Christopher

Hardware virtualization as this is one of the requirements of the Windows XP virtual mode that is available in Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise. What is most disappointing however is that all current Sony Vaio laptops that are sold have this feature disabled in the BIOS, therefore making Windows XP virtual mode impossible. Sony has yet to say that they will enable on past or current models (seems unlikely), but it seems probable for their new computers going forward. However, what would the Windows 7 team think about Sony crippling their customer’s ability to use their carefully constructed backwards compatibility feature? Sony’s official response comes via Xavier Lauwaert, Senior Manager Product Marketing at Sony: “We have received very little if any requests to enable VT technology up until very recently. In addition, our engineers and QA people were very concerned that enabling VT would expose our systems to malicious code that could go very deep in the Operating System structure of the PC and completely disable the latter.” Most remain apathetic towards the situation, few are reportedly demanding refunds while others are calling for a class-action suit against a company they claim has not been clear in its advertising given that the Vaio machines are unable to work with a core feature of the Core 2 Duo chips they ship with. View the full article

Sony Music and Yo-Yo Ma are proud to announce Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box on October 27th. This milestone release celebrates and commemorates Yo-Yo Ma’s 30 year recording career with Sony Music. Created with the full participation of Yo-Yo Ma, 30 Years Outside the Box, is the definitive collection of this iconic artist in a presentation as beautiful and timeless as the music itself. This milestone release celebrates and commemorates Yo-Yo Ma’s 30 year recording career with Sony Music. Created with the full participation of Yo-Yo Ma, 30 Years Outside the Box, is the definitive collection of this iconic artist in a presentation as beautiful and timeless as the music itself. The box set contains every original album Yo-Yo Ma has recorded including 2 discs of rare and never before released material, a 312-page hard bound book with complete liners notes all housed in an elegant velvet-lined, numbered box. At 90 discs, Yo-Yo Ma’s 30 Years Outside the Box is a beautiful keepsake for every fan. As a special thanks to you, his truly amazing fans, Sony will be making available an exclusive opportunity to pre-order this limited set. By reserving a copy, you will receive an autographed gift from Yo-Yo Ma himself. To participate in this exclusive offer, please sign up to the Yo-Yo Ma Newsletter list below for a chance to be one of the first in line to pre-order. View the full article

Well, the new S-Series is essentially a slam-dunk at this point with this uncovered listing of the device at materiel.net, a French-based entertainment retailer. The full specifications of the S-Series Walkman are an attractive update the series and confirms to our initial leak. The 8gb Sony NWZ-S544 (129 and 16gb Sony NWZ-S545 with a 16:9 (320 x 240, 262k colors) 2.4 inch QVGA LCD screen feature built-in stereo speakers on the front of the player to share or enjoy music out loud. Sony says 42 h Audio and 6.5 H Video battery life, but we all know that means at 128kbps music quality. The player is drag n’ drop, which is nothing new for Sony but still great – it also boasts compatibility with iTunes and Windows Media Player as usual. FM radio (with 30 presets) strengthens the appeal and codec support includes mp3, WMA, and AAC. Video quality is up to 30fps and can play back the usual formats like H264/AVC, MP4 and WMV. Sony has also included voice recording with a built-in microphone. I’m almost wondering if they should add a microphone port and make a the future Minidisc hybrid. The earphones included with the new S-Series aren’t too hot, and we didn’t spot any mention of digital amplifier, clear bass and so forth but I’m sure Sony is just trying to offer a competitively priced music/video player with good functionality. Anyone notice it seems to have a built-in stand? I like this thing. I think it’s the best S-Series they’ve made yet, because this thing is usable in alot more situations than the average mp3/video player. Thanks LG1, Ascariss and Dark Side for their help with this information. View the full article

The life of a webmaster sure is a weird one. I’ve been hacked before, and scammers have used my sites in the past to advertise their products or steal e-mail addresses from various databases. I’ve even had one website completely defaced with foreign text and weird pictures associated with an online clan. However, this new e-mail that has been circulating around to people looking for jobs reeks of identity theft and is in no way associated with Sony Insider. If you receive the e-mail below, or a variation of it, ignore it please; it is not real, we are not hiring, and I’m sorry for the trouble. We have no control over this stuff. We’ve reported as much as we can to Yahoo! and the FBI. This is Mrs Jen Whisken, HR Manager for Sony Insider. I just read your resume and i think you are proficient for this job. Note that this position requires you to have a have high speed Internet access, preferably broadband,There is absolutely no telesales or outbound calling involved.Answers questions, resolves problems and communicates clearly, in verbal and written form, to the clients using an svg software, and records details in the case notes. General duties

