Christopher

Sony’s CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer brushed off concerns that the PlayStation 3 video game console is too expensive, and said the company is unlikely to sell parts of its business amid the recession. Stringer, arriving at the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Tuesday, described recent comments about PlayStation’s price by Robert Kotick, the CEO of video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc, as standard business tactics. “He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer said, when asked about the comments. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business.” Last month, Kotick told the Times of London that Activision might cease developing games for the PlayStation if Sony did not cut the price of the console, which competes with Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii. “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console,” Kotick had said. Asked about the logic of not cutting prices, Stringer said, “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make — how’s that for logic.” View the full article

Sony has launched a new community for VAIO owners called VAIO Community, which we covered last month. On behalf of this new opportunity, Sony and Sony Insider are teaming together to give away a Sony VAIO P to one of our lucky readers who live in the USA – don’t worry, we will do international contests eventually. All you have to do is tell us a story about your favorite Sony product, such as a good experience with it. The best overall submission will receive a Vaio P free of charge from Sony on behalf of VAIO Community and Sony Insider. I hope reading this really motivates you – it’s not like we are the biggest site in the world so if you give us something quality you may very well win. You have until July 15th to leave a comment with your submission. Good luck, and we look forward to your efforts. Huge thanks to Sony for this opportunity. View the full article

Since Sony pushed out a new DVD recorder announced a few hours ago, it is a good time to compliment it with some device that actually can get that content in the first place. Sony introduced two new flash based HDD camcorders: HDR-CX500V and HDR-CX520V. According to press release both camcorders “capture full 1920×1080 high-definition video and up to 12-megapixel photos on a 64GB or 32GB internal flash memory, respectively, offering up to 25 hours of HD video (LP mode). “These models combine the best in digital imaging technology, strengthening Sony’s industry leadership and meeting demand for both quality camcorders and HD video,” said Kelly Davis, director of the camcorder business for Sony Electronics. “Expanding our lineup to include Handycam camcorders with large capacity embedded flash memory allows us to offer consumers flexible recording solutions concentrated in a very portable, compact body.” Interesting new features were added: 3-Way Shake Canceling – this feature reduces hand shake in three directions – vertical and horizontal shake corrected by optical image stabilization and the third, by way of electronic image stabilization, facilitates correction for lateral-roll shake. Face Touch allows users to select a person to be prioritized by the camcorder simply by touching a detected face on the screen.The camcorders prioritize and optimize focus, skin color, and brightness for the selected individual, even if they leave the scene, for the entire recording session. This new feature is a function of Face Detection, which also incorporates Smile Shutter™ technology to capture candid smiling photos while simultaneously recording video. When Face Touch is activated, the Smile Shutter feature only activates automatically in response to the smiles of the selected person. GPS, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™ HX media are among other usual functions we are used to see on a Sony camcorder. Good news is a 32 GB Memory Stick will be available in September and will be a nice addition to your recording frenzy. View the full article

Sony released an updated DVD recorder VRD-MC6 to help you out with creating your own DVDs using either Hi-Def or Standard Def format. Sony, come on! Isn’t it a time for a a Blu-ray Recorder? Since this unit does not require a computer, all you do is simply connect your HD camcorder to the recorder and choose one of the 4 background templates and you are done! It’d be so nice if instead of 95 mins of Hi-Def content stored on a DVD, one could put hours of home videos on a Blu-ray disc! Time table for that type of recorder is not ready to be released….in the US at least. Our Japanese counterparts have been playing with BDZ series Blu-ray recorders for years now….oh well, we shall wait some more. I remember it took forever for a DVD-RW to be out… Check out the full press release here View the full article

Summers are usually not eventful with product announcements, however companies do prefer to release a few new items here and there to keep the buzz going until CEDIA Expo kicks in early September. We have mentioned previously the upcoming Blu-ray 400 and 200 disc changers coming supposedly later in July, however Sony kept mum on another Blu-ray player model BDP-N460 that has not been yet announced. That BD player has been mentioned in the Sony Blu-ray sweepstakes that are taking place if you were to register your BDP-S560 (which release date for some reason has been pushed from mid July to mid August). Another gem that is about to be unleashed soon is a “budget” Bravia W series with a 65 inch LCD model KDL-65W5100. This monster as well as upcoming XBR10 series model KDL-46XBR10 have been mentioned again by Sony at one of the sites dealing with recycling fees implemented in the State of California. Keep your ears open for more Cybershots and of course the bigger screen OLED TV to be announced later in the year! View the full article

Sony VAIO Japan (and other countries) revealed a new addition to VAIO family – VAIO W or as a new model number VPC-W11AXJ. If you noticed the prefix does not start with a regular VGN and the reason for that is Sony is finally bringing to the world its first VAIO Netbook. This netbook is going to be marketed as a home computer for quick access to the web. Comes in three colors: White, Pink and Brown. Two USB ports and DLNA compliance to get your pictures, music, and video streamed on your home network. ■ 1366X768 (16:9 10.1 inch LCD)

