Sony

Sony Ericsson ranks highest in mobile phone customer satisfaction

By Mike Hanlon

November 20, 2006 Sony Ericsson ranks highest in satisfying customers who have owned their current mobile phone for less than two years, according to a J.D. Power and Associates 2006 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study released this week. The study measures customers' satisfaction with their wireless handsets based on five key performance factors. In order of importance, these are: physical design (24%); operation (22%); features (20%); handset durability (19%); and battery function (15%). Sony Ericsson received the highest ratings from customers in handset durability, and also performs particularly well in features and battery functionality. LG and Sanyo took out second and third place in the overall rankings, with global market leader Nokia, Samsung and Kyocera performing below the industry average. Read More

Sony's HVR-V1U HDV Pro Camcorder, 1080 Filmmakers Ogle Its 24p-ness

By Mike Hanlon

September 22, 2006 Sony's HVR-V1U HDV camcorder was shown at a special event in New York earlier this week and reviewers are suggesting it will immediately be devoured by mid-level video production pros and filmmakers. This is the higher-end, CMOS-totin' big brother to Sony's HDR-FX7 with the 24p frame rate coveted by filmmakers because it's the same rate that film has used for decades. It gives footage that sought-after, special look, and now it's available in a 1080p resolution. There’s an optional hard disk that attaches where the shotgun mic usually resides. Sony calls this a "hybrid recording system," where you can shoot your master and archive at the same time. Full story here. Read More

Sony Ericsson's Z610 shimmering mirror clamshell

By Mike Hanlon

August 24, 2006 - Sony Ericsson has announced the Z610, a 3G phone with gorgeous looks and a sleek mirror finish on the front cover that gives it a jewel-like quality that is complemented by a hidden ‘magic mirror’ display which can only be seen when in use. This striking phone delivers an advanced feature set including a 2.0 Megapixel camera and broadband-speed 3G connectivity. With such a distinctive design and a choice of three eye-catching colours – Luster Black, Rose Pink & Airy Blue – the Z610 looks a winner to us. Read More

Sony merges LCD TV with desktop PC

By Mike Hanlon

August 23, 2006 Combining the power of a PC with a quality LCD and stylish design, Sony today unveiled the new VAIO LS1 TV/PC Combo. Featuring a framed display with a transparent border for a stunning, floating effect, the LS1 model packs the essentials for powerful computing into a slim chassis discreetly hidden behind the back of a flat-panel 19-inch WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) LCD display. The new VAIO LS1 TV/PC model incorporates an Intel Core Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a roomy 250 GB hard drive for running multiple, demanding applications simultaneously, such as watching and/or recording a TV show while downloading music in the background. Read More

A new product category begins with the Sony mylo Personal Communication Device

By Mike Hanlon

August 8, 2006 Sony is launching its first WiFi broadband communication and entertainment device to capitalize on the growth of wireless Internet access. The new US$350 mylo personal communicator will be available in September and is capable of operating in any open 802.11b wireless network, often found on college campuses, in public spaces and within private homes around the country. This product is designed for people who use instant messaging as a primary form of communication and networking for their social life. The name mylo stands for "my life online" and the communicator lets you use instant messaging, browse the Internet, listen to music, send emails and view photos concurrently. Detailed images here. Read More

Sony enters the digital SLR camera market

By Mike Hanlon

June 8, 2006 Sony has taken a long time to enter the digital single lens reflex (D-SLR) camera market but the somewhat belated release of the DSLR-A100 system has been both decisive and with enormous commitment. The system uses a 10.2-megapixel APS CCD image sensor and combines advanced SLR features with other Sony digital imaging innovations, most notably Super SteadyShot image stabilization, a new technology that shifts the image sensor to compensate for camera movement – the first time that image stabilisation has been done inside the camera rather than in the lens. It was introduced with 19 high-quality Sony lenses, and will be compatible with most of the former Konica-Minolta Maxxum mount lenses. Read More

