Sony Reader Taps Google's Public Domain Books

Sony Corp is making available public domain books from Google to users of its electronic book reader, Sony said on Wednesday, vastly increasing the amount of available content on the device.

In the latest round of a budding digital book battle with Amazon.com Inc, Sony said that more than a half a million classic titles will be free to users of the Reader, which allows consumers to read books and newspapers on a hand-held device. That will boost the available titles in Sony's eBook Store to more than 600,000, Sony said.
Sony sells two versions of its Reader, which competes directly with Amazon's Kindle. Kindle users can access over 245,000 titles plus newspapers, magazines and blogs. Whereas Amazon touts its relationship with publishers and access to a wide range of best-selling titles - which generally cost $9.99 - as a selling-point for the Kindle, Google has sought to make its collection of public domain books widely available. Public domain books, whether Jane Austin's "Persuasion" or Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", are no longer protected by copyright. Last month, Google announced it was making the collection easily accessible to mobile devices such as the iPhone, and Amazon has said a similar move was afoot at the company. Sony Reader users will be able to read the Google books on their devices, or download a PDF file to read on a computer. The books are already accessible over the Internet at http://www.books.google.com.

Sony Launches Noise-cancelling Headphones

Sony has launched MDR-NC7 noise canceling headphones that feature a foldable and swivel design.

Claiming a battery life of approximately 50 hours, the haedphones have a dual-use capability that gives users the option to listen to music with or without the noise cancellation feature. The 30mm driver (Neodymium magnet), and an on/off switch for noise cancelling will allow someone to use the headphones even if the battery runs dry.
The headphones weigh approximately 134g (including AAA battery) and work on a 30 - 20,000Hz range with a maximum output of 100mW and a sensitivity of 102dB/mW while it is switched on and 100dB/mW in switch off mode. A plug adaptor is also supplied to connect directly to stereo or dual jack of in-flight music services.

Priced at Rs. 4,490, the Sony MDR-NC7 will be available at Sony owned stores, select Sony authorized dealers, as well as national retail partners across the country.

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Sony Ericsson unveils world's first 12MP phone

Sony Ericsson jumped the gun on its competition at Mobile World Congress this year by announcing the world's first 12MP cameraphone, as well as a new Entertainment Unlimited service.

The Idou, which is currently only a concept but will launch in the second half of 2009 features a 12.1MP sensor, a large 3.5-inch touchscreen with 'intuitive touch features' according to Sony Ericsson and a 16:9 widescreen screen ratio.

The Idou will also launch a new interface for Sony Ericsson, based on the work from the Symbian Foundation, so all those who have loved SE's interface for all these years will possibly weep (though the rest of us will cheer).

United we stand

Sony Ericsson also unveiled Entertainment Unlimited, which it said will be "Uniting best in class entertainment experiences into one offering such as the Walkman music experience, the Cyber-shot imaging experience, Java gaming and messaging integrated with services and applications."

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Sony Releases New Range of Bass Heavy Headphones

Sony has unleashed a new range of headphones, comprising of five new models. These are designed for listeners who like their bass heavy. The Sony XB Series - the XB standing for “extra bass” - consists of three circumaural style headphones and two in-ear style, with brushed metal accents and exclusive Bass drivers.

The five-model XB range is headed by the closed-type MDR-XB700, with extra-large 50mm dome-type drivers, “king sized” synthetic leather ear cushions and an extra-wide headband to spread out weight. The MDR-XB700, MDR-XB500, MDR-XB300 are wide headband headphones, while the MDR-XB40EX and MDR-XB20EX are in-ear headphones. These latter in-ear models claim to deliver good bass due to ‘direct vibe’ acoustic design that minimizes sound spillage. The vertical driver orientation (with MDR-XB40EX only) claims to deliver extended bass without compromising listening comfort.
The Sony XB Series headphones will go on sale from March 2009. Sony is yet to reveal pricing for the range.

Sony Vaio P VGN-P15G

The Vaio P is not a netbook—or so Sony insists you believe. The company has gone to great pains to stress exactly how and why this new ultraportable is a premium “pocket style PC”, and not just one of the dozen or more models of low-powered low-cost netbooks that every other major computer manufacturer has introduced in the past year, most of which look practically the same.

The Vaio P certainly doesn’t look anything like the raft of dinky plastic pastel-colored devices we’ve seen so far. The emphasis here is clearly on aesthetics and portability, with a super-slim rectangular design and high-quality glossy paint finish, this is one very flauntable computer.