Sony said last week it would acquire part of Seiko/Epson’s small and medium-sized LCD operations by April 2010 for free. Sony said in March it would start talks with Seiko Epson on an alliance in small LCDs and was interested in Seiko Epson’s technology and output capacity of amorphous silicon thin-film transistor (TFT) LCDs, known as low-cost displays. Sony focuses on low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCDs, which offer better picture quality, in the small and medium-sized category. The addition of amorphous silicon TFT LCDs is expected to boost its competitiveness as a panel supplier and maker of mobile devices with displays, such as cellphones and digital cameras. Here is what the two companies have planned: To be completed within 2009 (planned) Transfer of the sales function for small- and medium-sized TFT LCD business (excluding high-temperature polysilicon TFT LCDs, etc.) operated by Epson Imaging to the Sony group and secondment of sales personnel. To commence on April 1, 2010(planned) Transfer of certain buildings and equipment and lease of certain land relating to amorphous silicon TFT LCD manufacturing from Epson Imaging (Tottori city, Tottori, Japan) to SMD. Transfer of certain intellectual property, including patents, software and technical information, relating to small- and medium-sized TFT LCDs (excluding high-temperature polysilicon TFT LCDs, etc.) from Epson to the Sony group. Secondment of certain Epson Imaging and other Epson group employees involved in the development, design and manufacture of small- and medium-sized TFT LCDs (excluding high-temperature polysilicon TFT LCDs, etc.) from the Epson group to the Sony group. View the full article

Sony Music Entertainment noted last week that it made a strategic investment in IODA, a digital distributor of independent music. The move is a sign of a trend by major music companies to tap into the indie music sector’s growing importance. More artists are able to use smaller record labels to promote their music as the traditional barriers to physical distribution of CDs become irrelevant in a digital world. Sony Music, home to major artists such as Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen, already has its own independent distribution unit, RED, which will now use IODA’s digital distribution as part of the overall Sony Music network. “IODA is a natural extension of our indie strategy,” said Thomas Hesse, Sony Music’s global president digital. “As entrepreneurs, we think this is a business we’d like to grow and expand and as a result we took an investment.” The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Six year-old IODA is one of a growing group of digital music distributors who help smaller labels handle everything from digital rights licensing through to royalty payment administration, as well as promotional support. It has nearly two million songs in its catalog, which it licenses to more than 400 digital storefronts worldwide. “Because of the democratization of media and distribution channels, independents have taken on a larger role in the business,” said Kevin Arnold, chief executive of IODA. Arnold said his company would benefit from being able to use Sony Music’s existing global network of digital technology beyond distributing songs to include everything from ringtones to music videos. View the full article

Since we broke the news about the upcoming Sony Blu-ray disc changer, a lot of commotion and eager buyers have been wondering when they can finally get their hands on one and fill it up to the brink with HD movies. We were able to scoop up some news from a popular AV forum, where a poster who has dealt with Sony ES line, confirmed that BDP-CX7000ES unit will be hitting the streets in late July. Also the pricing for the US sounds somewhat questionable is surprisingly checking in at $1899.99 compared to its predecessor HES-V1000 which ran at $3500 (though the latter offered some extra perks like half a terabyte hard drive and X-applications to manage your photos). When more info trickles in, we will update you all about this monster. It’s pretty much around the corner, so get your movies ready for a move… View the full article

According to one of our most trusted sources, Sony is set to announce two new cameras named DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 to compliment its popular DSC-HX1 by the end of July. I happen to love the DSC-HX1 because it’s not quite a DSLR, but it has incredible features and doesn’t break the bank. The DSC-TX1 builds on this momentum by offering 10 megapixels, 4x Optical Zoom, a 3 inch LCD, Type R CMOS and 720P HD video recording in a sub-$400 price range. Our source also mentioned something about a nice curved sliding cover for the TX1, and we were able to confirm that the camera will also be offered in black, blue, pink, and one additional color. The WX1 is similar to the TX1, but will be cheaper and offer 10 megapixels, 5x Optical Zoom, a 2.7 inch LCD, and Type R CMOS with 720P HD video recording. We also have word that both models will also have a G series lens and sweep panorama, but that might be limited to one model over the other. Fortunately, to further prove our claims, Provantage.com has already published product listings for the DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 on its website with the specifications we’ve already mentioned and pricing schemes. This information is a Sony Insider exclusive, brought to you here first. Image used above is of a DSC-HX1, but we feel that it will probably have similar aesthetics. View the full article

The VAIO NW is one incredible laptop – a 15.5 inch screen, Intel Core Duo, Blu-ray, 4GB of RAM, HDMI out, instant-on Internet and more for less than a thousand dollars. You’d be hard pressed to find many alternatives with the same stylish appearance and features. I tried to price a laptop out at dell.com with similar features and an alternative color and it was hundreds more. Nonetheless, VAIO Community posted a new blog recently where they featured some interviews with the developers of the VAIO NW – its quite interesting. Sony Insider feels that the Instant-On Internet is probably one of the coolest features to hit a laptop in a long time. Bunsho Lin – NW Product Manager Bunsho discusses some of the detailed thought that went into engineering the VAIO NW. Kaoru Murai – NW Designer Kaoru provides insight into the artistic inspiration behind the unique design elements of the NW. Yukinari Takashima – NW Software Engineer Yukinari explains the reasons for the addition of features like the “Instant Internet” button. View the full article