If you are tired of asking your friends at your parties to take pictures for you and of you, Sony will be glad to sell you an accessory IPT-DS1 that will do the job with the help of Smile Recognition (Smile Shutter) and Face Detection. The concept of this party photographer was presented first to the members who take part in Sony’s research panel and Sony wanted to find out what we all thought about this new product. It is not clear if this dock will be compatible with with recently released CyberShot cameras or just the newly released DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras. To learn more about this new device read the full press release below: SAN DIEGO, Aug. 5, 2009 – Sony today introduced the Party-shot™ personal photographer (model IPT-DS1)—an innovative camera dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees, automatically detects faces, adjusts composition and takes photos for you. The Party-shot camera accessory uses the camera’s BIONZ™ image processor with its Face Detection and Smile Shutter™ features to take photos without the user needing to snap the shutter button. This device makes it easy to capture more natural expressions and fun, candid moments of you, your family and friends without having to hire a photographer. “With the Party-shot personal photographer, you no longer have to worry about taking photos when you are with your family or friends,” said Shigehiko Nakayama, digital imaging accessories product manager at Sony Electronics. “Party-shot captures candid moments that tell natural life stories and also offers a new style of photography that enriches time with your family and friends.” Compatible with the DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1 Cyber-shot

Two slim, power-packed new Cyber-shot cameras are a stunning showcase for advanced Sony optical, imaging and processing technologies. The easy-to-use Cyber-shot TX1 and WX1 blend pristine picture quality and smart shooting features with chic, colourful looks that stand out from me‑too compact cameras. At the heart of both cameras’ sensational imaging performance is the groundbreaking Exmor R CMOS sensor. With a resolution of 10.2 effective megapixels, it’s teamed with Sony’s powerful BIONZ processor for superb pictures and rapid shooting responses. Sony’s Exmor R sensor uses an innovative sensor structure that captures more light than conventional CMOS designs, boosting sensitivity while reducing image noise. The result: breathtakingly natural, detail-packed photos – even in low light conditions where other cameras struggle. The powerful BIONZ processor is key to both cameras’ super-fast shooting responses. The mechanical shutter of the TX1 and WX1 can grab a continuous burst of full-resolution images at an incredible 10 frames per second – quicker than many professional DSLR cameras. This unique combination of the Exmor R sensor and BIONZ processor also powers Sweep Panorama mode. Just press the shutter button once and move the TX1 or WX1 from side to side horizontally or vertically. Sweep Panorama automatically combines a high-speed burst of images, capturing super-size landscapes with a field of view up to 256 degrees* – far wider than any camera’s wide angle lens. The potent combination expands creative shooting options further still. Hand-held Twilight mode superimposes a high-speed burst of six frames to produce an optimised image with dramatically reduced noise in low light. It’s complemented by Anti Motion Blur mode that captures fast-moving subjects in low light also with reduced picture noise. Both cameras shoot detail-packed 720p HD movie clips and audio at a super-smooth 30 frames per second. It’s a great way to capture those memories in sparkling HD when you don’t have your Handycam with you. Despite their state-of-the art imaging capabilities, the TX1 and WX1 make it easy to get great results with any scene. Optical SteadyShot image stabilization keeps images crisp and clear when you’re shooting handheld. Face Detection and Smile Shutter let anyone take happy, better-looking portraits automatically. The Cyber-shot TX1 and WX1 are also the world’s first cameras that transform into your own ‘personal photographer’ with the optional Party-shot. A new shooting concept that’s unique to Cyber-shot, Party-shot automatically takes happy, smiling photos of your family, friends… and you. You don’t even have to touch your camera to get great results. The TX1: Available in five gorgeous colours, the super-slim Cyber-shot TX1 proves that mouthwatering looks don’t have to compromise serious photo performance. Just 14.1mm thin, it’s the first Cyber-shot T series camera that features a sensitive Exmor R CMOS sensor for sensational imaging performance, even in low light. Slim and effortlessly chic, the TX1 features a large 3″ Clear Photo LCD Plus touchscreen with an easy-to-use new touch interface. Flick through your images with a fingertip. Drag and drop frequently-used functions like flash and ISO settings onto the one-touch menu screen. With the Cyber-shot™ TX1 it’s fabulously quick, easy and intuitive. The WX1: It’s the new flagship of the feature-packed Cyber-shot W series. Compact and beautifully styled, the new WX1 brings together the finest Sony optical, imaging and processing technologies in perfect harmony. Complementing the Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor is a premium Sony-engineered G Lens that sets a new benchmark for compact cameras. This combines superbly with a 24mm wide angle lens allowing you to fit even more into your frame. With a generous 5x optical zoom range, this class-leading lens delivers extraordinary resolution and contrast at all focal lengths from wide-angle to telephoto. An extra-bright maximum aperture of f/2.4 expands shooting possibilities, grabbing more light than other compact camera lenses to capture better-looking photos in dimly-lit situations. View the full article

