Sony Mobile celebrates ‘Night of Imagination’ with Labrinth and iLuminate
Previously we mentioned that Sony Mobile would be taking on some new inspiration for the launch of their latest devices being the Xperia S, Xperia P and Xperia U by heading up a new promotion called 'Night of Imagination'. To help kick things off right in London, they teamed up British singer-songwriter Labrinth and a group called iLuminate who have created the world’s first and only wearable, wireless lighting technology, using LED and EL-wire.
The 'Night of Imagination' was quite a success for Sony Mobile with Labrinth performing songs from his latest album, Electronic Earth and iLuminate providing stunning on-stage visuals for the audience. If you're looking to check out some of the footage, you can jump past the break for a video from the event itself.
read more
 |
 |
Android Central – Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers
Is this Sony the “Daisy” Chrome OS laptop?
In a move that is sure to cause increased platform confusion but ultimately be better for everyone, Google has added ARM support to Chrome OS.
In a recent FCC filing, Sony revealed their intent to release a VAIO-branded laptop running Chrome OS. The laptop will join Samsung and Acer’s attempts in the Chrome OS space, but with one critical difference: the Sony Chromebook will sport an Arm Cortex A9 processor, instead of the Intel Atom processor we’ve seen from other OEMs. Now, as the lines blur even further between Chrome OS and Android with Chrome, where does a laptop like this fit in?
According to the filing, the new Chromebook has an 11.6-inch display, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, an HDMI output, and SD card slot. Basically, all the trimmings you’d expect from a Chromebook, plus Bluetooth. The other way to look at it, is that this has everything an 11.6-inch tablet with a keyboard dock would have, minus the functionality of the Android OS.
To add to the confusion, the FCC filing doesn’t give a terribly specific description of the processor, on that it is a “T25″ which could be a Nvidia Tegra 250 T25. Will we also see a Chrome OS “Tegra Zone” with games optimized for this particular Chromebook?
This filing comes in right behind some news that popped up in the Chrome OS world as Thomas Taschauer discovered a reference to a new device type in the Chromium OS issue tracker. The mentions of the product, which had been codenamed “Daisy”, referenced a device sporting an ARM processor onboard. The bug report mentions that there is no config file for that device, and that the person filing the report uses the SMDK 5250 config file. Now, the SMDK 5250 is actually a Samsung Exynos processor, which is also a Cortex A9 chip. There’s no confirmation that “Daisy” is this Sony VAIO Chromebook, but if it isn’t then there appears to be more than one ARM-based Chrome OS device on the way.
It would make the most sense to assume that we’ll see something like this Sony VAIO Chromebook announced at Google I/O, alongside the UI refresh that is currently being tested. The current iteration of the Chrome OS UI forces the browser into a full screen experience all the time, where the web page is all there is to the OS. The latest update, with the Aura window manager, will allow for various page sizes and a more layered windows experience, similar to OS’ everyone is more familiar with. If this Chrome OS reboot is to go down at I/O this year, the biggest question about the life of the platform still remains: how will this experience be different or better than Chrome for Android?
In case you need a refresher course, the biggest selling point to a Chromebook is the total lack of effort needed to maintain them. Chrome is famous for being able to perform most updates in the background, and with no need for regular maintenance items like antivirus or disk maintenance, the OS has the ability to offer many less technical people a way to experience using the internet without frustration. Unfortunately, this selling point hasn’t been enough to see them flying off the shelves, due mostly to a lack of in-store appearances and the lack of education at the point of sale. The best case for adoption that has been seen so far are places like Virgin Air, who offer a Chromebook experience and free WiFi during certain flights. At that point the user has time to spend with the device and walk away with an understanding of how it is different.
via Ars and Liliputing
Geek.com
Sony designs Dragon Tattoo DVD to look like a pirate copy
If you asked any executive working in the movie industry what the biggest problem they face is, you can guarantee the answer would be “piracy.” Whether that’s true or not, it’s clear movie studios hate piracy and are willing to go to great lengths to stop it (DRM, lawsuits, lobbying for greater control on the Internet).
So it took me by surprise when I saw the design for the DVD release of the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Someone in Sony took the decision to make the actual DVD look like a pirate copy. You can see it pictured above.
I can see this decision having two outcomes, both of which those high up in Sony’s ranks aren’t going to like one bit. The first is people purchasing a legitimate copy of the movie, getting it home, and being furious they’ve been sold a pirate copy. The design is such that it looks good enough to be a fake, if that makes sense.
The second outcome is the individuals who sell pirate copies of the movie copying the design. All they need is blank Sony DVDs and a marker pen. With a bit of practice it shouldn’t be hard to perfect the handwriting from the legitimate copies. If they print the same artwork from the packaging it will be quite difficult to tell the real from the fake when having a browse.
The design on the DVD makes sense as far as the plot of the movie goes. The main character, Lisbeth Salander, does perform some hacking and data theft after all. As for the actual implications associated with releasing a commercial disc that looks like this, will it go unnoticed or cause more than a few returns to stores by confused consumers wondering where the “real” disc is?
via Midwest Tape
Geek.com
Sony Tablet S successor with Tegra 3 and ICS outed
It looks like Sony’s first Android tablets — the wedge-shaped Tablet S and clamshell Tablet P — may soon be getting some company. According to a new set of Nenamark scores, the company is working on a Tegra 3 tablet that’s currently badged as the Sony V150.