The CMT-Z100iR is another svelte compact sound system, not only in glossy black but also in white. Its multiple features include iPod / CD / USB playback, an AM/FM radio tuner, S-Master amplifier, an audio-in port, 20W x 2 speakers, a remote control and a large display that shows the time and selected function. Sharing the acoustic technologies used in the Z200iR, your music is released in rich and clear sound that’s beyond expectations from a system this small. The bass/treble adjustment allows you to tailor the sound to your preference. For added convenience, the CMT-Z100iR can be wall mounted with a VESA wall bracket, which is a standard mount used also for TVs. The CMT-Z100iR is available in July. We originally announced the CMT-Z100iR back in March of this year. View the full article

In today’s digital environment, music sources are multiple: MP3 players, PCs, CDs, phones, radio, etc. To be able to easily access, connect and share is key for a seamless music listening experience. The NAS-Z200iR is DLNA Certified with Wi-Fi. So you can access the music library that’s on your PC and play your tracks back on the Z200iR all from your sofa or bed. Listening to Internet radio is also easy and fun directly using your home network and making radio station selection from Z200iR’s remote control, probably the most beautiful remote I’ve ever seen. Whether it’s choosing radio stations or songs from your PC or iPod, the remote control’s large 3.5-inch LCD display and friendly user interface allow you to sit back and relax for an uninterrupted music listening experience. Selecting by artist, album or song in your iPod is also easily done from the remote control without having to get up for your player to find what you’re looking for. The battery is rechargeable, and the color display is lit only when in use. With Sony’s audio system, the flexibility is readily there to playback from different sources thanks to the integrated CD player, USB connectivity for a Walkman or any other MP3 player and an audio-in port. The CD player, which will play both audio CD and CD-R/RW discs with MP3 tracks, is discreetly integrated into Z200iR’s sleek design. If you like to listen to the radio in the morning, there’s AM/FM radio as well. All the choices are there. Skilfully hidden under NAS-Z200iR’s minimalist style is not only its multi-functionality but also its power to deliver sound. For the system, two independent speaker enclosures are incorporated (20W x 2), unlike some systems which use a common or single enclosure. For higher fidelity stereo sound, the enclosures are carefully constructed within the confines of space, to keep vibration between the speakers and the main unit to a minimum. For powerful and natural bass performance, strong magnets are required. In order to achieve this in such a compact unit, double neodymium magnets are utilised for the bass drivers. The NAS-Z200iR will come to stores across Europe in mid September. View the full article

George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures are in final negotiations to sign an exclusive two-year theatrical development and production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Picture Entertainment and Chairman of the studio’s Motion Picture Group. Commenting on the announcement, Clooney said, “Warner Bros. has been a great place to work and I’ve felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I’m leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They’re a class act. In looking ahead, I’m tremendously excited to be working at Sony Pictures, and we all feel like it’s a perfect match for Smokehouse. Grant Heslov and I hope to deliver the kind of films that will make them proud.” “We admire and respect George and Grant as filmmakers and producers and we couldn’t be more excited to be in business with them and their talented team at Smokehouse Pictures,” said Pascal. “The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations. While we have been trimming production deals overall for the last few years, we see real value in opening our doors to producers with their critical and commercial track record and their artistic point of view, and we know they will be a fantastic addition to the Sony Pictures family.” “My nine year relationship with Warner Bros. was extremely gratifying and now, George and I look forward to Smokehouse being a part of the Sony family,” Heslov said. View the full article