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a computer-animated parody film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is scheduled for a theatrical release on September 18, 2009 (also in 3D) and is inspired by the children’s book of the same name by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett. The film features the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, and many more known personalities. To promote the film, Sony and the executive chef of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Cancun held an event where Rainer Zingrebe broke the Guinness World Record for largest meatball at 109 pounds (49.5 kg.). That’s a spicy meatball! You could feed an army with that thing. Carlos Martinez, an agent of Guinness World Records, was on hand to verify the claim. Oversized fake meatballs, plates of spaghetti and slices of pizza are seen in a swimming pool at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Cancun, Mexico, Thursday Aug. 4, 2009. The decorations were made as part of an event to promote the recent animated Sony film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and to try to break the record of the biggest meatball in the world. Here’s the most recent trailer of the film: View the full article

Sony has posted a FCC notice for a new Vaio P model named AK8PCG1R2L. This isn’t the model number that consumers will see, but rather the FCC ID – the official model number is PCG-1RSL. The only hard information we know at this time is that it has the same size as the current Vaio P, and also has 802.11b/g/n and bluetooth. Sony has withheld the delicious stuff in this report so we’ll just have to wait till October (when document confidentiality expires) and see what happens. Could we see a 2ghz Vaio P in North America, finally? Japan has had one for months. The highest ghz model in North America, at this time of writing (on sonystyle.com), is a $1,999 1.86ghz Signature Version. Here’s another image that came with the FCC report: Thanks, Ascariss. View the full article

Sony will once again take center stage at this year’s Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA), the world’s largest Consumer Electronics trade show, from 4th to 9th September in Berlin, Germany. On its 6,000 m” of floor space, the Sony booth in Hall 4.2 represents the biggest showcase by a single exhibitor at this year’s IFA for the second consecutive year. All consumers and dealers visiting the Sony booth are invited to experience the place where great things begin. It is where inspiration meets creativity, where creativity meets reality. It connects hardware and content, electronics and entertainment, Sony and consumers. Further details, including the latest product and technology announcements, will be unveiled at the Sony press conference on the Sony booth on 2nd September at 17:00h. View the full article

Actually, with that nomenclature it would be more like the Vaio TT, which was AK8PCG4R1L. This new model you found, AK8PCG1R2L, is much more similiar to that. The Vaio P was different, because it had the "P" in the series name - AK8PCG-1"P"L, etc. I'll look into this..

I am interested in adding new moderators to the forum. Please contact me via PM if you are interested.

Well it did not take long for SonyStyle to send me a new VAIO Bluetooth Laser mouse we have written about earlier. I thought I would post some pics and share some deets on this well designed, ergonomic mouse thanks to its optimal size and weight for mobility with a design that fits snugly in your hand. The build is pretty good and the sliding cover works great, sorta reminds me of my SE XPERIA. The aluminum brushed metal cover really stands out. I just thought that a Sony VAIO notebook with such coating would be a gem! It will definitely match my VAIO X505SP model as the top of it has the noticeable threads of carbon fiber and the sliding cover of VGP-BMS10 has a hair-line etched aluminum finish. Closing the sliding cover turns power ON and OFF. The light indicator will let you know when you 2 AAA batteries need to be replaced (Sony did include 2 AAA batteries). Here are some specs: Buttons/Wheel: 2 buttons/ 1 wheel Position tracking method: Laser sensor Sensor Resolution: 300 dot/cm (800 dpi) Communication method: Bluetooth Standard 2.0 Communication distance: 10 m (32 ft.) Frequency band: 2.4 GHz Battery life: Approx. 1.5 months Mass: 90 g (3.2 oz) Conclusion: all in all it is a pretty sweet, cool looking mouse. Available now at SonyStyle.com Check out the Pictorial Below: View the full article

