Christopher

Sony has filed a fresh new FCC report that gives me visions of Terminator’s whole Skynet saga. For those of you who don’t recall, Skynet was an artificially intelligent system which became self-aware and revolted against its creators. Perhaps things aren’t that dramatic (for now), but with a name like “Home Information Device,” aka HID-C10, what would you think? Regardless, this is a new device that Sony is bringing to the market sometime in 2010. We don’t have a lot of information yet, but we believe this product is connected to TV as the Television Engineering Group in Sony are handling the FCC filing. It has 801.11b/g, but its Wi-Fi certification lists it in the category of “Display Device (eg. television, monitor, picture frame).” Wha? How can this be a Display Device? Maybe they label accessories like that, but if it was just a router I believe it would say so. I’m confused. One theory I have is that this could possibly be some sort of emitter that works in conjunction with 3D active shutter glasses. If that was the case though, why would it be a seperate adapter? Is this the accessory that will come with Sony 3D TV’s? It’s possible because the confidentiality agreement on several key elements in the FCC report is labeled for May 31st, 2010. So this may or may not be at CES – perhaps a tease, or totally nonexistent. Another plausible theory is that this could just be another Wi-Fi adapter for a television somehow, perhaps one that would work with a broader range of TV’s so they can connect to the Sony Online Service, which we explored previously in a rather in depth article. This information is a Sony Insider exclusive, brought to you here first. View the full article

VEVO is an online music video website owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI and Abu Dhabi Media Company. It is developed and hosted by YouTube, Sony, and Google, with content being initially provided by Universal Music Group. Google’s YouTube video service will host Universal content on the satellite website, making this the first time that YouTube hosts content off its main website. Through this partnership, Google and Universal will split ad revenues. It is expected to become the largest music oriented website on the Internet. Vevo is currently offering content from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Walt Disney Records, CBS Interactive Music Group, Big Machine Records, Concord Music Group, Lyric Street Records, ABKCO, Caroline Distribution, Fontana Distribution, INgrooves, IODA, RED and The Orchard, among many others. A possible major reason behind the project is the competition that music videos have on YouTube. Warner Music Group apparently removed its content from YouTube in March 2009 for just this reason, but is said to be considering hosting its content on this new service. The concept for the site is described as being a Hulu for music videos and the plan may have arisen from the goal of attracting more high-end advertisers. Currently, it is believed that many advertisers are ambivalent to hosting advertising on YouTube’s site alongside user-generated video. In the future, the site could host more than just music videos, such as editorials, other types of videos, and user-generated content. VEVO also has a nicely organized and often updated company blog featuring new content. The photo above is CEO of Sony Music Entertainment & Co-Chairman of VEVO Rolf Schmidt-Holt speaking onstage at the launch of VEVO at Skylight Studio on December 8, 2009 in New York City. Check out dozens of other pictures from the VEVO launch at daylife featuring numerous big stars and major players in the music industry View the full article

Sony has really confused me with their Walkman strategy in 2009 – the consistency is available models is simply confusing. In Japan (and most of Asia Pacific), Sony is offering their most advanced line up to date with the latest A and S series models to compliment its E, W and X series offerings. In Europe, Sony offers the B, E, S, W and X series – the S series is the lower end model with a built in speaker. In the USA, Sony offers the E, S (same as Europe), W, and X series. However, it appears that SonyStyle Canada is breaking the mold and offering the more advanced S series that is only available in Asia Pacific – the NWZ-S745. Is it possible that Sony will introduce this model for US consumers during CES? It’s hard to tell, but it seems possible. If not, perhaps later in the Spring. The NWZ-S745 is the most feature rich S series to date, with a 2.0″ QVGA LCD, noise canceling technology, video out (SD only and a low resolution), clear bass/clear stereo, and satisfying codec support. It is more interesting to me than the current S series Walkman available in the USA, which has somewhat powerful built-in speakers, good storage capability, but has mostly average features. Thanks, Anything But iPod. View the full article

