Christopher

Sony plans to slash recruitment of college graduates for Spring 2010 by 48% from this spring to 280 due to its deteriorating performance amid the global economic downturn, company officials said Tuesday. ‘‘The environment surrounding our company has changed so we will use more rigorous standards in selecting college students we will hire,’’ a company spokesperson said. Sony said that of the 280 workers it plans to hire for next spring, 200 will be engineers and the rest clerical staff. Information courtesy of Japan Today. Picture is of Kennesaw State University, which has no affiliation to this story other than being the college I’m currently attending. View the full article

Sony has recently released a second generation BD player BDP-S5000ES in its ES (Elevated Standard) high end line of AV equipment. The transporter has a great built quality and looks similar to SCD-XA5400ES SACD player I will be covering later on. Brushed aluminum surface of the player matches well Sony’s flagship AV receiver STR-DA6400ES. The following are the key features (in bold) that distinguish this BD transporter from any other BD player out there in the market as of this writing: Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as bit stream output Profile 2.0 Quick start mode loads discs in 6 seconds Ethernet port for firmware updates and BD-Live content Deep Color and x.v.Color support HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping XrossMediaBar graphical user interface 7.1 analog outputs RS-232 and IR inputs One of the enthusiast’s extras of this player is the HD Reality Enhancer, which Sony claims “continually analyzes bit by bit of the original source, sharpening edges and reproducing detail, while reducing the effects of film grain”. Super Bit Mapping is another Sony’s enhancement which tested and proven to work as advertised. Sony states SBM delivers “smoother color gradation realizing true 14-bit equivalent color tone from 8-bit sources”. The BDP-S5000ES uses a high-stability precision drive HD transport mechanism, separate video and audio power circuit with a low-leakage R-Core transformer to reduce electronic and electromagnetic interference. The massive 22lb ultra-rigid frame and beam chassis are designed to diminish physical vibration during playback. Of course all these technical terms may not mean anything to you, as many customers out there want their BD movie load fast and show the best picture, which this player definitely delivers without any questions asked. PS3 used to be The Blu-ray player and it just has been demoted to #2 spot by this pretty much beast and amazingly striking player (the first question my wife asked when she saw it: “Why is it not slim?”, so I had to explain to her that usually high end equipment will look buffed and heavy). I have run a number of different tests of SD and HD content on two different monitors: Sony Qualia KDX-46Q005 and Sony’s OLED XEL-1. I was just primarily interested in PQ and how different it is portrayed on LED Triluminos and OLED LCDs. Of course OLED showed pitch black scenes as they are supposed to be and 1080i/p content played well on both sets. I only wished OLED screen size was bigger to be able to see more detail. I was pretty pleased with upconversion, as upconverting is handled by Sony’s in-house Precision Cinema HD Upscale. If your display only takes component input, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s using a high performance 14-bit/297MHz Video D/A converter for superior analogue video output. Check out PDF JP Brochure of BDP-S5000ES. Here is a snap of the XMB menu which I have always been a fan of: Anyways, sorry this is meant to be more of a pictorial, so check out the pictures below and let me know if you have any questions in the comments. From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog From Blog View the full article

Happy Birthday to you, Stuge. How old are you now? What did you get yourself? lol