Sony’s Annual Report (PDF, 6MB) is an interesting fifty page look at the company’s fiscal year. It includes a look back at the year’s numbers, a stockholder’s letter from CEO Howard Stringer, and complete reviews of the various divisions within Sony. It’s truly the best way to understand the current status of the company and where they are going. The consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009 were not the most rewarding. Sales and operating revenue was at Y7,730 billion, which is a huge number but is 12.9% less compared to the previous fiscal year. An overall operating loss of Y227.8 billion was recorded, a deterioration of Y703.1 billion year on year. Some of the significant factors that caused the year on year deterioration in operating income were: an approximate Y279.0 billion impact from the appreciation of the yen against the US dollar and euro a Y125.9 billion impact from deterioration in results at equity affiliates, including Sony Ericsson a Y53.8 billion deterioration in operating results in the Financial services segment (due to Japanese stock market) Restructuring changes, recorded as operating expenses, amounted to Y75.4 billion, compared with Y47.3 billion for the previous year. View the full article

Sony reported a second straight quarterly loss as the stronger yen pushed the company further behind Samsung in television sales and the global recession drove down demand for video games. The net loss was 37.1 billion yen ($390 million) in the quarter ended June 30, compared with profit of 35 billion yen a year earlier. The deficit was smaller than the 80 billion yen shortfall median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of six analysts, partly due to higher profit from financial services. The result beat estimates after CEO Sir Howard Stringer cut jobs and shut factories to revive a company that’s lost its lead to Samsung and Vizio in TVs, Nintendo and Microsoft in game players, and Apple in portable media players. Pressure is building for Stringer to prove he can increase Sony’s sales, not just reduce expenses, by slashing jobs and suppliers, according to investors such as Yasuhiko Hirakawa. Regardless of its losses, the figures above are still better than what was predicted, sending prices of Sony shares up worldwide – Sony’s stock (SNE) on NYSE is at the highest price its seen since October 2008. Sony has kept unchanged its May forecast for a net loss of 120 billion yen in the year ending March 2010. The company also maintained its projection for its annual operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, at 110 billion yen. While not changing its forecast, Sony aims to break even at operating level this year, Oneda said. The Networked Products unit which includes Sony’s PlayStation game machines, Vaio computers and Walkman media players, posted a 39.7 billion yen loss, compared with profit of 4.6 billion yen a year earlier, because of lower software sales and the stronger yen, Sony said in a statement. Sony sold 1.1 million PlayStation 3 consoles and 1.3 million PlayStation Portable machines in the quarter, down 31 percent and 65 percent respectively from a year earlier. The Consumer Products division sales were down more than 25%, with BRAVIA televisions, Cyber-shot cameras, and Handycams all seeing decreased sales. B2B & Disc Manufacturing sales were down 28%, with lower sales discs and broadcast/professional use equipment. Sony Pictures fared better than most divisions in the company, with increased sales and improved operating income. Angels & Demons, Terminator: Salvation, and strong television revenue were all cited as contributing factors in the continued success. Things should continue to look up with movies such as 2012, District 9, and Planet 51 still on the way. Music sales are way up – almost 96% – mostly because of the consolidation of Sony Music Entertainment. Some of Sony’s best selling albums include Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life, Dave Matthew’s Band Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, and King of Leon’s Only By The Night. Japanese music artists JUJU, Yusuke, and Ken Hirai all were major sellers for Sony as well. A stock market rally helped Sony’s earnings from the financial services unit, Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said at a briefing in Tokyo. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 23 percent in the April-June quarter. Income at the financial division, which sells life insurance, rose 58 percent to 48.2 billion yen. That compares with the 25 billion yen median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts. Here are total sales by area: View the full article

I really have to give my hat off to the web developers and designers behind the look of SonyStyle’s new website for the USA. This is definitely the best SonyStyle website I’ve seen yet, in fact, its better than SonyStyle Japan’s website! It must be weird for the developers of the SonyStyle Japan website to see the USA version look so much more stylish and attractive, especially as its a Japanese company. Nonetheless, the new site is definitely in line with modern design, featuring large crisp pictures, lightweight but attractive flash implementation, and improved product/category displays. The color swatch used in this new site is very Sony – gradients of black and gray are everywhere. Blue, greens and other colors are used in small ways throughout the site to emphasize important details such as price or other important details. I love the new redesign, especially some of the splash landing pages such as this for the 11′ XEL-1 OLED TV. The only thing I could possibly recommend for the site is: a more promiment link to their blog a lighter version of the site in case someone prefers a lighter color experience the ability to click on master categories, such as when you click on Shop > Computers, why can’t I just click on Computers, etc? I understand I can click on a subcategory within that, but what if I want to click on the whole category? View the full article

