Sony Creative Software Releases Media Go 1.3 Update

Sony Creative Software released an update to its Media Go software last month and it slipped under our radar. However, I felt that it would be helpful to post a story about it anyways. The latest v1.3 update is pretty nice, and teases us by supporting the XPERIA X10 before most of us can even get our hands on it. Bonus Digital Copy can be transferred to the PSP, as well as support for video and photo playlist transfer to the PSP. I also see the mention of “An Advanced Transfer option provides customized encoding options for transferring media to a device.” which could be helpful to some of you out there who were complaining about that in our previous posts. There’s a lot more to check out though, and let us know what you think.

• The following additional devices from Sony Ericsson are supported: Xperia X10. Please note: Sony Ericsson phones sold in Japan are not supported.
• Bonus digital copy from purchased DVD or Blu-ray Discs can be transferred to PSP (PlayStation Portable) systems.
• Comics purchased through the PlayStation® Store can be transferred to PSP systems (requires PSP Update version 6.20).
• Video and photo playlists can be transferred to PSP systems (requires PSP Update version 6.20).
• Media Go can check for PSP Updates and copy them to PSP systems.
• The new Downloads view can be used to monitor the status and manage the progress of downloadable content.
• An Advanced Transfer option provides customized encoding options for transferring media to a device.
• Control playback and see transfer progress of Media Go in the Windows 7 taskbar.
• A new reel has been added to the large-screen view to make it easier to quickly navigate your media.

Sony’s Playstation Brand Turns 15

The PlayStation brand is a line of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, occupying the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations. It has become one of the largest investments Sony has ever gambled on (well, except for the whole pre-Pascal Sony Pictures Entertainment thing) and its been what I consider to be an enormous part of the overall Sony experience. Countless consumers, in almost one way or another, have used a Playstation product. It’s funny to think though that the brand itself turned fifteen years old on December 3rd – it doesn’t seem that long to me. Happy Birthday! Check out SCEI’s cool Playstation 15th anniversary site (JP).

The original PlayStation, released in December 1994, was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and hand-held game devices, which has included successor consoles and upgrades including the Net Yaroze (a special black PlayStation with tools and instructions to program PlayStation games and applications), “PSone” (a smaller version of the original) and the PocketStation (a handheld which enhances PlayStation games and also acts as a memory card). It was part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, competing against the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. By March 31, 2005, the PlayStation and PSone had shipped a combined total of 102.49 million units, becoming the first video game console to reach the 100 million mark. It was an enormous success and a giant leap from the Nintendo, Sega, etc experience most of us had fed on for nearly a decade.

Released in 2000, 15 months after the Dreamcast and a year before its other competitors, the Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2 is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles, and is backwards-compatible with most, if not all, original PlayStation games. It has also been released as a media center configuration and also, like its predecessor, a slimmer redesign. On November 29, 2005, the PS2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. This achievement occurred faster than its predecessor, the PlayStation, which took “9 years and 6 months since launch” to reach the same benchmark. It is the most successful console in the world, having reached over 140 million units in sales as of July 20, 2008. I haven’t seen a number since 2008 of how many its sold overall but I imagine it must be up sharply because it only costs $99 as of March of this year..or less.

It is the most popular console in the series, but the PS3 most certainly has the capacity to reach similar figures. It’s hard to tell if Sony will ever stop manufacturing the PS2, because theoretically they could bring it to retail by 2012 for less than (the equivalent of) $50 today easily..

Released on November 11, 2006, the PlayStation 3 is the third and current iteration in the series. It competes with the Xbox 360 and the Wii in the seventh generation of video game consoles. It introduces the use of the Sixaxis wireless controller along with other features, such as Blu-ray Disc and being also to see in Full High-definition resolution. It has access to an online store that sells games, movies, and other multimedia content. The PlayStation 3 is most certainly the most varied unit of the home consoles, by being offered in 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, 160 GB, 120 GB, and 250GB configurations, with the last two being the current models. As for December 5th, 2009 Sony has sold 27.3 million PS3′s according to vgchartz.com.

Of course there was several Playstation Portable (PSP) units -

Released in March 2005, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was Sony’s first handheld console. The console utilizes an new proprietary optical storage medium known as Universal Media Disc (UMD), which can store both games and movies. It contains 32MB of internal flash memory storage, expandable via Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. It has a vast library of games and movies available to play on UMD and also can download games off the Playstation store. The first major hardware revision, the PSP Slim and Lite was released in September 2007, with a further revision adding additional features (such as a microphone and upgraded screen) being released in October 2008. As of December 5th 2009, 53 million PSP units have been sold according to vgchartz.com.