Grown Ups is an upcoming 2010 American ensemble comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade. James, Rock, Schneider, and Spade have all worked with Sandler on films before, though this is the first film all five will have appeared in together. This is a pheonominal group of people that have been put together in a movie and with such legends in comedy it will be hard to avoid this one. Sandler and Fred Wolf wrote the script and Dennis Dugan is directing. The film is produced by Sandler’s production company Happy Madison and will be distributed by Columbia Pictures. Filming commenced in Southborough and Chebbacco Lake in Essex, Massachusetts during May of this year. It is set to be released on June 25, 2010. The general story of the movie is that five best friends (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade) and former teammates reunite years later to honor the passing of their childhood basketball coach. With their wives (Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Maya Rudolph) and kids in town, they spend the Fourth of July holiday weekend together at the lake house where they celebrated their championship years earlier. Picking up where they left off, they discover why growing older doesn’t always mean growing up. Here is the official trailer, courtesy of Sony Pictures. ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"> View the full article

If you own a Sony BRAVIA (W5100, Z5100, XBR9, and XBR10 or the Internet Video Link), Blu-ray player (N460), or PS3, you may have used the relatively new Netflix streaming application. Having Netflix “watch instantly” (aka instant queue) on your Sony product enables you to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix’s varied library of content. Sony impressed me with their Netflix integration by giving it styling just like other Sony menu options from the XMB – which ensured that the customer had some sort of familiarity with the interface upon entering it. Now that the service has been out for nearly a month, what changes do you feel Sony should make to their Netflix integration? View the full article

Sony Creative Software released an update to its Media Go software last month and it slipped under our radar. However, I felt that it would be helpful to post a story about it anyways. The latest v1.3 update is pretty nice, and teases us by supporting the XPERIA X10 before most of us can even get our hands on it. Bonus Digital Copy can be transferred to the PSP, as well as support for video and photo playlist transfer to the PSP. I also see the mention of “An Advanced Transfer option provides customized encoding options for transferring media to a device.” which could be helpful to some of you out there who were complaining about that in our previous posts. There’s a lot more to check out though, and let us know what you think. The following additional devices from Sony Ericsson are supported: Xperia X10. Please note: Sony Ericsson phones sold in Japan are not supported. Bonus digital copy from purchased DVD or Blu-ray Discs can be transferred to PSP (PlayStation Portable) systems. Comics purchased through the PlayStation