Amy Pascal was named Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment in September 2006 and has served as Chairman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group since December 2003. Aside from her responsibilities with Sony Pictures, Amy basically oversees all development and production activities at Columbia Pictures. This is a person that is living a seriously stressful life and is probably busier than I could ever imagine. She and Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Michael Lynton report to Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. And of course that means that she is naturally present at many movie premieres, events, and so forth where her picture is taken with stars or other powerhouse figures in the industry. However, I started to notice after a few pictures she is always sandwiched in the middle of important people, or simply smiling and hugging in just about every shot. It’s obvious that Amy brings a ton of charisma into a room and has an incredible personality. Is Amy Pascal the friendliest, nicest executive in the history of Sony? I don’t think Akio Morita was this charming. Let’s take a look. Actress Natalie Portman and Sony’s Amy Pascal arrive to the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Closer’ on November 22, 2004 at the Mann Village, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Screen Gems’ Clint Culpepper, Sony’s Amy Pascal and producer Will Packer at the ‘This Christmas’ premiere at the Cinerama Dome on November 12, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/WireImage) Sony Corp. Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer and Sony’s Amy Pascal attend the world premiere of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Ghost Rider’ after party at Marquee February 15, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images) L-R: Ron Howard, Sir Howard Stringer, Amy Pascal, Brian Grazer and Michael Lynton after Amy was presented the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian Award at its 2008 National Tribute Dinner in Los Angeles. Sony’s Amy Pascal and producer Jack Giarraputo arrives at the premiere of Sony Pictures’ ‘You Don’t Mess With The Zohan’ held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on May 28, 2008 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman Anne Sweeney, Harpo Chairman Oprah Winfrey and Sony Pictures. Sony’s Amy Pascal attend the 17th Annual Women In Entertainment Power 100 Breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel on December 5, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. Actor Woody Harrelson, Sony’s Amy Pascal and actress Rosario Dawson pose at the afterparty for the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “Seven Pounds” at the Armand Hammer Museum on December 16, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Sony’s Michael Lynton, actor Denzel Washington, Sony’s Amy Pascal and Columbia’s Matt Tolmach pose at the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ at the Village Theater on June 4, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Producer Steven Reuther, Sony’s Amy Pascal, and producer Tom Rosenberg arrive at the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Ugly Truth” held at Pacific’s Cinerama Dome on July 16, 2009 in Hollywood, California. Columbia Picture’s Doug Belgrad, Sony’s Amy Pascal and actress Katherine Heigl pose at the afterparty for the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Ugly Truth” at Boulevard3 on July 16, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Actor Gerard Butler and Sony’s Amy Pascal pose at the afterparty for the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Ugly Truth” at Boulevard3 on July 16, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Amy Pascal and actress Meryl Streep arrive at the special screening of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Julie & Julia’ held at Mann Village Theatre on July 28, 2009 in Westwood, California. View the full article

I'll see what I can do, but for the meantime I have deleted it. Sorry about that.

District 9 is an upcoming science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson, set for an August 14th release date and will be distributed by Sony’s Tristar Pictures. It takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa; aliens made first contact with Earth twenty-eight years prior while humanity waited for the hostile attack or for giant advances in technology, though neither came. Instead, the aliens that arrived were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Patience over the alien situation ran out and control over them was contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare. MNU stands to receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ advanced weaponry work, but have failed because it requires alien DNA. Tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable, for he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Van der Merwe becomes ostracized and friendless and hides amongst the creatures locked within District 9. View the full article