At a mere 9.9 mm thin, the BRAVIA KDL-40ZX1 is the one of the world’s slimmest LCD TV’s around. But the facts and figures fade when you see it, as analysis gives way to simple amazement. That’s the strength of its design. After the KDL-40ZX1, claims to thinness based on specs will seem flat. This great piece from Sony Design tells you more about the story of this unbelievably thin and gorgeous LCD TV. Fumiya Matsuoka, Chief Art Director Yuki Kubota, Producer and Designer Letting technology shine through design Matsuoka: In the KDL-40ZX1, we’ve reached a destination in the quest for thinner and thinner LCD TVs. It’s only 9.9 mm at its thinnest point. What makes this possible is a new “edge light” backlight system. White LEDs are arranged along the edges of the panel, and we have eliminated lights on the back of the panel itself. That’s why it’s slimmer than ever. The front is also more seamless. Traditionally, the panel in LCD TVs is supported by a metal body and covered by a molded frame. This prevents the bezel and panel from being flush. Designers conceal the unevenness, but you can notice that the bezel and panel are usually about 6 mm apart. In contrast, the panel and frame of the KDL-40ZX1 form a nearly flat surface. That’s because the frame both supports and encloses the panel. With the kind of technology applied in this television, any designer could make it thin. And that’s exactly why we had to ask ourselves how we should present this thinness. How could the thinness amplify the messages of design? How would people recognize it as a Sony product? I left these tough questions to Yuki Kubota, one of the designers I trust most. Kubota: I was in for a surprise when I first saw the developers’ demo model. It was so slim, I doubted it was a working model. When the screen came to life, I was truly startled. It was the thrill of seeing something extraordinary. I knew then that I wanted an ultimately simple design, to convey that feeling as directly as possible. The power of design inhabits an unseen realm Kubota: My first impression of the demo model was of a glowing board. I thought, wouldn’t it be intriguing to reduce it further, to a glowing sheet of paper. That’s why we designed the frame with sharp edges. This way, when you view the product from the side, for a moment it seems to have no depth at all. Like a floating sheet of paper. Sharp frame edges were essential to this idea. Unfortunately, regular fabrication inevitably produces dull edges, preventing the sharp image we sought. We decided to use extruded aluminum. The frame has quite a sophisticated cross-section, although you’d never know it by looking at the finished product. For one thing, the thickness is not uniform. It’s about 1 mm at the base of the panel. Other areas are thicker, and the edges are even thicker, which makes the frame sturdier. Without a very rigid body, products this thin and large would be pliant and easily warped. In retrospect, it was by creating thicker edges that we solved this issue. Just bending thin aluminum into right angles doesn’t make a frame this sturdy. Somehow, after years of TV product design projects, I often find design ideas and engineering necessities fitting neatly together. The frame joints were particularly challenging, though. When you cut extruded aluminum of this shape at an angle, you’ll end up with corners that are a little too thick, unless you’re careful. It took repeated attempts until our manufacturing partner accepted the fabrication process we sought. After a lot of nerve-wracking work by our team of designers and engineers, who proposed a series of intricate 3D structures, we chose a numerically controlled lathe to produce the ideal shape. A slim television that even looks great from behind Kubota: This is a wireless television, and owners can install it wherever they choose. We even anticipated unusual cases where it might be installed right in the middle of a room. That’s why the set looks attractive from all angles, even from behind. The first trick was to conceal screws, as much as possible. And that’s actually another reason for using an extruded aluminum frame. Build a slot into the frame at an early stage, and you can slip the back cover into it, eliminating the need for screws. Vents for the electronic components are also inconspicuous, thanks to some hard work by our engineers. As a result, the back surface looks beautiful. The connection interfaces you expect to find exposed on the back of most sets are covered. Cables connected to peripheral equipment or the power outlet are routed through the arm supporting the panel, and they emerge at one position. Hiding the cords preserves the neat appearance in back. The arm itself is slanted instead of rising straight up. This keeps it out of view when the set is viewed from the front, which makes the screen seem more buoyant. The mirror finish on the arm has a similar effect. By reflecting what’s around it, in some conditions, the arm fades from view. Matsuoka: Designers should stand up for what they care about—a vision of a great-looking set from behind, a way to conceal interfaces, how the arm rises from the base. The kind of dedication to details that makes a designer insist cords be hidden. Here, all these preferences are expressed naturally, in uncontrived shapes, by applying ideal fabrication techniques. It’s a good example of Yuki’s work. His vision inspired our engineers to help us make the back of the set this beautiful. Irresistible lines and shapes, inevitable throughout design Matsuoka: The speakers are separate from the monitor itself. Two types are available, each for a different mode of installation, and one type is integrated into the stand. By nature, speakers must open out toward the front, but boxy speakers would look bulky and unbalanced with the thin panel. To keep the stand as compact as possible, we adopted a round shape. Owners can also choose a bar-shaped speaker when the set is mounted on a wall. Designing speakers for flat-panel TVs often involves a tradeoff in audio quality. But in this case, the design we adopted offers exceptional sound while complementing the thinness of the panel. Designer proposals made it possible. Come to think of it, any way you install the set and from any angle, it’s free of unneeded lines or elements. There are no embellishments, and everything you see represents concepts that proved inevitable. It’s as if we tried to convey our design message as succinctly as possible. That’s Yuki’s style. Completing your living room Kubota: To me, televisions are a means to the end of viewing images. We give consumers what they need to do this. Again, they are a means to an end, not something to be desired for their own sake. That’s why I strove for a buoyant appearance that blends into your living room. Indicator illumination in the KDL-40ZX1 required a special touch, for this reason. Although blue LEDs below the screen glow for a moment after operations, they go off automatically and stay off at other times, so that you can focus on viewing. No light passes through the indicators when they’re off, which makes it easy to forget about them then. This time, we also wanted to offer unique body color options. These have a special lacquer coating developed by our engineering group. Lacquer colors are not something you can just order from a set of standard color chips. The sophisticated patterns are handcrafted by experts, and each is one-of-a-kind. I saw great potential in combining highly advanced electronics and traditional artisan craftsmanship. Ultimately, it was a better fit than I had ever imagined. I think the set goes well in Japanese homes and looks great on traditional furniture or next to lacquerware. It’s available in black or silver (fitting Sony colors), or blue or red with the lacquer finish. Choose the best color for your viewing environment, and the set will look right at home. Reflecting values that make mere specs seem flat Matsuoka: In LCD TVs today, thin is certainly in. Manufacturers are racing to introduce slimmer models, but I think KDL-40ZX1 owners will be satisfied with the appearance of this set even if next year’s models are a few millimeters thinner. There’s something that embodies Sony ideals here. If the set weren’t a Sony, you’d see the thinness of the panel expressed differently. Other manufacturers would probably show off the svelte profile in a direct way, in the thickness of the frame. Or because it’s such a thin television, they would trim the bezel to make it seem less substantial. If we hadn’t created the edges on the frame of the KDL-40ZX1, that’s how it would look. But because Yuki acted on his vision of a screen that looks as thin as a sheet of paper when viewed indirectly, we avoided this. We were willing to accept a slightly larger set overall, and this helped us convey what we wanted to convey in design. That’s why the appearance will remain fresh, and the set will stand up well to any thinner products that are eventually released. The KDL-40ZX1 isn’t about being the thinnest; it embodies values and style that are permanent and somehow universal. Bring home a television created under these ideals, and it may well change your lifestyle in some ways. Why not restyle your living room a little to match the set? Consider a new chair, for example. Introducing design that inspires thoughts of a better lifestyle is a goal of ours, and the KDL-40ZX1 is one of the products that brings us closest to this goal. View the full article