World's First Blu-Ray Notebook Computer

By Mike Hanlon

May 17, 2006 Sony yesterday showed off the first Blu-ray Disc enabled notebook computer - the VAIO AR which will be available next month. The Blu-ray drive will be available on the premium US$3,500 version of the AR, which has a17-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) widescreen display, uses Sony's XBRITE Hi-Color LCD technology and will play full 1080p HD resolution. In addition to supporting HD playback, the VAIO AR notebook is a multimedia powerhouse with the capability to record high-definition camcorder content to Blu-ray Discs. Now aspiring moviemakers can shoot, edit and burn their HD creation on a PC -- all in native 1080 resolution. Using an extensive suite of dedicated software applications, you can also edit high-definition footage and share it on Sony high-capacity BD-R and BD-RE Blu-ray Discs (up to 50 GB) or on traditional DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/+RW capitalizing on flexible storage, playback and recording. Read More

Sony Ericsson introduces first Cyber-shot camera phones

By Mike Hanlon

March 1, 2006 Sony Ericsson takes digital imaging in camera phones to new heights today with the launch of the K800 and K790 phones, the first handsets to carry the Cyber-shot name known throughout the world as Sony’s digital still camera brand. Both are highly capable mobile phones with integrated 3.2 mpx digital cameras with autofocus, Xenon flash and BestPic, a completely new feature developed by Sony Ericsson which ensures that you never ‘miss’ an important picture. Press the shutter button once and the camera takes nine full quality 3.2 megapixel pictures in a time sequence – four pictures before and four pictures after the actual image you captured. Read More

Sony adds high zoom models to Cyber-shot range

By Mike Hanlon

February 26, 2006 The high zoom prosumer digital camera marketplace continued to heat up at the PMA Show with Sony announcing two new Cyber-shot models in the category. Clad in black, the new DSC-H5 model has a 7.2-megapixel CCD imager and extra-large, three-inch LCD screen. It also shimmers in silver along with the stage-worthy DSC-H2 model, which has a six-megapixel imager and two-inch LCD. Both cameras flaunt Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 12x optical zoom lenses and focal length ranges of 36 to 432 millimeters (35 mm equivalence). "High-zoom cameras are one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry," said James Neal, director of digital imaging products at Sony Electronics. "They are powerful enough to get those hard-to-see distant shots, and have the easy-to-use functionality of point-and-shoot cameras. Read More

Skype mouse telephone by Sony

By Mike Hanlon

January 13, 2006 Now here’s a good idea from Sony that doesn’t quite fit with the company’s normal fare. Sony will release a VOIP telephone crossed with a mouse onto the Japanese market next month. Dubbed MouseTalk, it looks and acts like a normal scroll wheel mouse, but when a call comes in on Skype, the mouse flashes its LED lights and emits a customisable sound. The mouse opens like a clamshell phone, becoming a Skype handset and it can also be used in hands-free mode. When used as a telephone, the mouse scroll-wheel adjusts the volume and clicking the wheel can mute the microphone. Read More

Sony's Latest CD Receiver Transfers Music Directly From a PC to a Car Stereo

By Mike Hanlon

November 2, 2005 Sony showed an interesting new take on the car audio market at the SEMA show which opened yesterday in Las Vegas - an AM/FM CD/MP3 receiver capable of storing up to 500 tracks and receiving music directly from a computer. The new receiver has 1GB of flash memory and a USB port engineered into the faceplate. When the faceplate is removed from the receiver and connected to a Windows PC, it is recognised as an external drive. With the provided USB cable, users can quickly transfer and save MP3 and WMA files to the faceplate. Read More

Sony offering living room convergence from two angles

By Mike Hanlon

We are all a sum of our experiences. So when Sony researched its product offerings for the living room of the early majority, it obviously decided that when the TV and PC merge, people arrive the convergence point from two main perspectives – people who are TV people first and PC people second, and vice verca. Both represent convergence at its simplest – Sony’s new VAIO VA TV-PC combines a fully-featured computer with an LCD TV running on a 20-inch display. Sony’s new VAIO XL1 DLS combines home theatre functionality with the brains of a PC. Read More