Up until the 1970’s, it wasn’t that easy to carry music around with you like today. Unless you had a transistor radio small enough to carry, you were probably out of luck. Most recorded music was on eight track tapes too large to carry around. Equipment to play back recorded music was even harder to carry. Thirty years ago today on July 1st, 1979, Sony changed the consumer electronics world with the availability of the Walkman model TPS-L2. Thirty years later, there have been hundreds of different Walkman portable music players of various type released with cassette, FM, video, hard disc, and flash functionality. How did it begin, though? In 1978, Sony added the small TC-D5 stereo model to its well-known Densuke series of portable tape recorders. Although popular among audiophiles, the TC-D5 was too heavy to be truly portable and the cost was prohibitive at 100,000 yen. Ibuka (Co-Founder of Sony and then Honorary Chairman) was a regular user of the TC-D5, and he would take one with a set of headphones on overseas trips, so that he could listen to music in stereo on the plane. However, he found it too heavy. One day, before going on a trip to the United States, he asked Ohga (then Executive Deputy President) for a simple, playback-only stereo version of the Pressman, the small, monaural tape recorder that Sony had launched in 1977. Ohga immediately called Kozo Ohsone, general manager of the Tape Recorder Business Division. Ohsone immediately replied, “Yes, yes, I’ll do it.” He had his staff alter a Pressman, removing the record function and converting the machine to produce stereo sound. They then attached headphones and tried this creation. The resulting sound was actually quite good. Shortly after, Ohsone and his staff were working on this rather strange-looking combination of large headphones and a small Pressman, when Ibuka visited them to discover if they had created what he requested. Always interested in products under development, Ibuka had a habit of dropping in at Sony’s various laboratories. Ohsone suggested that Ibuka try the modified Pressman. Ibuka was pleasantly surprised by the powerful sound that came from such a small device, and he was reminded of the first time he had listened to stereo sound through binaural headphones at the 1952 Audio Fair in the United States. Ohsone managed to provide a modified version of the Pressman in time for Ibuka’s business trip, but it worked with small, special batteries. Ohga presented Ibuka with the unit, together with two batteries that he had an engineer from Ohsone’s group rush around Akihabara (an electronics-shopping district in Tokyo) to find and a selection of classical music tapes. Ohga’s relief was short-lived. He received a call from Ibuka in the U.S., who said, “The batteries ran out on the plane, and I can’t find any replacements over here.” Ohga also realized that the tapes he gave Ibuka were blank, and he hurriedly called CBS Records in the U.S. to ask them to prepare a selection of music tapes for Ibuka. Despite all this, when Ibuka returned from the U.S. he was obviously pleased with the unit, even if it had large headphones and lacked a record function. Ibuka went to Akio Morita and said, “Try this. Don’t you think a stereo cassette player that you can listen to while walking around is a good idea?” Morita took it home to try over the weekend, and he was also impressed. He agreed with Ibuka that the sound was quite different compared to conventional speakers, and he was excited by the fact that the device could be carried around easily, creating a personal listening experience. Morita, co-chairman for the Sony Corporation, often had to take airplane trips across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the United States. The flights were long and tiring. To help him relax on the long flights, Morita liked to listen to his favorite opera music. To carry all of the equipment and tapes he needed to enjoy his operas, Morita almost needed to buy another seat on the plane. With company momentum pushing towards revolutionizing the portable music player, Akio complained to one of his engineers about the problem, and Nobutoshi Kihara went right to work – changing the course of history by sketching the original design of the Walkman onto a piece of paper. In February 1979, Morita called a meeting at Sony Headquarters. The group of predominantly young, electrical and mechanical design engineers, planners and publicity people were more than a little apprehensive, as well as curious, to hear why they had been summoned by the Chairman. Morita held up the modified Pressman and said, “This is the product that will satisfy those young people who want to listen to music all day. They’ll take it everywhere with them, and they won’t care about record functions. If we put a playback-only headphone stereo like this on the market, it’ll be a hit.” He continued by saying, “Our target market is students and other young people. We must launch it before the summer vacation at a price similar to the Pressman, which means less than 40,000 yen.” At that time, for sales and accounting purposes, new product launches usually took place on the 21st of the month. To meet Morita’s deadline meant launching the product on June 21, which was only four months away. To develop the necessary manufacturing, marketing, and other systems in such a short time was a formidable task. Most of those present were stunned. “We can’t do it in such a short time,” was the general consensus. However, they were excited about the idea. It was a product they themselves wanted to develop and use and they agreed that a launch before students started their summer vacation would be ideal. Thus, the collective conclusion reached was “It’s difficult, but not impossible. Let’s give it our best shot.” With regard to price, everyone involved with the project thought that instead of working out a price based on production costs, they must first decide on the price at which the product would sell. They believed that if the price could be kept below 30,000 yen, sales would be great, but that 35,000 yen was more realistic from a cost point of view. At this point, Morita said, “This is Sony’s 33rd year in business, so let’s sell it for 33,000 yen.” Under Morita’s leadership, they decided on a strategy and resolved to launch the product before the summer vacation. Morita was completely absorbed in the new business. While Ibuka was adept at spotting new and interesting technologies and motivating his staff to develop them, Morita was the one who had the vision required to turn technologies into products. Since the founding of Sony, the two men had combined these different, but complementary, talents to great effect. Morita said to Ibuka, “This product is going to enable young people to listen to music anytime, anywhere. But the headphones are bigger than the device itself. Can’t we do something about that?” On hearing that, Ibuka remembered an R&D meeting two or three months earlier, at which there was talk of developing lightweight, open-air type headphones. Sure enough, when he went to the Research Laboratory, he found exactly what he was looking for. The development of the compact and extremely lightweight H-AIR MDR3 headphones was virtually finished. While most conventional headphones at that time weighed between 300 to 400 grams, the H-AIR headphones weighed just 50 grams. Furthermore, the new headphone driver units that fitted over the listeners’ ears were only 23 millimeters across, much smaller than the 56-58 millimeters that was normal for the oval-shaped, earmuff type headphones developed previously. Despite being so small and light weight, the headphones produced great sound. The H-AIR headphones were included in the portable stereo project in March 1979. Between them, Morita and Ibuka had successfully brought together technologies developed independently by different sections of Sony. Had the Walkman gone through the conventional planning, approval, testing, and other development stages, it might never have seen the light of day. Sony might have just concentrated on developing a smaller version of the Densuke stereo tape recorder instead. However, Ohsone encouraged his staff to try their ideas before they had time to think about the difficulties that might arise. In this case, as Ohsone’s team managed to materialize Ibuka’s idea into a prototype, Ibuka and Morita provided the encouragement to turn this prototype into a product. Once the Tape Recorder Operations Division had promised Morita that they would create a product before the beginning of the summer vacation, the team really set about the task. Thanks to Morita, the objectives of the project were made crystal clear. Although there initially was some feeling in the division that a record function should also be included, Morita focused specifically on a playback-only, small headphone stereo unit to be launched before the summer vacation, and he inspired the members of the project team with his vision and resolve. Ohsone believed that if you think too much about a project before doing it, you could always find faults with it and too much discussion just creates delays. Ohsone, Shizuo Takashino, and other members of the development team worked through the night two or three times a week and they kept each other motivated by constantly cracking jokes or having a few beers after work. In developing the Walkman, Ohsone believed