The PSP Go was released in October 2009. It differs from the original PlayStation Portable in several ways, most notably the absence of a UMD drive, with all content having to be purchased and downloaded from the Playstation Store. The PSP also adds Bluetooth functionality, and uses smaller Memory Stick Micro cards rather than the PRO Duo. It retains the same brilliance in display like the regular PSP but its display is slightly smaller. The PSP Go is 43% lighter and 56% smaller than the original PSP.

What’s your favorite Playstation moment of all time? Mine was probably beating Metal Gear Solid 1..

SonyStyle USA Stores Will Have Playstation Experts Available To Help Today Only

This Saturday, December 5th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm local time, PlayStation staff will be visiting Sony Style retail stores to help gamers and also help those looking to give a gaming gift. These aren’t just your average marketing representatives – these Playstation employees are real gamers and know how to truly make the most out of your PS3, PSP, related games, and so forth. I know many of you out there are experts yourself, and this could be a great opportunity for you to have a conversation with the source. This is also a great way to offer feedback on the Playstation experience. According to the SonyStyle blog, here are some of the things they can help with.

• If you’re looking to give a gaming gift, they’ll help you select the right gift for your budget.
• If you own a PS3 they’ll offer tips to turn your PS3 into a home theater component so you can enjoy Blu-ray movies, music and photos directly through your console.
• If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the PlayStation Network, they’ll show you how to get set up plus show you how to play against friends via network connection.
• Struggling on a level? These reps know games and can offer useful tips.
• Reps bring the hottest holiday game titles to play and preview so it’s a chance to play against an expert and pick their brain on their favorite titles.

To find a SonyStyle store near you, check out Sony’s helpful “Find a SonyStyle Store” website.

#SonyLatest – The New Sony Breaking News Wire And Twitter Hashtag

It’s time to push things once again to the next level. The only way Sony Insider is going to survive and have real longevity in the future is turning the website into a service. Sony Insider is a blog, or a digital magazine if you will, but the problem is that I read way more Sony news than what I (and Stan) publish every day. It’s impossible for us to cover everything, at least to the standard in which we usually present things. Originally when I started the site it was a sort of a graduation from creating Minidisc Community Forums and ATRACLife. Things have evolved greatly with varied and unique content, huge traffic gains, bulletproof CES performance, HD Video/Reviews, and now our latest effort – #SonyLatest.

#SonyLatest is a hashtag. A hashtag is a way to unite global Tweets around some particular topic. Basically, these are tags that that help those who seek similar content discover your Tweets. And the plan is to keep it fresh. So fresh that its being updated 20-30 times a day with cherry picked links to the best Sony content we can find. I want this to be something big. I want this to be the lifestream of the Sony brand, covering everything possible for everyone to see when it happens. I want this to be a necessity, like as often you check a news site, such as how they have Breaking News. It also allows us to speak about upcoming SI stories, too. This won’t replace content on the site, but rather to make the site even more exciting to use every day.

I have already placed two widgets on the site featuring #SonyLatest – one on the front page to the right of the main story on the main index page, and one to the right within a story. You can also click on the “Join the conversation” link and it will take you to our Twitter site that has #SonyLatest with all the posts to read in an easy manner. Anyone can contribute to #SonyLatest, but for now only #SonyLatest posts by us (@SonyInsider) show up on the widgets in the site.

There’s no two paragraph description, advertisements, etc – it’s the topic title of the cool story we found, parenthesis with slight description if necessary, a shortened link to the story, and the hashtag #SonyLatest. Every link in #SonyLatest by us will always be legit. Only the best. I have ambitions to court several Sony twitterers too and see if they will start using it too. #SonyLatest is all about making Sony Insider and really the latest cool Sony links a service for the consumers and the fans.

Let me know what you think and spread the word, friends.

Also, I would like to thank @AndrewMagann for this idea, as I had watched him post links often to great Sony content in this manner. It made me realize how powerful that action can be if done consistently.

FIFA World Cup To Be Shown For Free In 3D

Sony Corporation and FIFA have announced an agreement for selected media rights of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 3D. FIFA is to produce the world’s first FIFA World Cup in 3D. Up to 25 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches will be produced using Sony’s 3D professional cameras, which will provide coverage of the action that is unprecedented in depth, vividness and excitement to people around the world.

FIFA will utilize Sony’s experience and know-how of 3D content production to spread the passion inside the stadiums at the greatest sport event in the world to more people than ever before.

From 2010, Sony will be incorporating 3D compatibility into a wide range of consumer products such as “BRAVIA” LCD TV, Blu-ray Disc recorders and players, VAIO and PlayStation 3, to provide a multitude of ways in which 3D content – from 3D movies to stereoscopic 3D games – can be enjoyed in the home. By having viewers around the world experience sensational 3D content from the World Cup tournament, Sony aims to accelerate the expansion of 3D from professionals to consumers in 2010 and beyond.