What have wearable audio players been missing? What kind of player would music lovers love? One answer emerged from designer brainstorming and original Sony technology. The wearable W-Series Walkman has been a mostly successful product, but has had its problems in regards to reliability (moisture leaking into the player causing it to malfunction). Regardless of first generation faults, we think that the W-Series has a long term place in Sony’s Walkman line. In this interview with W-Series design team by Sony Design, we learn about this unique music player and how Zappin played a big role in its creation. Komiyama: One product I helped design was Sony Active Style Headphones. I was later approached by someone in product planning who liked that work. He asked me to create a wearable Walkman in the same style, and that’s how it all began. As the saying goes, it was easier said than done especially this time. Many manufacturers including Sony have tried their hand at wearable audio players. But personally, I don’t know of any that are firmly established in the market. It’s easy to guess why, because above all, they have been hard to use. People have had to fumble with these screenless players to find songs. If you have many tracks, your hand stays glued to the player as you hunt down the one you want. That much stress, and you forget how nice it is without the cords. People should enjoy wearable players, but designers have had a hard time ensuring usability. And the fact that potential users can’t choose their favorite headphones and have no recourse if they don’t like the fit or audio quality made people think twice. That’s not our goal anyway, to have people occupied with the controls. The user experience must be much more enjoyable than squinting at a tiny display, trying to control the player. Once wearable players offer a better experience, people will appreciate their advantages. Here, the key is the user interface. So before our industrial design got underway, I approached Hiroshi in auditory UI design, a field where we approach usability from the standpoint of sound. Sato: Never before in my experience had sound been so critical to easier operation. And this was not minimal usability, either; we were not compromising. Atsushi and I felt that we had to do something about the silence when listeners are finding tracks, which is “empty” without music. The more songs you have, the longer this blank, empty time is. Surely this is unacceptable, in a device designed for music entertainment. We discussed it at length, but it looked like we would never resolve it. Maybe Satoshi couldn’t bear to see us continue, or maybe we were just too distracting, but in any case, one day he leaned forward from his desk and suggested Zappin as a solution. Asai: Zappin is a UI control I developed for car audio systems. It’s straightforward in operation. An excerpt of each track is played, one after another, until the song you want is played and you select it. In cars, this frees you from keeping your hand on the controls while driving and lets you focus on the road. Just twist the dial to start searching. But what inspired me to consider it for portable audio players was when I noticed myself constantly fidgeting with my Walkman during commutes. I thought Zappin might be an effortless way to control audio players. When I overheard Atsushi and Hiroshi, I had a hunch we could use it. Sony has also developed 12-tone analysis technology, and together, the two technologies can extract exciting passages for shuffle playback. Sampling songs this way is also very common on music programs that count down the top hits. It’s like a brief introduction of the memorable passages, the highlights. In this respect, Zappin is growing beyond just a search function. Not only does it eliminate the silent, empty moments during searches, it keeps you entertained. That’s why you can also consider Zappin a new playback function. Enjoy it as a style of listening that reflects current trends. Still, we faced some resistance even from within the company, from those who couldn’t seem to grasp the proposal. Critics pointed out how controls from the days of analog media still feel intimately familiar, and how enjoying tracks in their entirety is so ingrained in us. But if we compare the traditional style of listening to dining on a full-course meal, from appetizer to dessert, Zappin serves you the tastiest bite-sized morsels from a variety of main dishes. Both are enjoyable, and certainly it’s fine that people have their own preferences. To educate our colleagues, the designers took the initiative in development, gave demonstrations, and spent time talking with others until more people understood. Sato: Zappin playback can be set to either short or long excerpts, and each mode gives a different impression. Short mode plays excerpts of about four seconds each, which really does feel like you’re enjoying a music countdown program. Long mode plays 15-second excerpts, and this gives the impression of listening to a DJ mix. Our aim was straightforward, but implementing it required deft sound design involving simulations of the listening experience. Fujiki: Zappin fills in the blank periods for listeners. Seamless, constant playback was the goal, but sudden shifts in tempo or pitch between tracks would be unpleasant to listen to. We needed effective transitions, to prepare listeners for whatever sample comes next. We studied a range of tones and spoken phrases as potential transitions. A key consideration here was the frequency band, or sense of pitch. Transitions at a distinctive pitch would be unsettling if they didn’t match the previous and next track excerpts. And the sound of transitions based on the musical scale would vary depending on the volume level. Our research led to a tone created from modified white noise. This tone gives no impression of pitch, and it sounds consistent regardless of the melody played before or after or changes in volume. Most important, it’s a neutral effect that doesn’t distract from Zappin playback. After this, we considered how to have excerpts fade in and out nicely. In the crossfade between tracks, how could we handle the build-up and dissolve of transitions? Satoshi and I carefully fine-tuned the sound down to the level of tenths of a second, over the course of listening to several hundreds of tracks to sample the effect. In design work that