The PlayStation brand is a line of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, occupying the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations. It has become one of the largest investments Sony has ever gambled on (well, except for the whole pre-Pascal Sony Pictures Entertainment thing) and its been what I consider to be an enormous part of the overall Sony experience. Countless consumers, in almost one way or another, have used a Playstation product. It’s funny to think though that the brand itself turned fifteen years old on December 3rd – it doesn’t seem that long to me. Happy Birthday! Check out SCEI’s cool Playstation 15th anniversary site (JP). The original PlayStation, released in December 1994, was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and hand-held game devices, which has included successor consoles and upgrades including the Net Yaroze (a special black PlayStation with tools and instructions to program PlayStation games and applications), “PSone” (a smaller version of the original) and the PocketStation (a handheld which enhances PlayStation games and also acts as a memory card). It was part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, competing against the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. By March 31, 2005, the PlayStation and PSone had shipped a combined total of 102.49 million units, becoming the first video game console to reach the 100 million mark. It was an enormous success and a giant leap from the Nintendo, Sega, etc experience most of us had fed on for nearly a decade. Released in 2000, 15 months after the Dreamcast and a year before its other competitors, the Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2 is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles, and is backwards-compatible with most, if not all, original PlayStation games. It has also been released as a media center configuration and also, like its predecessor, a slimmer redesign. On November 29, 2005, the PS2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. This achievement occurred faster than its predecessor, the PlayStation, which took “9 years and 6 months since launch” to reach the same benchmark. It is the most successful console in the world, having reached over 140 million units in sales as of July 20, 2008. I haven’t seen a number since 2008 of how many its sold overall but I imagine it must be up sharply because it only costs $99 as of March of this year..or less. It is the most popular console in the series, but the PS3 most certainly has the capacity to reach similar figures. It’s hard to tell if Sony will ever stop manufacturing the PS2, because theoretically they could bring it to retail by 2012 for less than (the equivalent of) $50 today easily.. Released on November 11, 2006, the PlayStation 3 is the third and current iteration in the series. It competes with the Xbox 360 and the Wii in the seventh generation of video game consoles. It introduces the use of the Sixaxis wireless controller along with other features, such as Blu-ray Disc and being also to see in Full High-definition resolution. It has access to an online store that sells games, movies, and other multimedia content. The PlayStation 3 is most certainly the most varied unit of the home consoles, by being offered in 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, 160 GB, 120 GB, and 250GB configurations, with the last two being the current models. As for December 5th, 2009 Sony has sold 27.3 million PS3’s according to vgchartz.com. Of course there was several Playstation Portable (PSP) units - Released in March 2005, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was Sony’s first handheld console. The console utilizes an new proprietary optical storage medium known as Universal Media Disc (UMD), which can store both games and movies. It contains 32MB of internal flash memory storage, expandable via Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. It has a vast library of games and movies available to play on UMD and also can download games off the Playstation store. The first major hardware revision, the PSP Slim and Lite was released in September 2007, with a further revision adding additional features (such as a microphone and upgraded screen) being released in October 2008. As of December 5th 2009, 53 million PSP units have been sold according to vgchartz.com. The PSP Go was released in October 2009. It differs from the original PlayStation Portable in several ways, most notably the absence of a UMD drive, with all content having to be purchased and downloaded from the Playstation Store. The PSP also adds Bluetooth functionality, and uses smaller Memory Stick Micro cards rather than the PRO Duo. It retains the same brilliance in display like the regular PSP but its display is slightly smaller. The PSP Go is 43% lighter and 56% smaller than the original PSP. What’s your favorite Playstation moment of all time? Mine was probably beating Metal Gear Solid 1.. View the full article

This Saturday, December 5th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm local time, PlayStation staff will be visiting Sony Style retail stores to help gamers and also help those looking to give a gaming gift. These aren’t just your average marketing representatives – these Playstation employees are real gamers and know how to truly make the most out of your PS3, PSP, related games, and so forth. I know many of you out there are experts yourself, and this could be a great opportunity for you to have a conversation with the source. This is also a great way to offer feedback on the Playstation experience. According to the SonyStyle blog, here are some of the things they can help with. If you’re looking to give a gaming gift, they’ll help you select the right gift for your budget. If you own a PS3 they’ll offer tips to turn your PS3 into a home theater component so you can enjoy Blu-ray movies, music and photos directly through your console. If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the PlayStation Network, they’ll show you how to get set up plus show you how to play against friends via network connection. Struggling on a level? These reps know games and can offer useful tips. Reps bring the hottest holiday game titles to play and preview so it’s a chance to play against an expert and pick their brain on their favorite titles. To find a SonyStyle store near you, check out Sony’s helpful “Find a SonyStyle Store” website. View the full article