that the first model must be reliable. The shape and style of the product could be improved in subsequent models. However, if the first model received a reputation for breaking down easily, then it would put an end to the entire project. The main job of the development team was to establish the value of this new concept. Given the tight time schedule, Morita told the team not to worry about the external appearance of the first model. So, Ohsone decided to use the same mechanism as the Pressman, half a million of which had already been manufactured. The technologies involved in making the novel product were not new, but merely assembled in a new way. What the team had to focus on was producing a reliable product, one that did not break. With no real technical problems to concern themselves with, the team concentrated on ways to promote the concept of music on the move to ensure the product would be a hit. First, a group of young members led by Toru Kohno of the Publicity Division racked their brains to come up with a suitable name for the product. The name needed to present the idea of portability, so they considered Stereo Walky. Unfortunately, Toshiba was already using the “Walky” name for their portable radio line. The new product was a descendant of the Pressman so Walkman was proposed. Despite protests that the name was a strange mixture of Japanese and English, Morita praised it. Most buyers would be young people, and Morita believed that the young staff members who had come up with the name were in tune with their own generation. He supported the enthusiasm and boldness that had gone into the creation of the name. In addition, packaging and posters bearing the name Walkman had already been printed and there was no time to change them. Morita took one of the test models home to try. His first idea was adding an extra jack so two people could listen to music at the same time. His second idea was designing a talk button to enable people to carry on a conversation while wearing the headphones. Yasuo Kuroki of the Product Planning Center worked with the product engineers to incorporate these features and create a simple, functional, yet attractive design. Nevertheless, the first Walkman received much criticism even before it was launched. People said that a tape player, which could not record, would never catch on. Morita, however, refused to be swayed, staking his own reputation on the success of the Walkman. Although he could not definitely say it would be a hit, Morita trusted his judgment. He knew that the first thing his own children did when they got home was to turn the stereo on, and he firmly believed that the Walkman would further deepen the connection between young people and music. When Sony sales people tried to explain the concept of the Walkman to retailers, they met considerable skepticism. Retailers were not convinced they could sell a tape player that did not record. What kept Sony sales people and product engineers motivated in the face of such uncertainty was the enthusiasm of Ibuka and Morita as well as the fact that the young women working on the Walkman production line wanted to own what they were producing. Morita ordered an initial production run of 30,000 Walkman units. Considering that monthly sales of the best-selling tape recorder averaged 15,000 units, this was a bold decision. Amid considerable uncertainty, the project went from development through production to preparation for launch. Finally, on June 22, 1979, it was announced that the Walkman would go on sale on July 1, only ten days after the original target date and just before the beginning of summer vacation. The Walkman was a truly original product, and Sony used innovative methods to launch and advertise it. The staff of the press and public relations divisions wanted to emphasize that Sony was introducing a totally new and fun concept. To do so, they decided to hold the launch event outside and included demonstrations of people listening to the Walkman while roller skating or cycling. They thought that as well as giving impact to the launch; this novel approach would appeal to the journalists attending. It was decided to test this launch style first on a group of magazine journalists. On June 22, when the journalists arrived at the Sony Building located in the Ginza area of Tokyo, they were escorted onto a bus and each handed a Walkman. They were taken to Yoyogi (a major park in Tokyo) and, after disembarking and receiving a brief greeting, they were instructed to put on the headphones and push the play button. The journalists listened to an explanation of the Walkman in stereo, while Sony staff members and students hired for the launch carried out various demonstrations of the product. The tape the journalists were listening to asked them to look at certain demonstrations, including a young man and woman listening to a Walkman while riding on a tandem bicycle. All staff members and students who were involved in the product demonstrations wore Walkman T-shirts to add to the overall effect of the launch. As they listened to an explanation of the Walkman, the journalists were able to sample the audio quality of the new product, while seeing what people could do with it. They saw that the 33,000 yen TPS-L2 model enabled people to listen music of their choice, wherever and whenever they liked. For onlookers, a lack of any public announcement or audible sound was rather puzzling. The journalists were surprised at the unusual nature of the Walkman launch event, and this was apparent in their expressions. The response from the press was cool. Although the Walkman went on sale on July 1, as planned, by the end of July only 3,000 units had been sold and doubts about the product resurfaced. After the launch, staff of the publicity and domestic marketing divisions took a Walkman and spent a day riding busy trains around the center of Tokyo in an attempt to advertise the product. Also, it was decided that people needed to listen to the Walkman to understand the quality of its sound. Consequently, young recruits who had joined Ohsone’s division in April of that year were asked to walk around the busy Shinjuku and Ginza districts on Sundays, offering passersby the chance to listen to the Walkman. High school and college festivals and other events were also targeted, and when young people put on the headphones and listened, their skeptical expressions were replaced with ones of delight. In retail outlets, staff was asked to carry around a Walkman with a demo tape and offer customers the chance to listen. And while serving to demonstrate the quality of the sound, Sony made great efforts to overcome the negative public image associated with headphones. In addition to such grassroots marketing efforts, Sony presented a Walkman to various celebrities and asked them to try it. Magazine photographs of young pop stars listening to a Walkman certainly helped to popularize the product. There was no large-scale television advertising campaign, but thanks to various publicity strategies, the popularity of the Walkman spread by word of mouth. The initial batch of 30,000 units sold out by the end of August, and thereafter production levels had to be constantly raised to meet consumer demand. For the next six months, shops were consistently selling out, and retailers’ previous skepticism over the salability of the Walkman was replaced with pleas for more supplies. At first, the main buyers of the Walkman were music fans in their mid 20s. However, the popularity of the Walkman spread very quickly to a wider young audience, and it became a fashionable new way to enjoy music. This success had been foreseen not only by Morita but also by some outsiders. When major electrical retailers were showing little interest in the Walkman, young buyers at Marui Department Store, a very popular store among young people, were convinced it would sell and placed an order for 10,000 units. From the outset, the plan had been to sell the Walkman worldwide. It was decided to launch the product overseas six months after its Japanese debut and promotional plans were made accordingly. However, earlier doubts about the name resurfaced and various other names were suggested by Sony’s overseas subsidiaries. Consequently, plans were made to call it Soundabout in the United States, Stowaway in the United Kingdom and Freestyle in Sweden. But when Morita went on a business trip to Europe prior to its overseas launch, he met parents in both France and the United Kingdom that had been told by their children, “When you meet Mr. Morita, please ask him where I can get a Walkman.” It seemed that many tourists who had visited Japan had taken a Walkman home with them and as a result the name was already known outside Japan. The name Walkman was easy to understand and had spread quickly, especially among people from countries where English was not the native language. Therefore, although it may have sounded a little strange, the team that had created the product itself created the name. Morita called Ohsone in Japan to recommend selling the Walkman worldwide under its original name. The Walkman created a totally new market for portable stereo systems, and its legacy is still warmly remembered by many people today. Tell us about your experiences with Sony’s Walkman devices. Here is a picture of the TPS-L2 with the current 2009 Sony Walkman lineup: View the full article