“The transition to 3D is underway, and, we, at Sony, intend to be leaders in every aspect. Our sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup allows us to leverage our cutting-edge 3D technology and premier products with dazzling content to produce a unique and totally compelling viewing experience. 3D viewers around the world will feel as though they are inside the stadiums in South Africa, watching the games in person,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corporation.

“This propels the football fan into a whole new viewing dimension and marks the dawning of a new era in the broadcasting of sport,” said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke. “We are proud that the FIFA World Cup can serve as a platform for advancing technology and the viewing experience, and are truly fortunate to have Sony as a partner in this endeavour.”

Viewers will be able to enjoy 3D experiences at the following locations:

• During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA will host the “International FIFA Fan Fest” public viewing events in 7 cities around the world (Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio De Janeiro, Rome, and Sydney). At Sony’s commercial displays located within the “Fan Fest,” people will be able to enjoy and experience promotional highlight trailers of the FIFA World Cup in 3D.
• In anticipation of the Official 3D Film, viewers will be able to watch promotional trailers for the film of the World Cup in 3D at retail outlets(including Sony stores) that sell Sony products around the world.
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to produce and distribute the Official 3D Film on the Blu-ray Disc and other formats.

By combining the excitement of the FIFA World Cup with 3D images generated using Sony’s technology and products, Sony and FIFA will seek to deliver 3D images that convey the action and emotion of the World Cup to viewers around the world, and a viewing experience as if they were in the stadium itself.

The Sony VAIO JS4 All-In-One Desktop Can Literally Hibernate

Sony has recently identified a minor quality issue involving a small percentage of the VAIO JS Series all-in-one desktop computers sold since October 22, 2009. When powering on or resuming from hibernation in a low temperature environment, the JS4 may not start properly. You may want to think twice about bringing your JS out into the cold next time, especially those of you living in igloos. The VAIO JS4 is sold in many countries around the world, including the USA, Europe and most of Asia Pacific.

Models affected:
Asia Pacific:
VGC-JS45GF/P, VGC-JS45GF/Q, VGC-JS45GF/S, VGC-JS45LF/Q, VGC-JS43LF/P, VGC-JS45TF/P, VGC-JS45TF/Q, VGC-JS45SF/S, VGC-JS45SF/P

North America:
VGC-JS410F, VGC-JS410F/S
VGC-JS430F, VGC-JS430F/Q, VGC-JS430F/S
VGC-JS450F, VGC-JS450F/Q, VGC-JS450F/S

Sony will be providing free repair for customers of the affected models if such models exhibit the above-mentioned symptoms. Please contact the nearest Sony Service Center (in Asia Pacific) (1-877-643-1219 the USA) if you have any of the models stated above. We were unable to find a European notice of this issue at time of writing.

Sony NWZ-E443/E444/E445 E Series Walkman Firmware Version 1.01 Update Program

For owners of latest Walkman E series, Sony is offering NWZ-E445, NWZ-E443, NWZ-E444, NWZ-E444K, NWZ-E443K owners firmware update version 1.01 for fixing audio compatibility with several Sony products and improving functionality with Windows. A new Content Transfer program is also mentioned.

Target products
The followings are the target products of this service, whose firmware version should be 1.00.

• NWZ-E443/E444/E445/E443K/E444K
  * For customers using NWZ-E443K/E444K, the products show [Model:] as “NWZ-E443” or “NWZ-E444”.

Fixed symptoms

With the above products, customers may experience the following symptoms. The symptoms will be fixed with this firmware update.

• You may not be able to play back the WALKMAN under the following conditions:
  - When the WALKMAN is connected to NAS-SC500PK or CMT-LX50WMR and its function is set to WM-PORT.
  - When the BCR-NWU5 is disconnected from the PC under the WALKMAN is connected to BCR-NWU5 with the PC.

Additional function
By updating the firmware, you can experience new features:

• The products can be used by computers being installed OS of Windows 7.
  * The applied edition of the OS is Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate.
  * The software, Content Transfer Ver.1.2, supplied with the products is not compatible with Windows 7. In case of using the target products by Windows 7, Music/Video/Photo files should be transferred by drag and drop from the Windows Explorer. Or, please use Content Transfer Ver.1.3, planned to be supplied in December, 2009.

How to confirm the Model and the Firmware version
Please confirm the Model and the Firmware version from the steps below.

1. Press and hold the BACK/HOME button until the Home menu appears.
2. Press / / / button to select Settings, and then press button.
3. Press / / / button to select Common Settings, and then press button.
4. Press / / / button to select Unit Information, and then press button.
5. Confirm the Model and the Firmware version.