Sony Type X Video Station goes on sale in Japan

By Mike Hanlon

October 15, 2005 Sony is moving ahead in leaps and bounds in its development of the Vaio range of computers in its domestic market. It now has multimedia computers specifically designed for handling music, video production and now home multimedia in an elegant and completely painless way. The diversity of the Vaio range through the Type R, Type H, Type V and Type M ranges is astounding. Last year we previewed the Type X after first writing about it here. In its specced-to-the-max form, the Type X will hold 2 terabytes and record eight simultaneous channels of television for three weeks. The Type X goes on sale in Japan later this month, so a new era of home media capability is coming. With thousands of hours of television to watch, you’ll also need assistance to watch it but the video server enables simultaneous playback in multiple locations. So the kids can watch Sesame Street archives in one room, while the Video Station sends Desperate Housewives wirelessly to the teev in another room and you can watch the baseball or a movie on your laptop via the wireless network. Read More

Sony establishes a new class of High-End Digital Camera

By Mike Hanlon

September 9, 2005 Sony intends to create a new benchmark in digital photography with the introduction of its high-end Cyber-shot DSC-R1 camera. Moving further in the direction it began with the popular 505, 707, 727 and 828 series of high end cameras, the integrated lens digital still camera progression has finally reached professional grade with a10.3-megapixel image sensor and the flexibility of live preview while shooting. With its ultra-wide (24mm - 120mm) Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T zoom lens and free-angle, two-inch LCD, the Cyber-shot R1 offers professional imaging performance to mainstream consumers. Read More

Sony's Latest Flash-Based Walkman 'Bean' Players

By Mike Hanlon

August 19, 2005 Expanding on its line of Walkman digital music players, Sony Electronics has announced a new series of flash-based devices. Bright and colourful, the compact NW-E300 Beans sport a sassy design and are available in 512 MB and 1 GB capacities with a built-in FM tuner. They also feature the long battery life, quick-charge function and brilliant displays people have come to expect from Sony Walkman digital audio players. Read More

Sony Computer launches powerful PS3 backwards compatible with PS and PS2

By Mike Hanlon

May 17, 2005 In case you’re wondering why the ground is shaking, the game console giants are preparing for the launch of their next generation gaming devices at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) tomorrow. Last time around, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft sold more than 100 million units between them with Sony winning the round convincingly. Penetration into loungerooms is so high in most countries that this next generation of consoles will probably be the centrepiece of the home entertainment system – this is an incredibly important strategic battle to win in the convergence war. Last week Microsoft was the first to come out swinging when it unveiled its next generation X-Box 360 and although little detail about the machine was released, there was plenty of hype and chest thumping. In most markets, Microsoft is the heavyweight, take-no-prisoners market leader, so it's interesting to see the company attempting to come from behind in the game console market. Last night Sony revealed its PLAYSTATION3 (PS3) but unlike Microsoft, which sold the sizzle and not the sausage, Sony has unveiled the detail of a technological masterpiece. The PS3 incorporates what is arguably the world's most advanced Cell processor with supercomputer-like power plus backwards compatibility with the PS2 which sold roughly two thirds of all game consoles in the current generation. In the new console game, Microsoft may have fired the first shots, but Sony has leapt to the fore with its first foray and it’ll be one hell of a fight. Now all that remains is for Nintendo to enter the fray. Read More

The World’s most advanced (and expensive) Sony Playstation peripherals

By Mike Hanlon

One of the star attractions at recent motor shows around Australia has been Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evolution rally simulators, even if judged solely by the length of the queues waiting to strap into the genuine rally seats, in the genuine rally cars that simulate the rally driving experience with more authenticity than you would have thought possible. The simulators were developed for Mitsubishi by technophiles Rodney Robertson and Associates and began with two Mitsubishi Lancers and got waaaay more complex from there. The idea was to build two linked rally car replicas and have them side-by-side with the choice of two very large rear projection screens in front of the cars, or where space and circumstances dictated a lesser set-up, two large bonnet-mounted Plasma panel displays. The experience is VERY realistic. Read More

Sony Ericsson W800 - the first Walkman phone raises the bar for mobile entertainment

By Mike Hanlon

March 2, 2005 Sony Ericsson today kick-started its entry into the mobile music market with the announcement of the W800, the first Walkman branded mobile phone. It will now be possible to listen to music, handle phone calls and take great pictures and video, all with one device and with no compromise on quality. The Sony Ericsson W800 is the first product to combine a mobile phone, a high quality digital music player with up to 30 hours' battery life, and a 2 Megapixel camera. All of this is packaged in a slim, lightweight device with ultra-stylish design. Read More