It’s time to push things once again to the next level. The only way Sony Insider is going to survive and have real longevity in the future is turning the website into a service. Sony Insider is a blog, or a digital magazine if you will, but the problem is that I read way more Sony news than what I (and Stan) publish every day. It’s impossible for us to cover everything, at least to the standard in which we usually present things. Originally when I started the site it was a sort of a graduation from creating Minidisc Community Forums and ATRACLife. Things have evolved greatly with varied and unique content, huge traffic gains, bulletproof CES performance, HD Video/Reviews, and now our latest effort – #SonyLatest. #SonyLatest is a hashtag. A hashtag is a way to unite global Tweets around some particular topic. Basically, these are tags that that help those who seek similar content discover your Tweets. And the plan is to keep it fresh. So fresh that its being updated 20-30 times a day with cherry picked links to the best Sony content we can find. I want this to be something big. I want this to be the lifestream of the Sony brand, covering everything possible for everyone to see when it happens. I want this to be a necessity, like as often you check a news site, such as how they have Breaking News. It also allows us to speak about upcoming SI stories, too. This won’t replace content on the site, but rather to make the site even more exciting to use every day. I have already placed two widgets on the site featuring #SonyLatest – one on the front page to the right of the main story on the main index page, and one to the right within a story. You can also click on the “Join the conversation” link and it will take you to our Twitter site that has #SonyLatest with all the posts to read in an easy manner. Anyone can contribute to #SonyLatest, but for now only #SonyLatest posts by us (@SonyInsider) show up on the widgets in the site. There’s no two paragraph description, advertisements, etc – it’s the topic title of the cool story we found, parenthesis with slight description if necessary, a shortened link to the story, and the hashtag #SonyLatest. Every link in #SonyLatest by us will always be legit. Only the best. I have ambitions to court several Sony twitterers too and see if they will start using it too. #SonyLatest is all about making Sony Insider and really the latest cool Sony links a service for the consumers and the fans. Let me know what you think and spread the word, friends. Also, I would like to thank @AndrewMagann for this idea, as I had watched him post links often to great Sony content in this manner. It made me realize how powerful that action can be if done consistently. View the full article

Sony Corporation and FIFA have announced an agreement for selected media rights of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 3D. FIFA is to produce the world’s first FIFA World Cup in 3D. Up to 25 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches will be produced using Sony’s 3D professional cameras, which will provide coverage of the action that is unprecedented in depth, vividness and excitement to people around the world. FIFA will utilize Sony’s experience and know-how of 3D content production to spread the passion inside the stadiums at the greatest sport event in the world to more people than ever before. From 2010, Sony will be incorporating 3D compatibility into a wide range of consumer products such as “BRAVIA” LCD TV, Blu-ray Disc recorders and players, VAIO and PlayStation 3, to provide a multitude of ways in which 3D content – from 3D movies to stereoscopic 3D games – can be enjoyed in the home. By having viewers around the world experience sensational 3D content from the World Cup tournament, Sony aims to accelerate the expansion of 3D from professionals to consumers in 2010 and beyond. “The transition to 3D is underway, and, we, at Sony, intend to be leaders in every aspect. Our sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup allows us to leverage our cutting-edge 3D technology and premier products with dazzling content to produce a unique and totally compelling viewing experience. 3D viewers around the world will feel as though they are inside the stadiums in South Africa, watching the games in person,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corporation. “This propels the football fan into a whole new viewing dimension and marks the dawning of a new era in the broadcasting of sport,” said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke. “We are proud that the FIFA World Cup can serve as a platform for advancing technology and the viewing experience, and are truly fortunate to have Sony as a partner in this endeavour.” Viewers will be able to enjoy 3D experiences at the following locations: During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA will host the “International FIFA Fan Fest” public viewing events in 7 cities around the world (Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio De Janeiro, Rome, and Sydney). At Sony’s commercial displays located within the “Fan Fest,” people will be able to enjoy and experience promotional highlight trailers of the FIFA World Cup in 3D. In anticipation of the Official 3D Film, viewers will be able to watch promotional trailers for the film of the World Cup in 3D at retail outlets(including Sony stores) that sell Sony products around the world. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to produce and distribute the Official 3D Film on the Blu-ray Disc and other formats. By combining the excitement of the FIFA World Cup with 3D images generated using Sony’s technology and products, Sony and FIFA will seek to deliver 3D images that convey the action and emotion of the World Cup to viewers around the world, and a viewing experience as if they were in the stadium itself. View the full article