was clearer, we were careful to provide reassuring feedback for operations on this screenless player. During regular playback, the tones you hear assure you it’s a Walkman. During Zappin playback, you hear tones with a sense of speed. A benefit of the wearable format was that we could arrange the optimal sound for a specific set of headphones. In turn, we could seek a refined, high-quality auditory user interface. Komiyama: With our user interface discussions underway, I finally got to work on industrial design. From the start, we sought a light, secure-fitting player, integrated in headphones connected by a spiral neckband. But it seemed as if something was missing, or we were taking development the wrong way. I couldn’t quell these nagging doubts. If we continued along these lines, I doubted the player would be anything more than a set of headphones, no matter how stylish it looked. People wouldn’t sense the potential of Zappin from the appearance. I was also concerned that it might be unclear how to wear the headphones, because of the spiral neckband. If it’s true to the Walkman tradition, anyone should intuitively know how to wear it correctly. One day, a designer’s offhand comment led me in the right direction. Walkman players are clusters of various shapes, he said. And that’s accurate. Models to date have been simple conglomerations of flat and cylindrical parts. This observation inspired the flat surface you see when the left and right earpieces are magnetically linked. When stored, the Walkman W maintains this classic, composite appearance. When worn, the two earpieces are split apart. This action of separating them has the strange effect of revealing to new users how to wear the player. And when the earpieces are joined, a magnetic sensor automatically pauses or stops playback. It makes sense, this chain of events from separating the earpieces to listen, wearing them, and joining them again when you’re finished. It’s not just a matter of styling; we orchestrated the way you use the device itself, the series of events from beginning to end. Yamagishi: We want everyone to see what makes this model tempting. That’s why we took a slightly different approach for the color options. Normally, we narrow down the most fitting color options by considering several factors how old our target users are, trends in their lifestyles, and a sense of what they value, as well as product pricing and so on. But for this model, we drew inspiration for colors by imagining the scenes where listeners would be enjoying the Walkman. We developed six versions, including the region-specific colors.* There’s a stylish model in black and subdued silver, accented with a red Walkman logo. Even if you’re wearing a business suit and listening to music on the way to work, this one adds a little polish without pretension. We chose a lime green version because it complements fashionable sportswear worn when you’re jogging or at the gym. Pink reflects the excitement of taking off on vacation, and it’s a little out of the ordinary. Violet and orange capture the sense of exhilaration you get before going to a club or somewhere for live music. The plain white version looks good in any situation, no matter what your taste in fashion. As fluorescent colors, the vivid pink and lime green are unusual in a Walkman player. People familiar with Sony design may be a little unsettled by this styling, but we wanted to try something a little adventurous. The sense that something unprecedented and worth a closer look has arrived. The feeling you get when you try on something new and want to show someone. The power of music to exhilarate us. These are the feelings we’d love to convey. Another consideration was that once you separate the earpieces to wear them, each piece is actually quite small. Even colors that seem bold blend in surprisingly well, so don’t worry about choosing a vivid color if you like it. *White, black, lime green, and pink are available in Japan. Asai: In price, this model is closer to headphones than a portable audio player, despite the fact that we invested two years in refining the design since initial planning. It took that long because we started from nothing, with no inspiring models to learn from about listening styles in wearable audio players. Really, it felt as if we were groping in the dark in design, going around in circles. But ultimately, what helped us overcome this was the concerted effort of designers who simply can’t live without music, and our commitment to writing a new chapter in how people listen to music. Sato: We might imagine listening styles to date as sitting in front of some iconic audio player, leisurely savoring every song. That’s obviously a wonderful experience, but we get the distinct impression that people are listening more casually now. And in fact, research shows that more younger listeners are satisfied just listening to the hooks or catchiest parts of songs. We thought it was time for Sony to examine and meet these needs in current listening trends. In this way, the Walkman W series is a trailblazer. Wearable audio players are still a minor product category, but I think in this model we have rediscovered the Walkman design DNA. We turned challenges in usability into an opportunity to offer people an enjoyable new style of listening. Fewer needless features, and a more valuable user experience. I think that’s a quintessential quality of Walkman players. Komiyama: In that heart-shaped band lie my hopes for the player. We’re seeing a huge shift in entertainment toward visual media. Rich video experiences are offered by more portable audio players, which boast higher performance and more features. At first glance, this makes a screenless model with extremely simple controls and features seem behind the times. But the more you use it, the more you enjoy being set free from annoying cords, and the more you appreciate the unique user interface. You get a taste of a listening experience found in no other player. Imagine wanting to enjoy music, pure and simple, without anything in the way. Imagine a player designed with this in mind, to bring you a fresh listening experience and stir a sense of wonder. That’s a fundamental ideal in the Walkman series. The heart shape of the W series band is not there just to grab your attention. It represents our heartfelt commitment to get back to these basics. View the full article

