image at hand.

Sony Scores Big with FIFA, ESPN 4K Camera Deals

by Jonathan Nolan | Apr 8, 2014 | 0 comments

4K just got yet another big push, this time at the world’s largest football event; the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sony announced a deal with FIFA to produce the Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Film in 4K Ultra HD, and three full matches including the final. This year the World Cup will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July.

ESPN in the US has just signed Sony to supply studio cameras for their new Digital Center 2 studio production operations in Bristol, Conn. The Center is a 193,000-square-foot facility due to air this May.

Sony KitKat Update News – Which Devices, When is the Update, What’s Included (Updated)

by Jonathan Nolan | Apr 6, 2014 | 5 comments

Sony recently announced which of it’s smartphones are getting KitKat first, along with fresh info on what users can expect with the very latest Android uplift. The first devices to get KitKat were the Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z1 Compact.

The next round involves many more devices including the Xperia Tablet Z and last year’s flagship, Xperia Z. Both of these devices show firmware versions of 14.x over at the certification body PTCRB.

KitKat brings smart caller ID which identifies an unsaved number when someone calls, an ultra low-power audio playback state to get extra juice out of your media player and the most elegant Android UI yet.

Read on for the full details.

PlayStation Store Update (4-01-14)

by Trevor Rodenberger | Apr 1, 2014 | 0 comments

Welcome to the PlayStation Store update for April 01, 2014. We have a great update this week packed full of new content and sales. Come back to baseball as MLB The Show 14 is the big release for the week on both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The PlayStation 4 version will release next month and is now available for pre-order.

Batman Origins: Blackgate Deluxe Edition arrives on the PlayStation 3 today with several updates and improvements over the PlayStation Vita version. Both the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 also receive Ragnarok Odyssey Ace today.

Finally, PlayStation Plus users will be receiving both Batman Arkham City (PS3) and as we speculated last week Mercenary Kings (PS4) for free along with many discounts on several games. Keep reading to see a complete list of content available on the PlayStation Store this week!

Kaz Hirai to Step Down as CEO, Be Replaced by Jack Tretton

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 1, 2014 | 7 comments

For the past two months, there has been plenty of turmoil at Sony. While things seemed to be going well for Sony in 2013 with the company starting to experience growth in mobile and coming off of a fantastic PS4 launch, 2014 has quickly turned into a black mark for the struggling Japanese giant. In the last few months, we’ve seen no shortage of departures from PlayStation, including high level departures at Naughty Dog and a massive layoff at Santa Monica Studios. The reach of turmoil unfortunately has not been limited to PlayStation as Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America and one of the division’s earliest executives when it was founded in 1995, is stepping down at the end of March. Since the start of the new year, Sony has announced the closure of 60% of their retail stores in the US, the closing of VAIO, and is even spinning off their Bravia television business. To top that all of this, Masaru Kato, the company’s CFO is departing after 31 years.

While some sites have attempted to connect the dots between events, they’ve so far been unsuccessful at figuring out just what went wrong at Sony. Now, thanks to an insider, we’ve come to learn the real reason behind all the turmoil at Sony and it involves Jack Tretton and Kaz Hirai.

Sony to Revolutionize Battery Technology With ‘Power Food’

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 1, 2014 | 2 comments

Sony has been involved in battery technology for a long time. The company’s reach extends from big devices like the now defunct Sony VAIO division to smaller portable devices like Xperia smartphones and Cyber-Shot cameras which all utilize Sony batteries. Throughout the years, the company’s progress, while slow, has been nothing short of amazing where we once could do 100 pictures on a Cyber-Shot camera before running out of juice, we can now take 400+ photos in a camera that’s more powerful and slimmer.

Now, the company feels like it can revolutionize the battery industry and the solution comes from one of the unlikeliest places: food. It’s blatantly obvious that food powers all mammals on the planet. In a nutshell, our body is capable of taking food, breaking it down internally and converting it to nutrients that help fuel our body. Now Sony’s R&D division hopes to do the same for our gadgets thanks to Power Food which can be seen in the above video.

Sony Corp. CFO Masaru Kato Steps Down

by Jonathan Nolan | Mar 31, 2014 | 3 comments

In yet another major development as Sony winds down the current financial year (today), Masaru Kato departs after 31 years. Sony has appointed Kenichiro Yoshida to replace him starting April 1.

Kato was a Sony veteran having held several other high-profile positions within the company including Executive Vice President, Representative Corporate Executive Officer as well as Chief Executive Officer and Deputy President at Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Should You Buy ‘Deception IV: Blood Ties?’ (PS3/PS Vita)

by Trevor Rodenberger | Mar 30, 2014 | 0 comments

I have been a fan of the Deception franchise since Tecmo’s Deception: Invitation to Darkness released for the original PlayStation in 1996. In that game you play as a servant of the devil and are tasked with defending ‘The Castle of the Damned’ from all manner of heroes and adventurers who are unfortunate enough to enter. The gameplay was in the 1st person perspective and to defeat the enemies the player had to set traps to either stun, kill, or capture the intruders. My preteen self enjoyed the dark story and unique (at-the-time) concept of playing as the ‘bad guy’. Fast forward to today and it has been 9 years since the last Deception game. This week Deception IV: Blood Ties released here in the United States and became the newest entry in the franchise. Does Deception IV: Blood Ties stack up to its predecessors? Keep reading our full review to find out!

Why Sony’s Image Sensors are Selling like Lemonade on a Hot Day

by Jonathan Nolan | Mar 28, 2014 | 3 comments

Charity Lemonade Stand with Hugh Hefner

Charity Lemonade Stand with Hugh Hefner

Now that we are just a few days away from the end of Sony’s financial year, the company has reported a 16% rise in sales of image sensors compared with 2012. This news should help the company maintain it’s pole position in the lucrative smartphone image sensor market. Sony has twice purchased more factories to boost CMOS sensor production as currently demand is expected to outstrip supply within two years. The Japanese electronics giant has benefited from the cultural rise of the ‘selfie’ along with a flourishing global smartphone market.

But this is more than just a case of being in the right business at the right time. Smartphone sales may be thriving, but not all manufacturers are benefiting. In just a few years, Sony has completely changed it’s strategy regarding access to their coveted image sensors. Under the leadership of the previous CEO Sir Howard Stringer, the plan was to limit competitors access to the technology. Now under CEO Kaz Hirai, any company looking to supply their phones with Sony’s image sensors are absolutely welcome, it seems. It’s an overhaul from being ‘alone in the sandpit’ to ‘selling lemonade on a hot day’.

Rival Samsung chose Sony to supply the Galaxy S4 with Japanese tech but has now started taking this production in-house. This presents a formidable new competitor in the CMOS market. How did Sony get to the top of this market and what is Sony’s plan to stay dominant?