The Photo Imaging Expo 2009 opened recently at Tokyo Big Sight and the winner’s trophy for 2010 FIFA World Cup was used as a promotional item to kick off Sony’s booth. No pun intended. I actually typed that and then realized. Oh boy. Anyway, this is the very first time the FIFA World Cup trophy has come to Japan. Back in 2007, Sony signed a $300M USD contract (excluding product leases) with FIFA that runs until 2014 - so the organizations work very closely together. Visitors were allowed to take pictures of the World Cup trophy with a Sony A900 DSLR and 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM connected to a XEL-1 OLED TV. Even Sony exhibit staff wore a orange-themed vest like real sports photographers. View the full article

“Blame It” is the second single off Jamie Foxx’s third studio album Intuition. It features the juggernaut rapper T-Pain, and Foxx/ T-Pain kill it in an all-out auto tune fest. The song also use some elements from “I Luv Your Girl” by The-Dream. The music video was directed by Hype Williams and premiered at 106 & Park on February. Cameo appearances in the video are made by Ron Howard (random!), Forest Whitaker, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Quincy Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, Jermaine Dupri, Morris Chesnut, Clifton Powell, Alex Thomas, Tatyana Ali, Bill Bellamy, Clarence Avant, and Tommy. I really have to admit that there is the most random group of people in this video. Too bad they weren’t playing Twister or something. Could you imagine Tatyana Ali bent over Quincy Jones and Ron Howard somewhere inbetween reaching for yellow? Oy vey. If you haven’t acquired the song yet, don’t worry, the real version doesn’t have the nearly one minute dramatic intro music. In this image released by Sony/RCA/Arista Records, Forest Whitaker, left, Jamie Foxx, second left, Ron Howards and Jake Gyllenhaal pose for a photo at the set of Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” music video in Santa Monica, Calif.

Sony showed off their VCL-DH1757 Telephoto Lens for the DSC-HX1 at the Photo Imaging Expo in Japan recently, and it looks pretty slick. Made specifically for a Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 digital camera, this durable lens features a classic black housing and delivers crisp detail even at the edge of the image. The VCL-DH1757 high-grade 1.7x tele-angle conversion lens for DSC-HX1 Cyber-shot camera will be available in early May for $230USD. Telephoto and other long-focal-length lenses are best known for making distant objects appear magnified. This effect is similar to moving closer to the object, but is not the same, since perspective is a function solely of viewing location. Two images taken from the same location, one with a wide angle lens and the other with a telephoto lens, will show identical perspective, in that near and far objects appear the same relative size to each other. Comparing magnification by using a long lens to magnification by moving closer, however, the telephoto shot appears to compress the distance between objects due to the perspective from the more distant location. Long lenses thus give a photographer an alternative to the type of perspective distortion exhibited by shorter focal length lenses where (when the photographer stands closer to the given subject) different portions of a subject in a photograph can appear out of proportion to each other. Long lenses also make it easier to blur the background more, even when the depth of field is the same; photographers will sometimes use this effect to defocus the background in an image to “separate” it from the subject. View the full article

Here’s a picture of the Sony A900 DSLR with a 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM connected to a XEL-1 OLED TV via HDMI from a story at the old trustworthy folks at Digital Camera Watch (a sister site to AV Watch). The picture being taken is the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy, which landed in Japan recently for the Photo Imaging Expo. Sony is an official FIFA sponsor and had several items of interest that we’ll be covering that in a separate story. Nonetheless, that is a pretty expensive impromptu rig, costing at least $7,000USD all together. Visitors at the Photo Imaging Expo were able to use this combo freely. Nice! View the full article

InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific today announced the launch of two new co-branded resorts in Okinawa, Japan - ANA InterContinental Manza Beach Resort and ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort. These resorts will be the first international luxury resorts located in the scenic and culture-rich Okinawa and are located in ‘the best-of-the-best’ scenic spots. To celebrate the occasion, scuba divers were seen diving off the Sony Building in Ginza, Tokyo’s premier commercial district. Random! ANA InterContinental Manza Beach Resort is located at the scenic point of Manza-mo. The resort is a deluxe low rise resort hotel with all rooms and suites enjoy ocean views from private balconies. The 399-room resort boasts of 42 “premier floor” rooms and provides all the facilities for an unforgettable holiday - tropical outdoor pool, 5 restaurants, 3 bars, 24 hour room service, karaoke rooms, and extensive water sports including a cabin cruiser, glass-bottom boat, parasailing, wake-boarding, catamarans, diving centre, a putter golf course, a tennis court, a cultural centre, a Kids Club, a beach front banquet facility and 2 wedding chapels. ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort is a beautiful high-rise resort hotel sitting on the coast of the city of Ishigaki, the business and transport centre of the Yaeyama archipelago. Offering a stunning array of facilities to cater to the business and leisure traveler alike, the hotel is ideal for visitors to the area. Ishigaki is located along the same latitude as Miami and Honolulu and is the southernmost island group in Japan. Its mild winters and wonderful temperatures all year round make it an ideal location for outdoor activities. ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort is located just in front of Maezato beach where guests can enjoy a marine experience. The resort will have 255 rooms including 99 “premier floor” rooms, seven restaurants, two pools, spa, a golf course, tennis courts, a Kids Club and a wedding chapel. View the full article

Isn't she rad? Shanie will be joining us as a regular writer soon.