Look and Feel
The unique shape and construction allow you to slip a Vaio P into pretty much any coat or trouser pocket. It’s easy to imagine carrying a Vaio P around anywhere, since it will also fit quite unobtrusively in a handbag or briefcase. It’s less than 2 cm thin, and only slightly wider and deeper than a standard business envelope.

Externally, apart from the glossy paint, you’ll notice the perfectly rounded corners and smooth lines. Even the underside is free of stickers and labels, and not a single screw is visible. Thankfully, the battery is removable. Around the edges you’ll find the power and Wi-Fi switches, two USB ports, an earphones socket, a custom port for expansion, and one slot each for SDHC and Memory Stick

 

cards—pretty limiting, but manageable.

Opening the lid reveals the biggest advantage of the rectangular design—a large, roomy keyboard. The keys are well placed and spaced, except for the miniscule right [Shift] key that’s quite easy to miss and the cramped arrow key cluster. Unfortunately, they’re a bit too mushy and shallow to type on, and since there’s no room for a wrist rest, the lower lip where the cursor buttons sit slightly obstructs the entire lower row.

The trackpoint device instead of a regular touchpad will take some getting used to, but it’s well positioned and you can tap it lightly to register a click. Above the keyboard lie two slots for the speakers, which quite frankly, are tinny and awful. A mic is embedded in the lower left corner, to go with the integrated VGA webcam.

And at last, we come to the screen. Eight inches is pretty normal for a netbook-class device, but this one throws all the usual rules of size and proportion right out the window, with a crazy resolution of 1600 x 768—over twice as wide as it is tall. That kind of horizontal resolution is greater than most 19-inch desktop monitors! Sure, you can claim the device plays HD video at native resolution, but the tiny screen size means all those pixels are crammed into almost no space at all. Icons and buttons are miniscule, and even regular text on screen is impossibly tiny.

Even worse, a huge portion of the screen is wasted on empty horizontal toolbars and menu bars when windows are maximized. Don’t even try using any Microsoft Office 2007 programs here—we found ourselves crouching over the Vaio P while using it just to read a simple Web page, leaning forward and straining our eyes uncomfortably to make out what was what. This effectively rules out using it for serious work for any extended period of time.

Sony Launches Dust-Proof Optical Drive Only for India

Sony has introduced the AD-7220S-ID - a dust-proof drive designed especially for India. Off late there have been reports suggesting that dust is the biggest enemy of optical drive performance. In order to overcome this limitation, Sony has introduced the AD-7220S-ID with 'dust-proof mechanism' running at 22x speed. The AD-7220S-ID implements 6 sponges on the inside of bottom cover, bezel and PWB. These sponges help absorb the dust resulting in 20% longer product life.

The AD-7220S-ID with ‘Dust proof technology’ offers maximum 22x DVD Read/Write, 48x CD Read/Write, Maximum 12x DVD-RAM Write speeds and is available in SATA format. It also features a vibration reduction system, efficient heat dissipation, buffer under run protection, optimized writing quality by automatically adjusting the writing strategy, and automatic adjustment of CD-DA/VCD/DVD data extraction for smooth reading.
Yoshiaki Katsube, General Manager for Computer Peripherals

 

Marketing Division at Applications & Devices Marketing (Singapore) reiterated, “Based on feedback from our Sony Authorised Partners (SAP), dust is the main limiting factor in India and we worked closely with our design department to have a product specially for India that helps resolve this issue. The hard work of our designers and production team has resulted in this India- specific model. I am pleased to announce that this special dust-proof DVD-RW is now available for sale in India”.
It is compatible with DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM (mode 1), CD-ROM/XA (mode 2, form 1 and form 2), Photo CD, CD Extra, CD-TEXT, CD-I, VIDEO CD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD-DA, Enhance CD, UDF (fixed/variable Packet mode), DVD-Audio.
Other technical specifications include Buffer memory capacity of 2 MB, Access Time of DVD is 160ms, CD is 140ms and a weight of 600g.
The AD-7220S-ID is available through Rashi Peripherals at an estimated retail price of Rs. 1300 and comes with a 1 year warranty.