This Is It was a planned series of 50 concerts by Michael Jackson to be held at the The O2 arena in London. The shows were scheduled to begin in July 2009 and continue through March 2010, which would have totaled over a million in attendance and injected a billion into the UK’s economy. It was an enormous boost for London, and ticket sales surprised everyone – it’s impossible to deny the cultural phenomenon for Michael was back after all tickets sold out in mere hours. Sales of King of Pop were up 400% and sales of Thriller were up 200%. Tickets appeared on eBay for as much as

Around this time every year, the Sony Building in Tokyo (Ginza), Japan has an event called the Sony Aquarium. It’s a rather popular exhibit because they basically allow everyone to view hundreds of rare fish for free in a real and simulated (Projector – 4K HD) aquarium. This year’s Sony Aquarium exhibit runs from July 20th to August 31st, and has numerous fish on loan from the Okinawa Sea Aquarium. Outside the Sony Building is a 14 ton tank, and has about 40 species for a total of 1,000 fish including cute tropical fish, sharks, rays, sand creatures, and so forth. Here’s a trailer by Sony Japan: " />" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"> On the inside, visitors can view a nine minute video (portions in the video above) of aquatic life in spectacular 3D 4K HD. This event is very popular – last year’s Sony Aquarium pulled millions of visitors. Sony is also using this as a vehicle to teach youngsters about ecology, fish habits, and other exhibits. This exhibit allows visitors to touch shark skin. Feel dozens of fish swim around your hand. View the full article

According to LaptopMag, Sony SVP Mike Abary has stated that the company is set to offer a Vaio computer (no word if this is a desktop or laptop) with touchscreen functionality running on Windows 7 this Fall. What’s even more interesting is that this will eventually be a true convergence offering from Sony – offering “one-touch” access to Sony’s Playstation Store (movies, tv shows), games (possibly), and books from Sony’s eBook store. Unfortunately, this software offering won’t come immediately, but rather in bits and pieces. I’m rather interested on how Sony will do this – will these services be bundled together in one super application, perhaps through Media Go? Please read LaptopMag’s great interview with Abary for more information. View the full article

I Look to You is the name of the long awaited seventh studio album by worldwide multi-platinum selling R&B recording artist Whitney Houston. It will be released first in Germany by Sony Music on August 28 before being release in the UK on August 31 by RCA Records and finally worldwide on September 1 by long-term record label Arista with distribution from Sony Music. Houston is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold over 190 million albums and 50 million singles, worldwide. She is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 54 million certified albums. Known as “The Voice” for her “powerful, penetrating pop-gospel” vocals, she has been listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Houston has been cited as an influence among numerous contemporary R&B and pop music artists. Though Houston was seen as a good girl with a perfect image in the ’80s and early ’90s, during the late ’90s many noted a change in her behavior. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots, rehearsals, while canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, people began to wonder if something was wrong, and rumors began of drug use with her husband, Bobby Brown. Despite a vicious storm of rumors, Arista signed a contract with Houston for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. After losing many friends and associates due to her erratic behavior, her Father’s passing in 2003, Houston cleaned herself up and divorced Bobby Brown in 2006. Things have been looking up ever since, and this album could actually be the true resurrection of Whitney Houston. The album will be a mixture of big ’sweeping ballads’ and R&B/Pop dance music. The roster of producers and writers includes John Legend, Swizz Beatz, Sean Garrett, Alicia Keys, David Foster, R Kelly, Harvey Mason, Jr., Diane Warren and Akon who is the only guest vocalist on the album. The song “Million Dollar Bill” is expected to be the first single due to its growing popularity, but “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” or “Call You Tonight” are also possible contenders. Track listing (total length – 56:02): 1. “Million Dollar Bill” — 4:53 (written by Alicia Keys & produced by Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean) 2. “Nothin’ But Love” — 4:47 3. “Call You Tonight” — 4:48 (written by Johnt

Sony has finally confessed after we have revealed the news about the upcoming Blu-ray Mega Changers and announced the 400 Disc ES and non-ES models: BDP-CX7000ES and BDP-CX960. They also have thrown in another ES single disc player with Wi-Fi BDP-S1000ES. The big boys have pretty much borrowed some goodness from BDP-S5000ES like Sony’s HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies. BD-Live, RS232 (ES model only) as well as support for 7.1 channel Dolby

Well, I guess the new 65 inch Bravia did not deserve any fanfare and announcements since we already mentioned it before a couple times and since it is not an LED TV, however 65 inches of HD goodness at semi affordable price tag of $5000 can be yours compared to the 70 inch LCD model Sony showed the world at $20000 (can be piked up at select SonyStyle stores for ten grand, hey almost a Civic!) Model features: Full HD 1080p resolution, Motionflow™ 120Hz refresh rate, BRAVIA Engine™ 3, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, BRAVIA Internet Video/Widgets, 7 HD inputs, ENERGY STAR