I found a really great interview with the designers of the Vaio P series on the Sony Design website. This is a very interesting read. I will probably be porting alot of those stories from Sony Design over here because I think that people can really identify with these products after reading them. Be sure to check out our other Vaio P Developer Story post as well. Enjoy. PCG-C1MZX invited you to take your digital photos and videos with you, for the first time. The U Series introduced a grippable mobile computing format. VAIO models have been there at every turn in the history of ultraportables. The eagerly awaited next stage in this evolution is the P Series, no bigger than a comfortably sized keyboard. Less is more in this polished design, but the VAIO P Series is full of Sony’s customary attention to offering people something more. Shinichi Ogasawara, Chief Art Director Tomoaki Takuma, Senior Producer Shinichi Iriya, Producer and Senior Designer Miho Akita, Designer Yoko Iida, Designer Just what many have craved, keyboard-sized mobility Ogasawara: To exchange email, view online photos or videos, or check something online, many people just reach for their mobile phone. But that certainly doesn’t make ultraportables any less useful. It’s easy to imagine where they make sense. Relaxing in your living room, updating a blog with a lot of text, for example. You can’t easily jot down notes on a mobile phone, and a full-sized notebook would be overkill. That’s when the convenience of ultraportables is very tempting. No other tool comes close, in these situations. Wireless networks and blogs are more popular than ever, in fact. It would be no fair if techies had all the fun with ultraportables. Subnotebooks can be much more than outdoor gear for tech enthusiasts. What this category needs is something like everyday stationery anyone can just reach for to do a little writing. That’s the thinking behind the VAIO P Series, a project born from this necessity. With this as a priority of ours, we reviewed a range of input devices and looked into quite a few ways people can enter text. We felt out the possibilities ourselves, so to speak, by making many 3D models at actual size and trying them out. The VAIO P Series keyboard represents a solid decision that proved its worth through this in-depth process. It’s not a cheap component by any means. And that’s how we arrived at the concept of a keyboard-sized unit that offers the great mobility of an ultraportable. A pure expression of the concept Takuma: Finding a usable depth, narrow enough to pick up one-handed, was something I spent time on in product design. If it wasn’t this size, each time you picked it up to take with you, you’d have to reposition it to hold it securely. This shape eliminates the hassle. Casually lift it from a table, without any effort, just as you would pick up a wallet or organizer—that was a goal. You’d be surprised how many 3D models we made studying the size. Keeping screen size, battery and hard disk capacity, and other aspects of usability in mind, we picked up each one during testing as we narrowed down the perfect size. The keyboard itself features isolated keys. It’s a traditional format for Sony, introduced in notebooks years ago, and it helps express a sense of originality and distinctive VAIO styling. Women with long nails will appreciate how this kind of keyboard prevents the discomfort of your nails getting caught between keys. It’s also nicer to touch the tip of the stick pointer, which is subtly knurled. This makes the pointer durable, easier to keep clean, and more comfortable as a finger rest. Look at the body, without the screen, and it seems as if we cut the keyboard out of a regular VAIO notebook. Imagine carrying just a keyboard with you. That’s the concept, and I think the VAIO P Series is the purest expression of it. A showcase of refined aesthetics Takuma: Aesthetically, we wanted to set a new standard in design for ultraportables. It’s minimalistic design, ultimately natural and backed by decisions that seem inevitable for such a tool. In this respect, it’s like a fine fountain pen. The seamless, smooth top cover seemed fitting. But at the same time, we had to combine different materials: a magnesium alloy to ensure durability and plastic surfaces for better wireless LAN reception. This called for difficult fabrication, combining two materials with different manufacturing properties. On the bottom cover as well, we took care to conceal screws and vents. It’s something already done on mobile phones, so there was no excuse not to try it on computers. Notice when you pick up the product yourself that we’ve also moved stickers of authenticity out of the way. You know, those stickers ensuring you it’s a genuine version of the operating system or processor. We’re usually under considerable pressure to put these in a prominent position. But in the VAIO P Series, they’re in the battery compartment, which is essentially out of sight. From any angle, the VAIO P Series looks perfectly natural. Nothing sticks out, grabbing your attention. But behind the scenes, it took a lot of effort to achieve this—extra care by our designers and engineers, persistent negotiation with business partners, and so on. Unearthing colors that excite discerning consumers Akita: Potential owners of VAIO P Series models probably recognize beauty and know a good thing when they see it. They value the subtle gleam of authenticity, something essential that took time to create. With this in mind, I found inspiration for the body colors in ores and valuable minerals. White, red, green, and black (the last from Sony Style). That’s the four-color palette we used for the VAIO P Series. Each is simple, but far from bland. Why do valuable minerals capture and hold our attention? The coloring, depth, and luster changes subtly with the light or viewing angle. This play of colors inspired the expressive tones of the VAIO P Series, which reveal a variety of appearances and will earn a place in their owners’ hearts. All surfaces look presentable, and it seems as solid as an ingot. For these design qualities, we managed to create glossy surfaces both in front and back. That was much easier said than done. The VAIO P Series top cover is made of different materials than the bottom cover. Different materials call for different coatings and manufacturing processes, and we must work with different business partners. It’s no easy task to have matching colors. Again and again, we checked the prototypes and adjusted the hues. Even apparently trivial tasks took a lot of time and effort. After this, we coordinated the colors of the bezel and stick pointer with the body color. These little details show our regard for VAIO owners. As you see the VAIO P Series in various lighting conditions, I know you’ll appreciate it. Years of ideas launched in a single product Iriya: In this project, we also customized the desktop wallpaper to match the body colors. The version for a particular body color comes preinstalled. They’re stylish and feel more substantial than regular VAIO wallpaper. The decision flies in the face of convention, though. Manufacturers usually install the same wallpaper to streamline production, and brighter graphics tend to look better in stores. But we were encouraged by the strength of the product itself and our unspoken agreement about our customers’ eye for beauty. The VAIO P Series is also special because it introduces many ideas we have been studying for years. One example is side-by-side windows. To view two open windows at the same time, just press a dedicated button to tile them on the left and right. The screen is 8 inches wide but its high resolution (1680