Final Fantasy VII PS3 Set To Boost Japanese Sales Massively

Earlier this week it was announced that there would be a special edition Playstation 3 coming out in conjunction with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray. The package features a PS3, Advent Children Complete and the Final Fantasy XIII demo.
Since it went on sale on the Japanese Amazon, it's jumped up to #2 on the "Best Sellers" list, with Advent Children Complete holding the #1 spot. It's jumped straight in ahead of Dragon Quest IX, which is coming out in a couple of months for the Wii, so that should give an indication as tothe popularity of this item.
Due to the limited availability, Amazon are only going to allow customers to pre-order the item at specific times. It's unsure if they will inform people beforehand, or if consumers will just have to get lucky when looking at the page. For the moment though, it's not possible to pre-order the bundle from Amazon, and they have not announced the frequency of their sales windows, or how long the windows will stay open for.
One thing is for sure though, this could seriously shift a lot of systems for Sony. Looking at how successful the Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Dissidia: Final Fantasy special edition PSPs were can give some indication as to the potential effect this could have long-term for the PS3 as well. This, combined with the scheduled PS3 releases in Q1/Q2 could definitely kick-start the PS3 in Japan.

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Sony launches ‘purse-sized’ laptop

Tech-savvy girls won’t have to carry the load of laptop bags anymore, for Sony has launched an ultra-portable "netbook" computer that will fit in any aspiring career woman's purse.

The Vaio P boasts most features found on a laptop, from a webcam and GPS to a built-in 3G modem, allowing users to go online by inserting a mobile phone sim card.

The new netbook is aimed at people who want to surf the Internet, edit documents and check their emails on the go.

In fact, its designers have claimed that it is the lightest eight-inch netbook in the world.

They said it does everything that equivalent models of bigger sizes would do.

And the reviewers said that its keyboard, unlike many other small laptops, is easy to use.

While a basic model is available at 849 pounds, a faster-operating netbook with more memory will cost 1,370 pounds.

However, Joshua Topolsky from the technology website Engadget is not quite sure if many consumers will pay the asking price.

"It simply costs more than other options. A cost which Sony want users to ''aspire'' to pay. There are plenty of viable, less expensive options,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying.

Sony Ericsson W595 review and price

The W595 is a simple upgrade to some of Sony Ericsson’s other Walkman handsets. In fact you might say it’s the same as an earlier model the W890, only in a different form factor. The Specs are almost identical with a few minor distinctions. Take a look.
Form Factor
I’m not crazy about the color of the handset I got in for testing. The glossy red lines and white body give it a very distinctive girly feel. But thankfully, if you’re of the same opinion, the handset is also available in Jungle Grey, Lava Black, Active Blue, and Peachy Pink aside from this Cosmopolitan White. The design is sleek and slender with a smooth slider mechanism. The W595 is equipped with a 2.2-inch TFT LCD display with a light sensor (that’s quite erratic) and a 240 x 320 pixel 256K color resolution. The navigation system and keys are a little too close together on the same level. This is a bit of an issue as you’ll sometimes end up hitting the wrong key if you have pudgy fingers like me. I also believe that the keypad could have been a bit larger although I have no problem with the design.

Once again Sony has gone with their proprietary USB/Charging/handsfree port that will allow you to use the handset for one function at a time. It’s a good thing that the handset charges through USB in this case. There’s no dedicated camera key for the 3.2 megapixel camera, just a Walkman button for shake control. If you’re under the impression that the same key will activate the audio player you’d be wrong. I even held it for few seconds and it did nothing. A set of volume/zoom keys are located on the same side.

The W595 is a decent looking handset, and I can only say that because I have seen the other colors, but one of the biggest pains is that it has no hot swap for the M2 card (2GB included) and removing the rear panel for ANY reason is not something I recommend as it has the highest potential for the plastic clasps to break. It’s tough enough to break a nail. I think this is what SE hopes will be your final mobile that you’ll never ever want to change. The panel is so tightly wedged in that it’s a deterrent for anyone who could ever have the inclination of removing the battery for one reason or another.

Features and Performance
Interface
There’s absolutely nothing new with the interface. It’s still quite vibrant, colorful and animated as any of the other SE handsets. So I can say, in compassion, it’s not slow but it’s not fast either. One of the biggest problems was, as I mentioned earlier, the very erratic light sensor. It seemed like all the ambient light surrounding our world was going a little nuts and hence caused the display to constantly become brighter and dimmer alternatively. Although the handset has an accelerometer, it’ll only function for web pages and the media menu. That means you’ll be constantly turning the handset one way or another for viewing.

 

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CES 2009: Sony’s VAIO ‘pocketbook’, ‘Webbie’ HD camcorder, OLED prototypes [day 2]

Sony made their grand debut just prior to Steve Ballmer’s keynote, and boy, they know how to put on a show. Here’s what’s notable (I’ll leave the many Bravia announcements to Home Theater blogger Sean Portnoy, who was in attendance with me and will post tonight).