Sony has recently identified a minor quality issue involving a small percentage of the VAIO JS Series all-in-one desktop computers sold since October 22, 2009. When powering on or resuming from hibernation in a low temperature environment, the JS4 may not start properly. You may want to think twice about bringing your JS out into the cold next time, especially those of you living in igloos. The VAIO JS4 is sold in many countries around the world, including the USA, Europe and most of Asia Pacific. Models affected: Asia Pacific: VGC-JS45GF/P, VGC-JS45GF/Q, VGC-JS45GF/S, VGC-JS45LF/Q, VGC-JS43LF/P, VGC-JS45TF/P, VGC-JS45TF/Q, VGC-JS45SF/S, VGC-JS45SF/P North America: VGC-JS410F, VGC-JS410F/S VGC-JS430F, VGC-JS430F/Q, VGC-JS430F/S VGC-JS450F, VGC-JS450F/Q, VGC-JS450F/S Sony will be providing free repair for customers of the affected models if such models exhibit the above-mentioned symptoms. Please contact the nearest Sony Service Center (in Asia Pacific) (1-877-643-1219 the USA) if you have any of the models stated above. We were unable to find a European notice of this issue at time of writing. View the full article

For owners of latest Walkman E series, Sony is offering NWZ-E445, NWZ-E443, NWZ-E444, NWZ-E444K, NWZ-E443K owners firmware update version 1.01 for fixing audio compatibility with several Sony products and improving functionality with Windows. A new Content Transfer program is also mentioned. Target products The followings are the target products of this service, whose firmware version should be 1.00. NWZ-E443/E444/E445/E443K/E444K* For customers using NWZ-E443K/E444K, the products show [Model:] as “NWZ-E443” or “NWZ-E444”. Fixed symptoms With the above products, customers may experience the following symptoms. The symptoms will be fixed with this firmware update. You may not be able to play back the WALKMAN under the following conditions:- When the WALKMAN is connected to NAS-SC500PK or CMT-LX50WMR and its function is set to WM-PORT. - When the BCR-NWU5 is disconnected from the PC under the WALKMAN is connected to BCR-NWU5 with the PC. Additional function By updating the firmware, you can experience new features: The products can be used by computers being installed OS of Windows 7.* The applied edition of the OS is Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. * The software, Content Transfer Ver.1.2, supplied with the products is not compatible with Windows 7. In case of using the target products by Windows 7, Music/Video/Photo files should be transferred by drag and drop from the Windows Explorer. Or, please use Content Transfer Ver.1.3, planned to be supplied in December, 2009. How to confirm the Model and the Firmware version Please confirm the Model and the Firmware version from the steps below. Press and hold the BACK/HOME button until the Home menu appears. Press / / / button to select Settings, and then press button. Press / / / button to select Common Settings, and then press button. Press / / / button to select Unit Information, and then press button. Confirm the Model and the Firmware version. View the full article

It’s amazing the turnaround in response Sony is getting with the PS3 these days – especially when SCEA’s Sr. Corporate Communications director Patrick Seybold revealed 440,000 Playstation 3 consoles were sold to eager shoppers in the last month of November taking advantage of special holiday sales. Sony really had a good presence during Black Friday which fell within this week and accelerated sales greatly. Consumers jumped at the chance of any retailers offering PS3 bundles with several games or other accessories. I can only imagine the numbers Sony had for Cyber Monday as well, which many analysts have stated was a bigger draw for consumers then retail experienced during Black Friday. Perhaps it would be advantageous for Sony to bundle games or include vouchers for free game downloads to maintain this momentum. Now is the time to build the army. On another note, it’s interesting is that Sony didn’t offer word on that PSP sales looked like. Seybold merely stated, “The 2009 holiday season got off to an amazing start for PlayStation, with all key retailers showing a significant increase for PS3, PSP and key holiday titles over Black Friday and the holiday weekend.” Nintendo announced that American consumers bought more than 1 million units of its Nintendo DS and DSi portable consoles during the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, along with more than half a million Wii consoles — for the week ending November 28th.” Rival Nintendo offered sales figures as well by stating more than 500,000 Wii’s were sold, as well as 1 million units of its Nintendo DS and DSi portable consoles were sold in the same period. Microsoft’s Director of Product Management Aaron Greenberg stated the company saw the Xbox 360 console move two times as many units over the holiday week as the previous one, making it the biggest sales week on the year so far. Some reports have lauded that Microsoft may not have met the same numbers that Sony and Nintendo did. Very interesting, though – is it becoming more obvious that there is more value at this point and time (not discounting Natal, but it’s not here right now thanks) in a Sony and Nintendo console experience? I think the XBOX360 is a great value and has incredible community-driven features (including movie watching, social media, etc) and much more. However, I really think consumers are shifting to two things – motion control and simplicity in the Wii (as well as unique software IP’s), or HD gaming and movies with the PS3. The XBOX360 is a weird in-between of this. Maybe Natal will make it more relevant again, but if Microsoft doesn’t implement Blu-ray soon I think that sales will deteriorate faster than you think. Sure you can implement streaming 1080P, but Blu-ray games are also nice. Maybe Microsoft will do a power play and the next XBOX will have a humongous (1TB+) hard drive and you’ll just download everything. View the full article