That first picture in your last post is great. Is that near you? I love going to the lake when its nice out.. Did you see my pictures in the topic for the Sacktue of Liberty post? Some unique shots there.

Past weekend I had an opportunity to swing by the Tyson’s Corner mall which houses one of the SonyStyle stores in DC area. Prior to my visit, I gave them a call to find out if they had any new Walkman X series on sale and was informed that, they do not have any for sale, however there is one demo model available to play with. I figured I would spend some time with it and post my initial impressions. Frankly, I was anticipating to see this new creation of Sony to be situated in the store where people would be able to see it right away and be able to check it out. After browsing around and checking out the area, I noticed it was sitting next to their pricey VAIO RT desktop on a charging cradle. I was like OK, so much for marketing. So I sat down comfortably on a chair and started to explore that lil wonder. First off all, like many have mentioned, built quality is great, the granite surface makes it stand out, buttons are well situated. I checked out the firmware and it was at 1.0 version. The OLED screen, well it is OLED! After being spoiled with XEL-1 at home, I could tell the joy of using such a screen overwhelmed me somewhat, there is one little but…the screen size needs to be slightly bigger. It is perfect for the first gen model, however bigger screen would bring all the benefits of OLED technology even more. Just watch MS Zune and future Apple Touch and its OLED players, will definitely feature bigger screens. Resolution has been also somewhat crippled on it as it can handle more goodies, but frankly it is not that noticeable on a 3″ display. The good old Walkman menu is very responsive and worked flawlessly for me. Navigating through options was easy, however if I were to go back on step in some areas, there was no back button option, you had to tap on List, then Up option. I jumped on YouTube and checked out its functionality, and it worked as advertized. Web access on this Walkman is …well it is OK, I could not see myself browsing the net or checking my email on that player. One thing that many users might not like is the absence of onscreen QWERTY keyboard. Text input is very similar to your phone text input which I find very cumbersome, though predictive text is there to help you along the way. Sony definitely needs to incorporate QWERTY which will call for bigger screen in order to be able to use it. I did not bother testing the FM radio as I am not interested in using it, maybe if the HD Radio was an option, I’d try it. Video playback was awesome, as I tested some of the preloaded samples. Same with Music, cover flow is nice but it did not show up right away if you tap Music. What is this player missing? I believe it is the social media factor, that Sony has been pushing within its corporation. There is no way for you to install an App like you would on an Apple Touch, all those perks can be added through firmware if Sony chooses to improve its player. Unfortunately there is no way to download music or videos on the go as well, you would need your computer. It needs access to PlayStation Store where Sony has been compiling loads of video content, but Walkman is not a part of PlayStation family, so there is a conflict of interests here?! What happened to “Sony United” chant that has been proposed by sir Stringer? I would also love to see this player to be DLNA compatible and be able to serve music or pick it up from your local network server. WebRadio like Shoutcast or Pandora would not hurt this Walkman at all. I did not test the Slacker Radio, sorry guys. All in all it needs to be a networkable player. My title for this post did mention SonyStyle experience statement and I wanted to share it with you as well. Frankly, there was none… here is why. I have approached and played with that Walkman twice for over 10 minutes each time. No SonyStyle employee came by and asked me what I thought about it or whether I had any questions (which I did not mind as I knew all about this player long before Sony introduced it to the market, however if I was working there and saw someone spending time with a product, I’d be all over that customer). I figured I’d ask them myself and here is a little convo that went between us: - Are there any Walkman X series available for sale? The SonyStyle dude said, “None, in stock. We don’t expect them to go on sale for a while”. - Pretty strange…SonyStyle.com has been shipping it for a week now. – I answered. The employee pondered for a while and had to ask someone else about Walkman’s destiny in that store. I just felt like certain staff there was pretty indifferent. It was an evening time, on a Saturday, so I understand… I went to Apple, the store was buzzing……..as usual. View the full article