VAIO P-Series Lifestyle PC

About the size of a woman’s wallet (or a man’s wallet for a suit), this 1.4 lb. Netbook-that-resembles-a-wallet (the P is for Passport) was the biggest announcement. It supports integrated WAN, LAN (incl. Verizon 3G) and Bluetooth, and packs GPS that doesn’t need the Internet (in the U.S. and Canada). The screen is a high-res (1600×768), 8-inch ultrawide LCD intended for viewing entire web pages on one screen, eliminating horizontal scrolling. Oh, and it comes loaded with Windows Vista.

It comes in five colors (red, green, white and two shades of black) and will retail for $900. It’s available now for pre-order and will be at select retailers next month.

Digital Photo Frames

Two new models: First, the 10-inch DPF-X1000, which is 800×480 SVGA LCD (15:9 aspect ratio) and has 2GB internal memory, HDMI output, an alarm clock, and auto dimmer, white balance correction, and is Bluetooth ready. Second, the 10-inchDPF-V100, which includes all the previous stats but has 1GB of internal memory.

Both will be available in March, for $300 and $250, respectively.

HDR-XR520V 240 GB HD HDD Handycam camcorder

The barnburner: Full 1920×1080 HD video and 12 megapixel still image capability. Features a large capacity 240GB HD that holds 101 hours of HD video in LP mode, back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor for low light, photo and video geotagging via a built-in GPS receiver and NAVTEQ digital maps, image stabilization, “Smile Shutter” for photos even when recording video, and face detection. This bad boy will be available in March for $1500.

HDR-CX100 HD Flash Handycam camcorder

For those who prefer flash camcorders, Sony announced this as well. Has Full 192×1080 HD video and 4 megapixel still image capability, plus 8GB embedded memory expandable via Memory Stick PRO Duo. Packs 10x optical Carl Zeiss Vaio-Tessar zoom with Steady Shot up front. Comes in three colors — red, black, silver — and includes Smile Shutter and face detection. Will be available in March for $600.

MHS-PM1 “Webbie” HD MP4 camcorder

Available tonight for $170, this is Sony’s YouTube-friendly device. It captures HD MPEG-4 video and 5 megapixel stills, has a 4 ounce body, comes equipped with PMB Portable software for quick online upload, and has a rotating swivel lens. Expandable storage via Memory Stick PRO Duo, and of course, comes in three colors: eggplant, orange and silver.

The company also had two more things to note: OLED prototypes in various sizes (expect this tech to develop further) and a “major” announcement tomorrow. Stay tuned. (story Link)

How To Deactivate A PS3 Without The PS3?

Note: I want to be clear that I am not a fanboy and anyone who reads my blog often enough knows this. I don’t write to flame topics to get hits because that is not what I am about. I write what I think, I tell the truth about things that happen to ME, I can’t speak for anyone else. I am just a regular guy who wants some honest information sometime and when I couldn’t find any I decided that I would write. So after you read this and before you make a judgment about my character or integrity please read some of my other content whether it be articles or reviews first and then decide. Thank you. -Zo aka thatruth2006

The problem is that YOU can’t. So anyone who knows me and reads this blog knows how big a fan of the PS3 I am but when stuff like this keeps happening it really makes it hard Sony. So a few post back a lot of you will remember that all of the sudden my PS3 just stopped reading Blu-Ray disc. I tried everything I could, searched the net, but alas in the end I had to purchase a new PS3. All was good in the world until today. Today, enjoying the long holiday break I decided to download the entire second season of one of my favorite TV shows. I didn’t anticipate a problem since I had downloaded demos and stuff from Playstation Home on this new console without a problem, but boy was I wrong.

 

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Console Wars: Who Won '08?

Despite early predictions that 2008 would be the year Sony regained momentum in the bitter video game console wars, it turned out to be false hope. Industry leader Nintendo stayed ahead of the pack all year, thoroughly dominating both the home console and handheld hardware markets with their Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS systems, respectively.

According to NPD Group, Nintendo flat-out owned the all-important month of November by selling over 2 million Wiis, better than twice as much as the next closest competitor, Microsoft's Xbox 360 (836,000). And at over 1.5 million DS systems sold, Nintendo tripled the output of Sony's PSP (421,000). While those numbers weren't nearly that high through most of 2008, the general order -- Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony -- held strong throughout.

Wii Ascendant

But this was hardly a banner year for Nintendo in terms of software. The biggest games -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and of course Wii Fit -- came relatively early in the year, and their biggest holiday release, Wii Music, has been labeled something of a dud. Miffed that the company was focusing too heavily on catering to its relatively new mass-market audience, the usually loyal Nintendo fans complained about a lack of core games. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sony enjoyed a wealth of blockbuster games all year long, including top-sellers Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. So how did Nintendo compete, much less lead the way?