Sony Ericsson has a very strong play coming in 2010 – the XPERIA X10. With specifications straight out of Star Trek, this just might be the device to propel the Google Android operating system ahead of iPhone 3G S. The new XPERIA X10 (specs courtesy Sony Ericsson) is their most powerful phone ever, and we put it head to head with the iPhone 3G S (specs courtesy of Apple) in a detailed specs comparison. The North American market has been dominated by the iPhone 3G, and it is now even more powerful than before with the updated S version. Both phones have rich application environments ? the iPhone with App Store, and the XPERIA X10 with the Google Android Market. We’ve read that the XPERIA X10 will come to the USA courtesy of AT&T (and labeled as the XPERIA X10a) in 2010; this could be one interesting matchup. We?ve highlighted the winner of each category in Green, the loser in Red, and neutral/subjective specs are in Yellow. Any categories left in White we couldn?t make a decision based on incomplete data, or felt was too trivial. Please leave a comment with anything we?ve missed. Please remember that there are some specifications and experiences not listed here. Click to learn more about the XPERIA X10 (link includes movies) and its incredible user interface that is light years beyond any other Android phone. Click to learn more about the advanced operating system experience of the iPhone 3G S. I have used an iPhone 3G for a very long time and believe its an incredible mobile experience. This will be tough for the consumer – it is truly important that both devices are tested (when possible) to ensure the right choice. The XPERIA X10 is already shaping to be such a “wow” product though.. View the full article

For those of you fortunate to live in Japan, you are probably used to the usual engraving options from SonyStyle. Sony offers interesting graphic additions for many products, including their Cyber-Shot cameras. This year is no exception, with SonyStyle Japan offering a unique snowflake engraving pattern on the beautifully designed DSC-TX1. The engraving, at no extra charge, will only be available for Silver, Black and Pink – which is unfortunate for those of you wanting this on the Blue and Gold models. This will be a limited time offer and compliments the already available Safari, Race, and Heart engraving designs. View the full article

Sony Japan has announced they are bringing a device based on Mofiria technology to the market on December 18th. The USB-based FVA-U1 is a tamper resistant authentication device, similar to a fingerprint scanner, except it scans the veins in your fingers. Compared to the other biometric authentication techniques, vein authentication technology achieves higher accuracy on personal identification and forgery resistance because it uses the veins inside the human body. Finger vein patterns differ from person to person, each finger to finger, and it is said that they do not change over the years. Mofiria technology uses a unique method where a CMOS sensor diagonally captures scattered light inside the finger veins. The vein pattern is quickly and accurately extracted from the captured finger vein image without a fixed finger position – ensuring it will be very easy to scan your finger vein pattern. Sony will also be providing a SDK for Mofiria technology, and has stated this is network compatible. Sony hopes to attract businesses where security is key, hospitals, universities and information security specialists with this new product offering. The Y30,000 FVA-U1 will come with a special case, USB cable, guide, instruction manual, and warranty. Sony has also launched a new Mofiria website. View the full article