Their original slates were based on the Tegra 2 SOC, so it’s not a complete surprise that Sony is working on a successor using Nvidia’s latest and greatest. The quad-core (or is it penta-core?) Tegra 3 is clocked at 1.4GHz and should provide plenty of gaming muscle. The V150 Nenamark scores also revealed that it’s currently running a 1280×752 pixel display like the Tablet S.
While that could mean that the V150 will launch with the same panel, there’s always a chance that these scores came from a prototype unit that featured a new board crammed into the existing 9.4-inch chassis.
But even though the screen matches up at this point, there’s one other key feature apart from the processor that differentiates the Tablet S and the V150. The new model will also ship with Android 4.0 preinstalled, so purchasers won’t have to wait around for an OTA update to arrive — and we know all too well how frustrating that can be. Just ask the Asus Transformer owners who rode the update release rollercoaster for two months until Google finally gave the patch their stamp of approval.
The Tablet S and Tablet P are supposed to receive the update “this Spring,” but Sony hasn’t gotten more specific than that. For the sake of existing owners, let’s hope Sony gets them updated before the V150 hits the streets.
More at Netbook News
Geek.com
Sony Xperia S hands-on video and initial review
It's been just days since we wrapped up Mobile World Congress, but we're already seeing the first flagship phone launch of the year. The Sony Xperia S was released unexpectedly at the Sony Store in Barcelona last Sunday, and it'll go on sale across Europe over the next couple of weeks. For 2012, Sony — formerly Sony Ericsson — has made a clean break with the appearance of earlier models, adopting a new design language based around the trademark clear bar below the screen. Sony's also introduced some impressive new hardware in its latest high-end device, which includes the new 720p HD Reality Display and a 12-megapixel EXMOR R camera.
We'll have a full review written up in the next week or so, but in the meantime you can click past the break for our hands-on video, along with more photos and some first impressions.
read more
|
|
Android Central – Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers
Sony Coming Out with New Android Powered Walkman Line
Talk about a comeback and the first thing that enters my mind is the Sony Walkman line. I remember feeling so cool having one of those devices a few years ago. It was a blast using the Walkman phone but then it got outdated and if you still used it, you’re already considered obsolete. Thankfully, Sony has decided to bring back the line and calling it the NWZ-Z1000 series. This time around, the Walkman line is powered by Android and is dedicated to expanding more on the mobile audio concept.
The first smartphone from the lineup is the Walkman Z Series, which is more than just a music player. The Walkman Z Series is powered by Android 2.3 and enables users to do typical tasks that today’s Android powered smartphones can do. The difference is that the device has an anti-reflective 4.3” multi-touch LCD screen and is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor. Users can also wirelessly share content at home and while mobile through Wi-Fi and connecting itself to DLNA-enabled devices. Moreover, users of the Walkman Z Series are able flick pictures, music, and videos from their device to a compatible PC, TV, or home audio system. They can also connect the device to compatible headphones, speakers, car stereos, or hi-fi systems through its Bluetooth feature.
A new feature that Sony has thrown into the Walkman Z Series is the Music Unlimited app; which is pre-installed in the device. Through this app, subscribers get to transfer favorite playlists and channels to the device so they can listen to their favorite songs anytime and anywhere they want to. There is also an easy way to transfer from iTunes for Windows or to Windows Media Player.
The Sony Walkman Z1000 Mobile Entertainment Player is available in either 16GB or 32GB capacities. It will be released in New Zealand starting April for a price of NZ$ 359.95 (16GB) or NZ$ 429.95 (32GB).
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
-
Sony Walkman Joins the Android Team with the Z1000
-
Sony To Launch Walkman Z Series Running Android 2.3 in December
-
Sony Ericsson’s Live with Walkman Smartphone Released in India
This article, Sony Coming Out with New Android Powered Walkman Line , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Sony files patent for Kinect-like input device
If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s what happened when Nintendo launched the Wii and couldn’t make them fast enough to keep up with demand. The reason? The console’s use of a motion controller. Sony and Microsoft had no choice but to make their own versions of motion controllers and get in on the action. Sony came up with the PlayStation Move, but Microsoft went a step further and removed the need for a controller completely with Kinect. It was expensive, but record sales at launch proved it was worth the investment.
Now it seems Sony has decided competing with Kinect requires copying it. A new patent filed in October last year, but only publicly viewable as of yesterday, reveals a “User-Driven Three Dimensional Interactive Gaming Environment.” In other words, a Kinect-like input system for the PS3 (or PS4?).
The name on the patent is Richard Marks, who’s also the guy that developed the PS Move. The patent describes the system as an interactive 3D environment that uses a depth sensing device. In other words, a system that allows the player to be tracked within a 3D space.
The question now is whether Sony will choose to bring such an input device to market. And if they do, how will Microsoft respond? The system does seem very similar to Kinect, so there’s a chance it may infringe on Kinect. Microsoft also launched Kinect first and therefore has the advantage if it comes down to who thought of this and implemented it first.
Geek.com