Past weekend I had an opportunity to swing by the Tyson’s Corner mall which houses one of the SonyStyle stores in DC area. Prior to my visit, I gave them a call to find out if they had any new Walkman X series on sale and was informed that, they do not have any for sale, however there is one demo model available to play with. I figured I would spend some time with it and post my initial impressions. Frankly, I was anticipating to see this new creation of Sony to be situated in the store where people would be able to see it right away and be able to check it out. After browsing around and checking out the area, I noticed it was sitting next to their pricey VAIO RT desktop on a charging cradle. I was like OK, so much for marketing. So I sat down comfortably on a chair and started to explore that lil wonder. First off all, like many have mentioned, built quality is great, the granite surface makes it stand out, buttons are well situated. I checked out the firmware and it was at 1.0 version. The OLED screen, well it is OLED! After being spoiled with XEL-1 at home, I could tell the joy of using such a screen overwhelmed me somewhat, there is one little but…the screen size needs to be slightly bigger. It is perfect for the first gen model, however bigger screen would bring all the benefits of OLED technology even more. Just watch MS Zune and future Apple Touch and its OLED players, will definitely feature bigger screens. Resolution has been also somewhat crippled on it as it can handle more goodies, but frankly it is not that noticeable on a 3″ display. The good old Walkman menu is very responsive and worked flawlessly for me. Navigating through options was easy, however if I were to go back on step in some areas, there was no back button option, you had to tap on List, then Up option. I jumped on YouTube and checked out its functionality, and it worked as advertized. Web access on this Walkman is …well it is OK, I could not see myself browsing the net or checking my email on that player. One thing that many users might not like is the absence of onscreen QWERTY keyboard. Text input is very similar to your phone text input which I find very cumbersome, though predictive text is there to help you along the way. Sony definitely needs to incorporate QWERTY which will call for bigger screen in order to be able to use it. I did not bother testing the FM radio as I am not interested in using it, maybe if the HD Radio was an option, I’d try it. Video playback was awesome, as I tested some of the preloaded samples. Same with Music, cover flow is nice but it did not show up right away if you tap Music. What is this player missing? I believe it is the social media factor, that Sony has been pushing within its corporation. There is no way for you to install an App like you would on an Apple Touch, all those perks can be added through firmware if Sony chooses to improve its player. Unfortunately there is no way to download music or videos on the go as well, you would need your computer. It needs access to PlayStation Store where Sony has been compiling loads of video content, but Walkman is not a part of PlayStation family, so there is a conflict of interests here?! What happened to “Sony United” chant that has been proposed by sir Stringer? I would also love to see this player to be DLNA compatible and be able to serve music or pick it up from your local network server. WebRadio like Shoutcast or Pandora would not hurt this Walkman at all. I did not test the Slacker Radio, sorry guys. All in all it needs to be a networkable player. My title for this post did mention SonyStyle experience statement and I wanted to share it with you as well. Frankly, there was none… here is why. I have approached and played with that Walkman twice for over 10 minutes each time. No SonyStyle employee came by and asked me what I thought about it or whether I had any questions (which I did not mind as I knew all about this player long before Sony introduced it to the market, however if I was working there and saw someone spending time with a product, I’d be all over that customer). I figured I’d ask them myself and here is a little convo that went between us: - Are there any Walkman X series available for sale? The SonyStyle dude said, “None, in stock. We don’t expect them to go on sale for a while”. - Pretty strange…SonyStyle.com has been shipping it for a week now. – I answered. The employee pondered for a while and had to ask someone else about Walkman’s destiny in that store. I just felt like certain staff there was pretty indifferent. It was an evening time, on a Saturday, so I understand… I went to Apple, the store was buzzing……..as usual. View the full article