I’m surprised to announce that only after a few months of being on the market, the super thin 52″ Sony BRAVIA XBR10 (aka in Japan as the Sony BRAVIA ZX5) with wireless HD capability is no longer for general availability in the USA. While a few models are left at various brick and mortar SonyStyle stores, the official SonyStyle USA website states, “No longer available for purchase at Sony Style.” We tapped our contacts at SonyStyle who confirmed this information and stated that it was a “limited production model.” Limited production? We’re surprised at that statement, since the TV was not announced as such. Fortunately, the 46″ XBR10 is still for sale at SonyStyle and will probably continue to be available through the holidays. But for how long? This sure seems like Sony is clearing the slate for some new BRAVIAs (e.g. XBR11, XBR12), which Sony has stated before they will bring to the market by February. I’m not surprised that the 52″ model is being phased out, though. Sony has been slipping hard in the USA with their TV sales, falling victim to extraordinary prices, too varied of a lineup (XBR7, XBR8, XBR9, XBR10 are all for sale simultaneously), and consumers being manipulated by the phrase “LED TV.” Last time I looked Sony were tied in a distant fourth place with Toshiba, which placed them far behind Samsung, Vizio, and LG. Consumers may also be confused with the XBR9 and XBR10 line (LCD with edge-lit LCD), which many online have found inferior to the XBR8, which is a LCD with RGB backlit LED. I still think the XBR10/ZX5 was a true marvel in Sony technology; perhaps ahead of its time (or just simply misplaced for sale in a struggling economy) with its high price, incredible design and wireless 1080P capability. View the full article

Hey guys and girls, looks like Japan and Europe get to update their Walkman X firmware which is said to improve online browsing (is anyone surfing the net on your X?): This firmware update improves the following performance: Displaying and navigating Web sites will be improved. Note “NetFront” browser installed in your device will be upgraded with this update. After the upgrade, the browser will not display Thai language fonts anylonger. If you want to be able to display Thai language fonts, do not perform this update. Let’s hope we get the same treatment in the US soon, as I understand it is a holiday season and Sony software engineers just need to tweak the installer to work on the US models. When I tried using the firmware upgrade from a European website, it does not recognize my Walkman model (NWZ-X1051/1061) as it is intended for NWZ-X1050/1060 models (even though the software agreement lists all the US legal language and the installer is for X1000 series). Anyways, the good news is Content Transfer software is at version 1.3 now and you can get it here and install it without any problems on your English speaking VAIOs, Lenovos, Dells

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off (with the exceptions of those employed in retailing, health care, and banking), which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas and holiday season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open extremely early, with most of the retailers typically opening at 5AM or even earlier. However, the whole experience has become rather intimidating lately, with an enormous amount of deals out there that often leave the consumer bewildered. So, that’s why we condensed all Sony Electronics products (including PSP, PS2, and PS3 games) that have special Black Friday prices in one master list for your convenience. Unfortunately there aren’t any links for the deals, but a simple Google search of the store/product in question should help you on your way (if applicable). Enjoy. The Sony Black Friday 2009 Master Deal List is also available to view at Google Docs. View the full article

Hey guys, Here is my commentary of VAIO X and its contents. In this video I talk a little bit about everything from packaging to notebook’s design and its ports. Enjoy! ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"> View the full article

I’d like to give a shout out to what may possibly be the greatest gift to give this Holidays for that special someone who is a true music aficionado. The Miles Davis Complete Columbia Album Collection (currently $293) is a deluxe, limited edition retrospective of the iconic music Miles Davis created during his 30 years with Columbia Records. If you don’t know, Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. But he was just more than that, he was an iconic figure whose music has withstood the tests of time and plays in a way that always captures you. Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, fusion and techno. Many well-known jazz musicians made their names as members of Davis’s ensembles. Anyway, this exquisite package, comprised of 70 CDs (!) and 1 DVD, contains all 52 of Miles’ Columbia recordings in Japanese-styled mini LP jackets and includes a 250-page book with a biography, a fully annotated discography, a complete song index, and rare photos. It’s so amazing to see such a large box set of Miles Davis like this – I would dedicate the time to eventually listen to every CD. I couldn’t imagine trying to do it in one sitting, though. Appearing on DVD for the first time in this box is Live in Europe ’67, shot in Stockholm and Karlsruhe during the Miles Davis Quintet’s European tour of 1967. Completely remastered from the original broadcast tapes, these performances feature Miles with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. In addition to the DVD, there will be a first-time audio release of the full performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight festival. Bonus tracks and other rarities that have been added to the CD reissues of individual albums in past years are also included. Just to whet your whistle, here is one of my favorite Miles Davis songs: View the full article