Sony's LocationFree TV - watch live TV from anywhere via the internet

By Mike Hanlon

February 11, 2005 Sony continues to push the edge of the envelope with new and exciting technologies being debuted in its homeland and the Japanese giant's latest winner is its Location Free LCD LF-X5 TV - a 7"television you can take with you anywhere on the planet and watch your favourite television shows IN REAL TIME (i.e. as they are showing in your home country), with the data delivered to the Location Free via the internet. It's easy to carry and watch anywhere partly because it's small, but mainly because it's wireless - the accompanying base station plugs into the video source in your home in Japan and transmits via the internet to wherever you happen to be using a function Sony calls NetAV. Read More

Sony release next generation Dual Layer burners

By Gizmag Team

November 19, 2004 Sony Australia has unveiled its next-generation Dual Layer burners, featuring speeds almost double the pace of Sony's original range. The DRU710A (internal drive) and DRX710UL (external drive) increase the overall write speed up to 16X +R with 2.4X +R dual layer burn speed1, meaning consumers can significantly boost the turn around time of DVD burning. A firmware upgrade set for release in coming months promises to further increase the this capability to 4X dual layer burn speed. Read More

1 terabyte storage from Sony home server TV/PC

By Mike Hanlon

The Vaio Type X home server debuted recently at the CEATEC 2004 convention in Japan. For around US $5000 it offers an entire rolling digital media library at your fingertips. Equipped with the 1-terabyte hard disk, the Sony VAIO Type X performs as an "audiovisual recording server." A terabyte, in case you don't know, is 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes or 1024 gigabytes, so memory isn't an issue. And with the liberation of space comes a change in the viewing and usage patterns of Vaio customers that will transform the way they interact with their media and the medium itself. The device can record six channels of terrestrial analog broadcasts simultaneously, and the dedicated recording disk has enough space for one week of viewing pleasure. It also has a "television time machine" viewing function, allowing users to watch programs that have been recorded. They can also use the remote control to go back in time and arrange programs by genre, as well as enter key words to find their desired shows. Read More

Sony Previews 2005 Grand Vega

By Mike Hanlon

Sony's VEGA range has always been characterised by sleek design and advanced visual and audio technology. Early next year Sony will add to the stylish series with the release of the new KF range of LCD screens ranging from 42" to 60". Combining a Sony LCD Optical Engine with Sony's VEGA Engine, the new KF-Series produce a crisp, brilliant image quality that set these televisions apart from others on the market. Created for consumers seeking to maximise their home theatre viewing experience, the Grand VEGA television takes Sony's popular VEGA televisions to the next level with their stunning design and striking picture performance. Read More

Sony Releases Hard Drive Music Player

By Mike Hanlon

In the eighties the fashionable walkman straddled hips world-wide. It was the device that allowed millions across the world to bop to their own pre-recorded beat anyway, anytime. In time with the 25th anniversary of the much loved walkman Sony has highlighted the remarkable advancements in technology with the release of a new hard drive walkman.

The NWHD1 (HD1) is a digital music player with 20GB of capacity and can store up to 13,000 songs. Australia will be the first country in the Asia Pacific area to benefit from this latest release under Sony's Network Walkman brand. With advanced features it could also prove to be a competitor to Apple's i-pod. Read More

Sony Unveils World's First HDV 1080i Consumer Camcorder

By Mike Hanlon

Sony, the worldwide camcorder market leader, has released details of a new high definition camcorder which will completely blur the lines between the professional and consumer market. The HDR-FX1 Handycam camcorder records and plays back high definition video with 1080 interlaced lines of resolution - the highest resolution (1440 pixels x 1080 lines) of any consumer camcorder available. Read More

Sony Memory Stick reachs 2GB capacity

By Mike Hanlon

Sony has upped the size of its Memory Stick PRO to 2GB in the standard-size and 1GB in the Memory Stick PRO Duo size. In addition to the higher capacities, the new Memory Sticks and are high-speed read and write capable, and compatible with a vast array of current Memory Stick PRO devices. Read More