Well, first off, I have to give Flixmedia serious props for this they’ve created video showing off the Sony Touchscreen NWZ-X1000/NWZ-X1050/NWZ-X1051/NWZ-X1060/NWZ-X1061 Walkman. Sorry to use so many model numbers, but it is really known by all of these aliases - a Google search can confirm it. Anyway, this gorgeous OLED dynamo has one more thing up it’s sleeve: the interface is like butter, and scrolling seems almost as flawless as the iPhone/iTouch. Album covers flow almost in a 3D fashion and then you scroll overhead - you’ll see what I mean at 0:38. The FM scrolling looks really fast as the finger flicks through the stations - too bad they aren’t opening this thing for games and applications. What are you thinking Sony? Anyway, check this video out. Want one? Also, props to Sony for showing off what appears to be a simple uploading solution, one that could really win over consumers if they get that this thing is truly easy with drag n’ drop AND can mesh with iTunes. p.s. We also discovered today that there might be a red touchscreen Walkman as well. Information courtesy of anythingbutipod. View the full article

Remember that teaser (see pic above) Sony spread around the world before unveiling VAIO P? Fun times! Folks always wonder, will there be a new, refreshed line of their favorite product and of course we also know that Sony loves to present their VAIOs in series (VAIO AW100 series, and so forth - are easy to predict that there will be 200 series with updated specs), however sometimes Sony picks a model number out of a blue and makes us wonder will there be a life beyond? Let’s take VAIO X505 for example - the well known razor thin, amazingly engineered VAIO that captured many hearts back in 2004. VAIO X505 has stayed as one of a kind, special edition notebook with no other X series to replace it (though trust me Sony will be showing off something thin and cool in the near future to get your attention all over again). Anyways, sorry to digress, but back to VAIO P story. In the US VAIO P started with 500 series

The NWZ-X1000/NWZ-X1050/NWZ-X1051/NWZ-X1060/NWZ-X1061 is one of the most anticipated Walkman-branded devices to be released in known memory. The monolithic black music player boasts incredible features (OLED, Noise Cancelling, etc) and a cool black paint job. However, we are seeing something in the NWZ-X1000 FCC reports that makes us wonder - is it only coming in black? There are two requests for label color in the FCC ID *.pdf file for black and red. We’ve seen similar requests before with other Sony FCC filings, which accurately predicted available color variations for a given product, such as the black and gold Vaio TT. If you have any additional information for this story, feel free to comment. This information is a Sony Insider exclusive, brought to you here first. View the full article

Tronic Studio 3HD theatrical trailer-style spot, “Emerge,” plays across one the world’s biggest hi-definition (25×80-foot, 4mm) LED screens in the Comcast Center, in Philadelphia, to herald the launch of the retail marketing partnership between Sony Electronics and Comcast Labs. The Tronic spot co-brands Comcast Cable and Sony Electronics as they inaugurate their partnership in a 3,400-square-foot retail experience, which opened last week in the lower-level concourse of Comcast’s downtown Philadelphia headquarters. Tronic also produced three HD product spots, which play across numerous screens in the retail showcase, to explain the perfect marriage of Sony hardware and Comcast cable, phone and internet services. For Tronic, the project marks a continuation of its move into OOH, high-end HD retail content. “The challenge was to link two distinct companies together in a coherent voice,” said Vivian Rosenthal, co-founder and art director for Tronic Studios, whose NY City-based animation studio has produced several HD out-of-home videos, including two recent spots for the Sony Style stores. “The Sony Comcast co-branding spot has the feeling of a trailer for a feature film that brings the brands together in an uplifting, aspirational way that captures one’s imagination and hits at the converging technologies they offer.” “The story is a highly abstract metaphor that employs flying CG life forms, which, in a visually engaging manner, presents a simplified representation of converging technology,” said Jesse Seppi, Tronic Studio’s creative director. “The creative concept was set high in the atmosphere above a fluffy cloud layer, where futuristic generators pump out hundreds of floating pods. The pods represent emergent technological forms (i.e. Sony), which intermix with the fluid, ephemeral structure of the clouds (symbolizing Comcast Media).” An intelligent force residing in the clouds projects cable-like tendrils that inject consciousness into the pods, transforming them with intelligent purpose. The camera follows as they sail through the atmosphere demonstrating a purposeful downward movement. Gaining color as they fly, the viewer follows a flock of pods as they spread their mechanical wings, glide closer together and finally form the end-tag for the new Sony Comcast partnership. View the full article

This is Stan's pictorial. My forum account just does RSS posting from the site.

