Pianist Lang Lang Signs Deal With Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment has arranged a comprehensive long-term music and media agreement with internationally celebrated pianist Lang Lang. Lang Lang’s first album on Sony Classical will feature a live recording of Lang Lang’s upcoming recital at Vienna’s legendary Musikverein. The performance will also be made available in high definition video on the Blu-ray format.

This deal expands Sony’s existing relationship with the artist whereby Lang Lang serves as a worldwide brand ambassador to Sony Group. In addition to music albums, Sony will collaborate with Lang Lang on a number of other projects showcasing cutting edge technologies, exploring opportunities for 3D video and web-based music education initiatives.

“I enjoy the innovative and creative energy of Sony,” says Lang Lang. “They are not just looking into the future, they are shaping it, and I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting process. We share a vision. This is why our relationship is not just about making great recordings; it’s also about technology and its future.”

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said: “Lang Lang is one of the most passionate, dynamic and gifted artists in the world today. We are thrilled to welcome his enormous talent and global appeal not only to Sony Music, but to the entire Sony family. We look forward to collaborating with Lang Lang to create innovative and unique entertainment experiences utilizing his musical genius and technical savvy.”

Lang Lang performing an encore (Chopin Etude No. 3, Op. 10 in E major) during his appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker on January 31st, 2009 in Berlin.

Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Lang Lang to our distinguished roster of classical artists. We are committed to working closely with him on many aspects of his outstanding career, which we are proud to say includes educational and philanthropic activities. Signing an artist as important and multi-dimensional as Lang Lang is exciting for me as a fan. For Sony Music, it is another significant step as we continue to focus on growing our Classical business.”

Bogdan Roscic, President of Sony Classical, said: “I have had the pleasure of working with Lang Lang in the past, and already from the very beginning of his career, he showed a level of passion for recordings, media and new technology that’s quite unusual in our business. That open-mindedness has made him one of the most important ambassadors for the art form itself, bringing classical music to audiences which musical gifts alone, even as prodigious as his, could not reach in today’s culture. We are all very excited about writing the next chapter of this story with him.”

The synergy between Sony and Lang Lang is also apparent in their immediate response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Both the artist and the company have announced their decisions to donate much-needed funds towards UNICEF’s long-term relief effort. On Sunday, March 21, Lang Lang, who has been a UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador since 2006, will perform at Carnegie Hall with Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in a UNICEF benefit concert. In support of this initiative, Sony Classical will release a recording of Frederic Chopin: Polonaise in A-flat Major No. 6 Op. 53 “Heroic,” as an exclusive iTunes download, in tribute to the heroes working to alleviate the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti. All proceeds from the recording and concert, as well as Lang Lang’s fee, will be donated to the US Fund for UNICEF.

Sony Ericsson Announces Creations, A New Way To Share Content

Sony Ericsson wants to change the way you share and experience content on your phone with the announcement of Creations. The new Creations platform enables mobile phone users to create and publish their own content such as video, audio and imaging to be shared, explored and remixed using content-creating mobile applications and tools. Content will no longer be static as Creations allows content creators to produce content on the move from their mobile phone.

It is an open platform accessible using a range of mobile handsets, as well as on the desktop. Sony Ericsson is engaging with application developers to deliver content tools and applications.

Developers are also invited to join the Creations network and play a vital role in enabling co-creation and co-innovation on the mobile web, as the service prepares to support applications in the coming months. When you sign up your storage capacity starts with 1 GB. If that’s not enough your storage capacity will automatically increase as you need it!

You can keep your content private, allow other users to view, download or co-create with it. Themes available in the Creations gallery can be edited and shared back to the community, whilst giving the original creator credit. It appears that Creations will likely be the successor to Wallpaper and Theme creator that Sony Ericsson has provided in the past.

Be sure to also check out the Sony Ericsson Creations blog.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Plus Keyboard Equals Vivaz Pro

Sony Ericsson’s Mobile World Conference announcements are quite interesting – they’ve already announced a sidekick to the recently released Vivaz, aptly named the Vivaz Pro. If you don’t recall, the Vivaz is a Symbian (S60, 5th Edition) OS phone and one of their first phones with 720P HD video recording capability. So what’s the difference between the Pro and regular version? From what we can tell, the only differences is that the Pro has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a lesser camera at 5.1 megapixels compared to the 8 in the regular version. The Vivaz Pro will also only be available in black or white, which indicates Sony Ericsson will be aiming this towards business professionals.

Sony Ericsson posted a great gallery of the Vivaz Pro on Picasa, and also posted a cute promotional video:

Sony Ericsson’s Junior XPERIA X10 Mini And Mini Pro

Sony Ericsson has surprised many with the announcement of the touchscreen XPERIA X10 Mini (and Pro version with slide-out QWERTY keyboard), which is basically a miniature version of the upcoming XPERIA X10 smartphone. This is quite an interesting product – it’s like Apple releasing an iPhone Nano. Click here to view Sony Ericsson’s X10 Mini gallery, and the X10 Mini Pro gallery on Picasa.