Sony Sells 440,000 PS3′s During Thanksgiving And Black Friday

It’s amazing the turnaround in response Sony is getting with the PS3 these days – especially when SCEA’s Sr. Corporate Communications director Patrick Seybold revealed 440,000 Playstation 3 consoles were sold to eager shoppers in the last month of November taking advantage of special holiday sales. Sony really had a good presence during Black Friday which fell within this week and accelerated sales greatly. Consumers jumped at the chance of any retailers offering PS3 bundles with several games or other accessories. I can only imagine the numbers Sony had for Cyber Monday as well, which many analysts have stated was a bigger draw for consumers then retail experienced during Black Friday.

Perhaps it would be advantageous for Sony to bundle games or include vouchers for free game downloads to maintain this momentum. Now is the time to build the army.

On another note, it’s interesting is that Sony didn’t offer word on that PSP sales looked like. Seybold merely stated,

“The 2009 holiday season got off to an amazing start for PlayStation, with all key retailers showing a significant increase for PS3, PSP and key holiday titles over Black Friday and the holiday weekend.”

Meanwhile, Nintendo announced that American consumers bought more than 1 million units of its Nintendo DS and DSi portable consoles during the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, along with more than half a million Wii consoles — for the week ending November 28th.

Rival Nintendo offered sales figures as well by stating more than 500,000 Wii’s were sold, as well as 1 million units of its Nintendo DS and DSi portable consoles were sold in the same period. Microsoft’s Director of Product Management Aaron Greenberg stated the company saw the Xbox 360 console move two times as many units over the holiday week as the previous one, making it the biggest sales week on the year so far. Some reports have lauded that Microsoft may not have met the same numbers that Sony and Nintendo did.

Very interesting, though – is it becoming more obvious that there is more value at this point and time (not discounting Natal, but it’s not here right now thanks) in a Sony and Nintendo console experience? I think the XBOX360 is a great value and has incredible community-driven features (including movie watching, social media, etc) and much more. However, I really think consumers are shifting to two things – motion control and simplicity in the Wii (as well as unique software IP’s), or HD gaming and movies with the PS3. The XBOX360 is a weird in-between of this. Maybe Natal will make it more relevant again, but if Microsoft doesn’t implement Blu-ray soon I think that sales will deteriorate faster than you think. Sure you can implement streaming 1080P, but Blu-ray games are also nice. Maybe Microsoft will do a power play and the next XBOX will have a humongous (1TB+) hard drive and you’ll just download everything.

Sony Ericsson “XPERIA X10” vs. Apple “iPhone 3G S” Specs Comparison

Sony Ericsson has a very strong play coming in 2010 – the XPERIA X10. With specifications straight out of Star Trek, this just might be the device to propel the Google Android operating system ahead of iPhone 3G S. The new XPERIA X10 (specs courtesy Sony Ericsson) is their most powerful phone ever, and we put it head to head with the iPhone 3G S (specs courtesy of Apple) in a detailed specs comparison. The North American market has been dominated by the iPhone 3G, and it is now even more powerful than before with the updated S version. Both phones have rich application environments – the iPhone with App Store, and the XPERIA X10 with the Google Android Market. We’ve read that the XPERIA X10 will come to the USA courtesy of AT&T (and labeled as the XPERIA X10a) in 2010; this could be one interesting matchup. We’ve highlighted the winner of each category in Green, the loser in Red, and neutral/subjective specs are in Yellow. Any categories left in White we couldn’t make a decision based on incomplete data, or felt was too trivial. Please leave a comment with anything we’ve missed.

Please remember that there are some specifications and experiences not listed here. Click to learn more about the XPERIA X10 (link includes movies) and its incredible user interface that is light years beyond any other Android phone. Click to learn more about the advanced operating system experience of the iPhone 3G S. I have used an iPhone 3G for a very long time and believe its an incredible mobile experience. This will be tough for the consumer – it is truly important that both devices are tested (when possible) to ensure the right choice. The XPERIA X10 is already shaping to be such a “wow” product though..

SonyStyle Japan Offering Snowflake DSC-TX1 Cyber-Shot Cameras

For those of you fortunate to live in Japan, you are probably used to the usual engraving options from SonyStyle. Sony offers interesting graphic additions for many products, including their Cyber-Shot cameras. This year is no exception, with SonyStyle Japan offering a unique snowflake engraving pattern on the beautifully designed DSC-TX1. The engraving, at no extra charge, will only be available for Silver, Black and Pink – which is unfortunate for those of you wanting this on the Blue and Gold models. This will be a limited time offer and compliments the already available Safari, Race, and Heart engraving designs.