I’ve come across one of the best organized archives of old Sony stereo equipment that also has interesting items related to the company - the website is called The Vintage Knob. TVK has some amazing pictures, including those of Sony’s past. The picture above, taken in 1946, is of the first few engineers in the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo factory - Sony’s previous company name. From TVK - “The four-hundred and eighty-three Sony employees. Sony then still was Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita are fronting. Morita is holding a TR radio - and a bit of an attitude. Iwama, Sony’s original engineer with Ibuka, with clear overalls, is just behind Morita.” Kazuo Iwama was a physicist at the Earthquake Research Institute of Tokyo University before he joining Akio Morita, Masaru Ibuka and Akira Higuchi in June 1946 as part of Totsuko. Iwama became Morita’s brother-in-law and celebrated his wedding ceremony soon after Totsuko was established, with Ibuka acting as the “Nakodo” or intermediary. His efforts were particularly significant in Sony’s commercial development of transistor technology. At the height of his career, he served as Sony’s president from 1976 until his death in 1982. From TVK - “Masaru Ibuka, Sony’s founder, checking a portable TVs production line, circa 1963.” In 1946 Ibuka and Akio Morita co-founded Sony Corporation, originally named Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (prior to 1958). Ibuka was instrumental in securing the licensing of transistor technology to Sony from Bell Labs in the 1950s, thus making Sony one of the first companies to apply transistor technology to non-military uses. Ibuka served as president of Sony from 1950 to 1971, and then served as chairman of Sony between 1971 and 1976. Ibuka left Sony in 1976, but maintained close ties as an advisor until his death in 1997 of a heart failure. View the full article

With Sony’s new DSC-HX1 Cyber-shot camera, capturing wide landscapes, church spires or skyscrapers is as easy as “press and sweep.” Sweep panorama mode lets you reach beyond the traditional wide-angle lens and capture breathtaking shots. With wide and ultra-wide settings and horizontal or vertical directions, sweep panorama mode can take up to 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical shots. Here are two pictures taken by Sony Japan that show off this cool technology - please click on the images for full size. Using the fast-speed Exmor CMOS sensor, the camera continuously shoots full-resolution images at a high speed. Using the BIONZ imaging processor, it automatically stitches the pictures together to create one stunning panoramic photo. The maximum resolution is 7152 x 1080 (ultra wide horizontal). View the full article

Here’s some pictures of Bertelsmann Chief Executive Hartmut Ostrowski, speaking in annual balance press conference in Berlin, Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Media group Bertelsmann AG, whose properties range from television channels to magazines and book publishers, said Tuesday that its 2008 profit fell by a third after it shed its North American book club and sold off its stake in the former Sony BMG music company. Sony BMG is now known as Sony Music Entertainment. Profit and sales will drop this year and the degree will depend on the “intensity and duration of the economic downturn,” Chief Executive Officer Hartmut Ostrowski said in Berlin today. Last year, net income fell 34 percent to 142 million euros ($193 million) while sales adjusted for disposals were little changed at 16.12 billion euros, the Guetersloh, Germany-based company said today. To reduce costs, the management board members decided to forgo their 2009 bonus payments, Ostrowski said, adding that this means a 50 percent pay cut for most of them. View the full article

Well, the heart-shaped, butterfly Walkman has arrived and here are some shots for you all to check out while it is charging. Packaging was made of one of those hard plastic materials, I thought Sony did away with those? Walkman comes with pre-loaded software Content Transfer - quick and user friendly utility I mentioned previously here, also the Manual is embedded within its memory as well. 12 tracks of MP3 are also loaded to get you going. PicView Gallery: Some Zapping Info: This is what you get: Walkman, USB Stand, extra rubber thingies for your headphones (different sizes), Protective Cover, Documents. View the full article

CNET Australia has written that you bloody blokes will be getting your mitts on a shiny new XEL-1 in April, eh? Heh, sorry. But you will, and it will cost between AU$6,000 and AU$8,000. Now that’s a bit of scratch for anyone, especially a poor sap like me in America. I will say though that it is certainly the most beautiful television in the world, especially if you’ve seen the 20+ inchers they show off at trade shows. The eleven inch XEL-1 is hard to find practical, but, is still a beautiful image. At CES they really popped out at you, it was impossible not to watch them. I would assume that watching HD (blu-ray, whatever) on OLED would feel better than a LCD HD experience. If you have any doubts, look how freaking clear it is when you take a picture of it. Even videotaping it was silkly smooth as evidenced by our CES videos. This thing oozes quality that you cannot deny despite the small screen, plus it is super anorexic in design. Sony’s OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV, the XEL-1, is truly the next big thing in television technology. It boasts a 3 millimeter thin panel and offers unparalleled picture quality with amazing contrast, outstanding brightness, exceptional color reproduction, and a rapid response time. It delivers astounding performance in all the key picture quality categories. OLED technology can completely turn off pixels when reproducing black, resulting in more outstanding dark scene detail and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. OLED also creates unmatched color expression and detail and enables rapid response times for smooth and natural reproduction of fast moving images like those found in sports and action movies. The XEL-1 features the latest connectivity options including two HDMI™ inputs, a digital tuner, and a Memory Stick

Estadio Monumental “U”, officially Estadio Monumental (Monumental Stadium), is a football stadium in Lima, Peru, home ground of the football club Universitario de Deportes and was designed by the Uruguayan architect Walter Lavalleja Sarri