Sony Digital Cinema and Apollo Cinemas, the UK cinema chain whose theatres are common for their high quality movie presentation, auditoriums and seating, announced an agreement for the deployment of 83 CineAlta 4K digital cinema projectors. A third of which will be able to deliver content in 3D, allowing Apollo Cinemas to showcase Hollywood’s new 3D blockbusters and leading the way into the 21st century Cinema Experience. The agreement provides Apollo with Europe’s first Sony VPF transaction. Rob Arthur, Managing Director Apollo Cinemas commented, “This agreement puts Apollo amongst the most innovative cinema operators in the world and will establish the UK’s first fully digital circuit and in CineAlta 4K. Our partnership with Sony Digital Cinema allows Apollo to offer the ultimate digital cinema experience to all our valued guests. The CineAlta 4K digital systems provide outstanding image and sound quality, and will enable us to extend our programming to alternative content, delivering new and exciting experiences for our existing and future customers.” Oliver Pasch, Head of Sony’s Digital Cinema business in Europe commented, “This really is an exciting agreement that clearly demonstrates Sony Digital Cinema’s commitment to the long-term success of the cinema industry, heralding a new era for digital cinema. This agreement enables Apollo to capitalize on the enormous opportunities that digital cinema offers to strengthen and sustain their business, as well as to revolutionize the movie-going experience.” View the full article

Green Dam is content-control software developed in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Under a directive from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of the PRC taking effect on July 1st 2009, it is mandatory to have either the software, or its setup files pre-installed on, or shipped on a compact disc with, all personal computers sold in Mainland China, including those imported from abroad. The government says the filtering software, called “Green Dam-Youth Escort,” is aimed at blocking pornography and other content inappropriate for children. But industry officials fear it will also be used to block political content – exposing them to accusations of abetting censorship – and that the software contains security and technical flaws. Green Dam automatically downloads the latest updates of a list of prohibited sites from an online database, and also collects private user data. Sony has already embraced this mandatory software by having the software installed in VAIO computers destined for China well in advance of the mandate, but is disclaiming responsibility for any damage caused by the Web filtering software. We’re not blasting them for having this software – Sony has to so they can continue to sell computers in the country, but it sure is a major step backwards for freedom of information. How can young Chinese children, aspiring for worldly knowledge, know about democracy, or the tragedy of Tienanmen Square? A photo of a Sony document disclaiming the authenticity, legality, and functionality of Green Dam has been posted online at RConversation, a blog maintained by Rebecca MacKinnon, assistant professor at the Journalism & Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong. The picture was originally posted via TwitPic by a Chinese blogger in Hangzhou, China, who found the notice in a box with a new Sony Vaio computer. View the full article

Sony Computer Entertainment Asia (SCEA) signed deals with six local gaming developers yesterday to produce a wide array of digital content for its PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) products. Under the agreement and through its Taiwanese subsidiary, the Japanese videogame powerhouse will for the first time open up its proprietary PlayStation platform to domestic digital content creators, including XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技), Intersev International Inc (昱泉國際), Yeck Entertainment Co (耶克娛樂) and SOGA Interactive Co (果子獸) as well as telephone operators Tatung InfoComm Co (大同電信) and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), SCEA president Tetsuhiko Yasuda told a press conference in Taipei yesterday. View the full article

Sony is adding 1,500 positions to its work force in Tijuana, hailing it as a hopeful sign of the sector’s recovery. Sony’s decision to expand in Tijuana follows the company’s announcement last month that it is shutting down an LCD television manufacturing plant in Mexicali, one of five Sony factories being shuttered worldwide. State officials say they are nonetheless encouraged by the company’s decision, which represents a $10 million investment for Tijuana, and the expansion of the company’s work force to 5,000 employees from 3,500 before the end of the year. Alfonso Alvarez Juan, Baja California’s subsecretary for economic development, said Wednesday that the investments are signs of recovery in the city’s maquiladora sector, which has struggled with a drop in U.S. demand for cars, televisions and other consumer products. Sony officials have told Mexican media that the 500 remaining workers at the Mexicali plant, which had more than 2,300 employees in 2007, will be gradually laid off through September. Due to Tijuana’s proximity to Southern California and the US border and its large, skilled, diverse and relatively inexpensive workforce it is an attractive city for foreign companies to establish extensive industrial parks composed of assembly plants that are called maquiladoras, even more so than other cities in the US-Mexican border zone, taking advantage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to export products. View the full article

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony has agreed to invest in a Sharp’s LCD unit, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Sony will probably invest 10 percent in Sharp Display Products by the end of March next year. Sony may raise the stake to 34 percent in the future, the report said. View the full article

It looks like Sony US is making some significant progress in offering more options in customization and today announced a number of really tempting, strikingly and

Sony / Columbia is set to make a movie about the journey of protagonist Nathan Drake (from the Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune game for PS3), supposed descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he seeks the lost treasure of El Dorado, with the help of friend Victor “Sully” Sullivan and journalist Elena Fisher. Read more about the lore of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune at the helpful Wikipedia page. The studio is developing a feature film, setting Kyle Ward to pen the adaptation that would be produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, Alex Gartner. There’s no immediate word if this film will contain elements from Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sequel video game announced at E3 2009. The Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune game for PS3 has sold millions of copies since its early console debut. View the full article