Sony Brands

Sony are releasing a new TV in Japan, which comes equipped with a 500GB hard drive. Like the other TVs being released there, the BX30H will offer up 3D. It will be available in both white and black, along with a choice of 22 inch, 26 inch or 32 inch display. Pricing is currently unknown. While over in the US, Sony will be releasing the Bravia TV as the BX300. In the US it will only be available with a 22 inch or 32 inch display and only come in black. The US will also miss out on the integrated HDD. Pricing for the US will be $280 for the 22 inch model, or $420 for the 32 inch model. Other specs of both of the TVs are:

* 720p HD resolution
* 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
* CCFL back lighting
* 5.1 channel audio output
* 24p True Cinema
* BRAVIA Engine 2
* BRAVIA Sync

After finally seeing the Sony Vaio netbook in the flesh, I fell in love with it immediately. The VAIO W netbook has been released in two varients, the W11S1E and the W12S1E. The difference between the two are the hard drive size, operating system, battery and price, while the rest of the specs remain the same. The W11S1E has a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP and is available for £300 with a 3 cell battery, giving 2.5 hours battery life. While the W12S1E is equipped with Windows 7 Starter, 250GB HDD, a 6 cell battery providing 7.5 hours battery life and retails for £350. So naturally, I went with the W12S1E. Both models are hard to find in most shops within the UK, with only one store in my area having the netbook (W12S1E) on display. Both models are available in white, pink and tan/brown. Although Argos also lists the W12S1E available in charcoal.

Other specs of the netbook include an Intel Atom N280 processor, 10.1 inch display, with an impressive screen resolution of 1366×768, which really does make a difference, 1GB RAM, web camera and an SD and Memory Stick card reader. Connectivity wise, it features WiFi b/g/n and bluetooth.

You can view my unboxing photos of the netbook after the break.

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Sony have announced that the company plan to release 3D TVs in Japan starting from June 10th with the rest of the world, also to receive the 3D TV sets around the same time. Initially, Sony will release two TVs, a 40 inch model and a 46 inch model, which will retail for 290,000 Yen ($3215) and 350,000 Yen ($3898) respectively. Each TV will include two pairs of 3D glasses.

From July, 6 more models will be released. One will be a 40 inch set and another a 46 inch model. The other four, will not include the 3D glasses or 3D emitter and must be purchased separately. The cheapest of these models, will be a 40 inch display set, which will retail for 220,000 and glasses will cost 12,000 Yen, while the 3D infrared emitter is priced at 5,000 Yen.

A firmware update for the PS3 will also come out around the same time, adding 3D support.

Sony have put in a patent for ‘degradable’ video game demos. With the new system, demos will lose features the more you play it. It could range from the weapon becoming weaker, or less race tracks to play within the demo. With the example shown above, it shows that after 6 hours, or 6 plays of the demo, the size and strength of the weapon will decrease.

Characters could also be removed from the demo, along with subtle changes, such as the color depth and brightness changing, or sound effects softened. It appears however, this will apply more to new types of demos, which offer almost the full game up. With the demo degrading, it should help more sales of the game, so consumers can continue from where they left off. Once bought, the weapon, character, tracks etc, will be put back in the gameplay.

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Sony’s Personal Internet Viewer, the Sony Dash is due to be released April 25th and consumers interested in the device, can now pre-order it. The Sony Dash, does not feature any built in battery and so needs to be plugged in all the time, making it a purely at home, or in the office device. Featuring a 7 inch display with a resolution of 800 x 480, it naturally features WiFi. It can access over 1500 Chumby internet applications. It will retail for $199.

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Sony have announced two new Cyber shot cameras, the TX5 and the H55. The TX5 is a waterproof camera, with the ability to survive up to 10 feet underwater. Not only that but, it’s dubbed as the thinnest underwater camera. Measuring less than 1 inch thick it sure could be. As well as being able to survive underwater for up to 10 feet, it also can withstand temperatures as low as 14F and an exterior that can withstand a drop from up to 5 feet (although not recommended of course). Feature wise, it has a 10 mega pixel camera, a 4x wide angle piece, back illuminated CMOS sensor and 720p video recording. UberGizmo have been lucky enough to get their hands on one at PMA and you can see the video after the jump.

The H55 on the other hand, is much thicker but features 10X, 25-250mm film equivalent lens with high-grade image stabilization. Again, the H55 will be able to record video in 720p.

Both cameras feature Memory Stick and SDHC support and will ship from April. The TX5 will retail for $350, while the H55 will be $250.

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At Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson have officially announced the Vivaz and the X10 Mini. Not only that but, they announced the Pro models of the handsets. The Vivaz Pro and X10 Mini Pro will both feature a slide out qwerty keyboard on top of the specs found on the Vivaz and X10 Mini.

The Vivaz will feature a 3.2 inch touch screen display, 8 megapixel camera and run on S60 5th edition. Connectivity wise it will feature Wi-Fi, GPS and HSPA. Also, the Vivaz will come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing you to use your own headphones. Available in black and white, it should be released in Q2 2010.

The X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro on the other hand, will be powered by Android 1.6, like it’s big brother, the Xperia X10. Because it is the mini version though, it features a 2.5 inch display and a 5 megapixel camera. You’ll also find GPS, Wi-Fi, EDGE and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the handset. Both the X10 Mini and Mini Pro will also be available from Q2 2010. The X10 Mini will come in black, white, red, silver, pink and lime. While the X10 Mini Pro, will be available in black or red.

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iPhone hacker geohot has hacked the PS3. He’s famous for hacking the iPhone and iPod Touch. His method is the quickest and easiest for all models to Jailbreak them. He’s now started messing around with the PS3 and has confirmed that he has hacked it. He has gained access to read all of the system as well as write to it.

He’s now released the exploit for others to try, to see where they get with hacking the PS3. So it’s very likely we’ll soon see homebrew on the PS3 and possibly the ability to play back up games.

Back in 2004, Sony introduced the VAIO M desktop (pictured above) to Europe and Japan and now, Sony are working on a VAIO M notebook line. At the moment, hardly any information is known. We don’t know how far along Sony are with the VAIO M notebooks, or any of the specs. We do however know what the model numbers are. Based on the model numbers, it looks like whatever specs the laptop does have, it will be available in both white and black. The model numbers we have are VPX-M111AX/W and VPC-M111AX/B.

Sony’s existing e-readers are already doing very well in terms of sales. Their newest model is doing extremely well and the Reader Touch Edition is the best selling among the $299 e-reader range. Because of this, Sony has no plans to introduce a color version. When E-Ink technology includes color as standard, with non color no longer being an option, is when Sony will venture into making a colored e-reader.