Born in Miyazaki, 1932, Yasuo Kuroki joined Sony in 1960, managing domestic and then international advertising. His design efforts with two others at the time led to the familiar Sony logo. The Ginza Sony Building and other showrooms around the world also bear his creative signature. After heading advertising, product planning, and the Creative Center, he was appointed director in 1988. Planning and development projects to his credit include Profeel and Walkman, as well as Jumbotron at the Tsukuba Expo. He was director of the Kuroki Office and the Design Center of Toyama, until his death on July 12, 2007, but his contributions to Sony design will always be remembered. Here is an exclusive interview with Yasuo Kuroki via Sony Design, only a few months before his death: Looking for the essence of Sony, “like no other” I was watching TV the other day, and when they switched to footage from overseas, I caught a glimpse of a Sony product in a corner of the scene. It was the BRAVIA “X Series” / “XBR Series”. Even if we can’t see the manufacturer or brand logo, it’s easy to know something is a Sony product. In a flash, it conveys something distinctively “Sony.” There’s a definite product identity, and that’s what I would call Sony design. But we couldn’t break this essence down to a set of rules. It’s truly hard to create, maintain, and nurture a sense of style that can’t be spelled out. And I think this highlights the importance of design management, which is exactly what I focused on at Sony. It seemed as if we were always saying at design meetings, “Hey, doesn’t this look like that other company’s?” or “I think I’ve seen this somewhere.” Those designs were obviously scrapped. Even if we were on the verge of production when a competitor beat us to market with a similar product, we accepted the circumstances and stopped. This kind of dedication, over and over, gradually created something uniquely “Sony,” an identity. Top Sony executives, eagerly visiting the design department I’ve contributed to many products, including Walkman, Profeel and Jumbotron, but others were actually involved in the design. It would be more accurate to say I set the scene for their work and supported them. As I recall, the environment for design at Sony was fundamentally different, starting with how our office was organized. Masaru Ibuka (then honorary chairman of Sony) and Akio Morita (then chairman) worked on the seventh floor, and I joined Norio Ohga (then president) on the sixth. Directly below us was design. Not finance. Not engineering. Designers were the group closest to the top. It was enough to prompt some journalist to say that what inspired one interesting Sony product after another was the fact that it wasn’t engineers or planners who were at the heart of the company, it was designers. Even then, Sony was introducing about 600 new products a year, including components. It would have been unreasonable to expect the top management to have a firm grasp of everything, to know how each product reflected Sony design. Instead, we selected strategic products and offered opportunities for the developers to give presentations to top management. But even then, the executives found themselves on the design floor. Ordinarily, they would have been approached in the boardroom, but I was always inviting the executives down. Products can’t move by themselves, but Ibuka and Morita had serviceable legs, I said. And I got a thorough scolding from the old guard, but these two gladly came down for a look. After all, it must be much more enjoyable to see things in person than to endure a board meeting. What Ibuka and Morita were shown were design mock-ups. But these were not rough models; they were quite attractive. They served as our ultimate goal, and we combined the talents of designers and engineers to make it happen. In this approach to product development, I think Sony was unique among Japanese manufacturers at the time. Management that makes a difference in design Our forum for executive approval of design mock-ups was the presentation of what we called “creative reports,” on at least one product a month—as many as 15 during peak periods. I think these “creative reports” worked very well in promoting Sony’s basic product development system, and they are still held to this day. These mock-ups enable frequent discussions between designers and engineers to work out the design details, as they consider what devices can be incorporated for a particular shape or what materials can be used for a desired finish. As for the engineers, they’re probably more inspired with ideas and can imagine possibilities better by looking at an attractive mock-up than a flat sketch. Through this process, we overcame conflicting factors in design, engineering, and production and achieved consistent product development. This is one way to set the scene and manage product development. To put it differently, even if excellent designers make great strides working on their own, it may not ensure good design or foster a definite product identity. Setting design free from the boundaries of particular fields or career specializations What was Sony like in my day? Well, we innovated and improvised here and there to create an open forum for communication. One thing I tried was a “trio system.” We formed development teams of three designers without regard for job title, experience, or other factors for bias. One individual designed, and the other two observed objectively and offered their opinions. The design that was refined through their effort was then further studied by a product group. And who would check the final proposal they came up with? Ordinarily, that would have been my role, but I told them to show it to the senior general manager first, who would have ultimate responsibility over it, and see about the potential of turning it into a product. If we didn’t, the designers might try to run with their idea without considering it carefully enough. These approaches to development—creative reports and the trio system—strengthened our ability to consider design from many angles, beyond the boundaries of particular technical fields or career specializations. They also helped create a corporate culture where people felt free to share opinions. Morita always liked to say that silence meant cowardice. The more we talk about things, the more likely we will expose any shortcomings. But it’s cowardly not to speak out. He used to say that people surely have an opinion, so they should speak their mind without hiding anything. He even went as far as to say that a unanimous decision without comment is hardly unanimous. Free and lively discussion was one thing that distinguished Sony, and I simply took advantage of it to do what I felt we should do. Looking at Sony’s uniqueness Looking back, I myself also enjoyed freedom in managing designers, thanks to the truly impressive directors at the time. Free and open-minded people led the way, as we saw in Akio Morita, the founder of Sony. It’s amazing to realize how one’s academic background meant little to him and how he established in-house recruitment systems. That was more than 40 years ago. It was Sony that took the initiative in introducing dedicated merchandisers to manage goods from production to sale. Back then, Japanese manufacturers held meetings between production and sales as a matter of course, but these departments inevitably want different things. One side says, “Look at the great products we’ve created—get to work and sell them.” The other replies “Make them more cheaply, and faster.” That kind of interchange. Instead, I proposed to Morita that if we left sales and production in the hands of capable people, our discussions could be more positive. That’s when we recruited merchandisers in-house. We sought 10 people at the time and got 150 applicants. Morita praised this merchandiser system. He was so excited about it that he ended up spending an hour talking to just these 10 people. I knew no other manufacturer as motivated as Sony to make the most of their people. Raising or razing the walls of tradition: people have the power to do both Sony introduced the merchandiser system early on, and it yielded surprisingly good results. Not only did it ease conflicts between production and sales, it was also effective in leveling disparities among business departments in charge of different products. It helped that merchandisers in various departments gathered where I worked to share information. They were eager to share news about the latest devices or products. So instead of having to visit each business department, I could make announcements or provide guidance whenever the merchandisers were all together. Very convenient. If I noticed that some designer was using a mechanical switch in a camcorder mock-up, I could mention that another department had expertise in electronic switches, for example. Some people say that as companies grow, everyone becomes more isolated and we don’t know what’s on each other’s minds. Personally, I disagree. We had the means to prevent this in place during my time at Sony, and in general, it’s just an issue for management to address. When I was managing merchandisers at Sony, everyone was willing to hear other opinions. Even if we were from a different business department, we were never treated like laymen. I mean, I once asked if we could create a matchbox-sized videotape, and people responded by actually making the tape and a compatible camcorder, although it was never commercialized. It was exactly because this was our corporate culture that Sony could introduce the Walkman. Initially, some people opposed turning it into a product, which was perfectly understandable; there wasn’t even a word to describe these players yet. But I think it’s critical to have the kind of corporate culture that values divergent thinking—even crazy or apparently irrational thinking, sometimes. The mission of Sony design: translating product identity directly into corporate identity When I was at Sony, there were already design samples for almost all products imaginable. For fans, refrigerators, cars, and most other commodities, a design prototype had already been developed by some manufacturer overseas. The sole exception was consumer electronics. Sony pioneered transistor radios, CD players, and other products in this category. We therefore had nowhere to look for design clues. So, trying to find our way with no clear answers in sight, we concentrated as products gradually took shape and we created design prototypes. In this respect, Sony remains an innovative company, proud of this heritage and wiser for the experience. Although it’s hard to express, I think that’s linked to what makes Sony unique, to me. I’d like to see Sony continue pursuing what makes Sony “like no other” through products that symbolize the Sony philosophy and approach to product development. The product identity that this fosters will surely translate directly into Sony’s corporate identity. Sony in the future Looking ahead, I think Sony will need to take a more ecological approach to product development, unlike the 20th-century mass production, mass consumption model of my day. And don’t misunderstand me, but I think consumers should be a little less foolish, too. Maybe it’s human nature to want products that are more affordable, even if they’re worse for the environment. That’s why self-respecting manufacturers must not give them the chance. As Ibuka said, we must educate the market consumer. I know how difficult this is. But ultimately, taking the initiative will increase Sony corporate brand value, I’m sure. Sony excels at creating superb products that are compact, and this is essentially an eco-friendly practice because fewer resources are used. Although this may violate some goals of universal design, it seems acceptable as long as consumers are informed in promotional material. I also think this kind of honesty will be increasingly important. View the full article