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Sony PSP 2

Bookmark Site for more updates

Designer Tai Chiem has come out with the PSP 2 design. This concept comes with OLED display that can be rolled up when not in use. It features an electric charge powering the display, stereo speakers on either side double as a jog wheel and camera control. Nice work but I’m sure that it is not going to happen, for PSP I mean, could be useful for other devices maybe to come in that shape. More pictures after the break.

Sony just barely updated the PSP but designer Tai Chiem is already thinking about the next iteration. His design calls for a flexible OLED display that can be conveniently rolled. An electric charge powering the display stiffens it while providing near bezeless prime real estate for gaming. Stereo speakers on either side double as a jog wheel and camera control. He also envisages Sony finally implementing two joysticks. Pipe dream or not, it’s sexy and lives up to its name; it don’t get any more portable than this.
Designer: Tai Chiem

[via Yanko Design]

Sony Launches VAIO Z Laptops

Weighing in at 1.48 kg, the VAIO Z laptops come in a matte black finish and boasts of a carbon fibre body. The centre of the silver hinge, comprises part of the battery and houses the recessed power switch. A seamless sheet of brushed aluminum covers the keyboard panel framing its individual keys.
Available in two new models - VGN-Z13GN/B and VGN-Z12GN/B - the notebooks are priced at Rs. 1,24, 900 and Rs. 99,990 respectively.
Running on Intel Centrino2 Processor Technology, the VGN-13GN/B is equipped with a 4 GB DDR3 SRAM and a 320 GB hard disk drive while the VGN-12GN/B comes with 2 GB DDR3 SRAM and a 250 GB hard disk drive. Both models have Microsoft Windows Vista Business pre-installed and come with G-Sensor Shock Protection technology to counteract sudden movements helping to prevent damage and data loss.

Comprised of two graphics processors - NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU for full graphics acceleration and Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD for mobile situations - the system lets users manually choose either SPEED or STAMINA mode. The setting is changed via a conveniently located switch above the keyboard and does not require rebooting.
VAIO Z is equipped with a biometric fingerprint sensor for speedy logins and TPM (Trusted Platform Module) security chip and proprietary hard disk drive password protection software to help protect data from unauthorized access.
The laptops' display has a 16:9 aspect ratio at 1600 x 900 pixels, built-in 802.11n wireless LAN capabilities, an optional Blu-ray Disc optical drive, an HDMI port, three USB ports, Memory Stick media/SD card slot and microphone and headphone jack and a PC Card (type-II) slot.  
The new VAIO Z series will be available at Sony owned stores, select national retail partners, as well as select Sony authorized dealers across the country.

GC 2008: 160GB PS3 Bundle Coming Soon

It seems both Sony and Microsoft never grow tired of re-bundling their beloved consoles! A new 160GB PS3 Bundle will hit the market soon in North America, which will include a copy of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (one of the first few games to get Trophy Support, in case you Trophy whores haven’t already heard), a voucher that’ll let you download the PlayStation Network title 'PAIN', and a DualShock 3 controller.

Unfortunately, the features will be the same as the 80GB PS3, which means there will be no backward compatibility. The bundle will be available for $499.99 when it arrives this November.

Sony Ericsson C905 With Its 8-Megapixel Camera

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A few days ago we reported that Sony Ericsson might release James Bond’s Titanium Silver C902. However, they also announced that they will release the T700 and the C905. Today we will talk about the Sony Ericsson C905 because the cellphone is among the first to feature a 8-megapixel digital camera phone.

Despite the fact that it uses such a “big” camera, Sony Ericsson found enough room to make it as functional as a regular cellphone. Also, the C905 will feature a GPS which allows photo-geotagging, and just like the iPhone 3G it uses AGPS to determine the location with a higher accuracy.

Among its capabilities you will notice the Wi-Fi connectivity, the battery which lasts 380 hours in standby mode and about 9 hours of talk time, and the 160MB of internal memory and a 2GB memory card, but you can expanded it to an impressive 32GB.

No matter what you say, the Sony Ericsson C905 excels with the 8-megapixel camera which is a part of the Cybershot line as well as a part of the new S range that will replace the K range. Your built-in photo album will look great on the 2.4-inch screen with 256,000 colors.

The full list of specs can be found here and you should know that the C905 with its high-quality camera will be released on October 7 this year, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the market in the next few weeks.

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