Walkman is a Sony brand originally used for portable audio cassette, and is now used to market Sony’s portable audio and video players as well as certain Sony Ericsson phones. The original Walkman introduced a change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry their music with them, a revolutionary concept for its time. The device was built in 1978 by audio division engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony co-chairman Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to operas during his frequent transpacific plane trips. The original Walkman was marketed in 1979 as the Walkman in Japan, the Soundabout in many other countries including the US, Freestyle in Sweden and the Stowaway in the UK. Morita hated the name “Walkman” and asked it to be changed, but relented after being told by junior executives that a promotion campaign had already begun using the ‘Walkman’ name and would be too expensive to change. In this video courtesy of SonyLearnTV, we see the history of the Walkman (which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year) in just a few short minutes. " />" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"> My familiarity with the Walkman brand is probably obvious to some of you who have been following my words for a while in my past ventures (Minidisc Community Forums and ATRACLife). Watching this video brought back many memories – what about you? Whats your favorite Walkman? View the full article

According to a recent article in InformationWeek, the United States Air Force is moving forward in obtaining 2,200 PS3 systems to enhance its already 336 unit strong supercomputer. The PlayStation 3s will be used at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s information directorate in Rome, N.Y. The Air Force also has no plans to drop this method, as moving to an alternative technology hardware would also cause duplication of costs associated with redeveloping the software, military systems, and applications already based on the existing Sony PS3 cluster. This will become increasingly relevant as the magnitude of applications and supporting hardware infrastructure likely will increase over time. With respect to cell processors, a single 1U server configured with two 3.2GHz cell processors can cost up to $8K while two Sony PS3s cost approximately $600. Though a single 3.2 GHz cell processor can deliver over 200 GFLOPS, whereas the Sony PS3 configuration delivers approximately 150 GFLOPS, the approximately tenfold cost difference per GFLOP makes the Sony PS3 the only viable technology for HPC applications. Sony is the only firm capable of manufacturing the brand of required hardware without the Government experiencing substantial duplication of cost that would not be recoverable through competition among providers of alternative technology. Using cell processor technology besides the Sony PS3 would cost the Government the equivalent of several years of professional research and engineering effort. View the full article

Ever heard of a hackintosh? If not, it’s essentially someone loading OS X on non-Mac hardware. According to some pictures that have surfaced on Facebook, a Chinese hacker was able to put OS X on the Sony VAIO X. This is rather amusing because the notebook already has been compared to the Macbook Air due to their similarities. I’m not sure how well the VAIO X handles OS X, but with up to 2GB of RAM and a speedy SSD I can imagine that the experience is probably pleasing. It’s a shame that Apple doesn’t let other hardware manufacturers build systems with its operating system, as I’m sure there are consumers out there who would probably enjoy the option of buying something like this as standard. Thanks, GadgetMix. View the full article

According to a recent Reuters article, UK retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U have withdrawn the Sony Ericsson Satio from general availability after numerous customers reported “software problems.” Whilst there aren’t any specific details of the errors, BBC News is reporting that it is related to “frozen screens and problems with ringtones.” This is rather depressing news for Sony Ericsson, who has had a very turbulent experience in the mobile market in the last few years with massive losses in market share. Sony Ericsson has offered one of its strongest hardware lineups in recent memory with the Satio, Aino, and Yari, which excited many consumers because of their interesting features. However, with retailers in the UK pausing sales, could potential consumers eyeing the Satio for a holiday purchase look elsewhere? It seems likely. This also casts a dark cloud on the Satio’s release in the USA, if it ever comes this way. Sony Ericsson said it was “giving this matter its utmost priority and working toward solving it”. View the full article