Cellular handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB today said it expects to post a loss in the range of 340-390 million euro in the first quarter of this year, due to continued decline in sales. The company has estimated a net loss before taxes in the range of 340-390 million euro, excluding restructuring charges between 10 million and 20 million euro, Sony Ericsson said in a statement. “..Net sales and net income before taxes in the first quarter of 2009 continue to be negatively affected by weak consumer demand as well as de-stocking in the retail and distribution channels,” the statement added. Besides, Sony Ericsson plans to ship about 14 million phones during the first quarter of 2009 with an estimated average selling price of 120 euro. The company is due to announce its first quarter result on April 17. Sony Ericsson had reported a net loss of 187 million euro in the fourth quarter of last year, against a net income of 373 million euro in the corresponding year-ago period. Earlier in January, telecommunications firm Ericsson AB had said it would slash about 5,000 jobs as part of its cost cutting initiatives, while it had reported a substantial fall in net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008. Picture courtesy of phohe from flickr. View the full article

Sony Ericsson announced that Najmi Jarwala, President of Sony Ericsson USA and Head of Region North America (comprising the US and Canada markets), has chosen to leave the company at the end of March to pursue other career opportunities. Commenting on today’s announcement, Dick Komiyama, President of Sony Ericsson, said, “Under Najmi’s leadership we have redefined our North American strategy, built operational excellence and strengthened our total presence considerably in this very important market. We are sad to see him leave Sony Ericsson after more than three successful years, but at the same time we wish him all the best for his future.” “It has been an incredibly rewarding time for me and we have achieved a lot together in North America,” said Najmi Jarwala. “We have introduced an increasing number of new products, grown market share, built operator relationships and, perhaps most importantly, have laid the foundation for North America to play a key role in the long term growth and success of Sony Ericsson. I have been privileged to have led a team of passionate, creative and innovative people at Sony Ericsson and I wish them every success,” he added. A separate announcement regarding Najmi’s successor in his dual role will be made in due course. In the interim, and effective April 1st, Anders Runevad, Executive Vice President of Sony Ericsson and Head of Global Sales & Marketing, will take on the added responsibilities of President of Sony Ericsson USA and Head of Region North America. View the full article