The XPERIA X10 Mini differs from the bigger version in several ways. One of the most obvious differences is the form factor; the Mini (83 x 50 x 16 mm) and Mini Pro (90 x 52 x 17 mm) are far smaller than the regular XPERIA X10 (119 x 63 x 13 mm). Also, the Mini (and Pro) has a 2.55 inch scratch resistant screen (240×320 QVGA, 16m color) compared the larger 4 inch screen on the XPERIA X10. Oddly enough, this phone will ship with Android 1.6 (instead of the current 2.# version) – something we’re not really fond of but Sony Ericsson has promised that an upgrade path will be available in due time.

We’re curious if this device will cost far less then the XPERIA X10 so no one is left out in the new XPERIA experience.

Both phones will be available in the second quarter of this year. The X10 Mini will be available in Pearl White, Black, Pink, Lime, Red and Silver while the X10 Mini Pro will be available in Black and Red. Great to see a plethora of color choices here for the Mini.

Sony Ericsson is also touting the inclusion of the signature application Timescape which brings all communication together in one place so users can see at a glance text messages, missed calls, and Facebook and Twitter updates, without having to open lots of different applications. We had some hands on experience with Timescape at CES 2010 and it was simply outstanding. As an avid iPhone user, it made me want to switch. The interactive music player also uses the “infinite button” to pull together all music content from the music store and YouTube.

The processor within the X10 Mini and Mini Pro is a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227, which is very impressive and should be more than sufficient for Android. We love the added 2GB microSD card. The included camera is equally impressive at 5 megapixels with auto focus, geotagging, video recording, and other features.

Connectivity is also very solid with the inclusion of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio, A-GPS, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. We noticed there is a Micro USB connector, which seems to be the new standard in these little tiny devices. I miss the days of Mini USB.

Other notable software features include Google Maps, Google search, Google Talk, Google Voice Search, YouTube, Android Market, PlayNow, and a WebKit-based web browser (excellent). Business people will appreciate the Exchange ActiveSync support.

Battery life is about what we would expect for a Sony Ericsson device of this size, with 4 hours of talk time for EDGE (GSM/GPRS), 285 hours standby. 3G (UMTS) talk time clocks in at 3.5 hours, while its standby time is quite impressive at 360 hours. The X10 mini and X10 Mini Pro supports HSPA 900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA 850/1900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

BD Remote App Befriends Sony’s Latest BD Players [Video]

Sony showed off a pretty cool app at CES that you can get for free and install on your iPhone or Touch iPod – a very easy, gesture-based way to navigate through XMB menus, access Gracenote database for movie info. However, I would not hurry to get it from the App Store unless you own one of the 2010 Blu-ray player line up. Yes, frankly I was pretty disappointed that I am unable to take advantage of it on my pricey flagship BD player BDP-S5000ES. One would think, Sony would release a revamped firmware upgrade for 2009 BD players and let a customer enjoy new features (internet video) as well as this simple BD Remote registration add on in your XMB menu. Alas, the engineers at Sony are not capable of it or more likely Sony’s marketing team would like you to jump on a new BD player. Enjoy the video footage below and see if that’s something you’d want to play with if you had that opportunity.

Oh yea, it won’t work with your PS3 either, even though PS3 has a BD Remote registration tool.

Sony PS3 Game flOw is Available for Free Download, Today Only

Hey ya’ll, if you have not bought Sony’s Exclusive flOw game that will translucently take you through different levels and calm down your nerves from a busy week, there is no better time to get it for free while the offer is out there on PlayStation Network. If you like it, get Flower too, very chill game as well. Happy Valentine’s everyone!

Sony Acquires iCyt And Officially Enters Flow Cytometry Business

Sony has acquired iCyt Mission Technology, Inc. (iCyt), a leading producer of high-performance cell sorters used for stem cell and disease research, through its U.S. subsidiary, Sony Corporation of America (SCA). With this acquisition, Sony is using its expertise and technologies to enter the flow cytometry business in life science field. iCyt, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, designs, manufactures and sells flow cytometers, associated reagents and services.

Flow cytometry is a technique for counting and examining microscopic particles, such as cells and chromosomes, by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them by an electronic detection apparatus. It allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second. Flow cytometry is routinely used in the diagnosis of health disorders, especially blood cancers, but has many other applications in both research and clinical practice.

“Sony brings an amazing level of technology and engineering capability to the field of cytometry,” said Gary Durack, founder, President and CEO of iCyt. “As a Sony company, iCyt will be able to leverage Sony’s global resources to deliver a variety of innovative solutions to the cell analysis market. This is truly a win for iCyt, its customers, and all who will benefit from these advances.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Gary Durack, who has extensive experience in the flow cytometry industry, and iCyt to the Sony family,” said Keiji Kimura, EVP of Sony. “iCyt’s experience and technologies will be valuable assets for Sony as it expands into this new business domain. We are confident that this acquisition will accelerate the development of Sony’s flow cytometry business by combining Sony’s expertise in the manufacturing of consumer products with the technological assets of iCyt.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCA, iCyt plans to develop advanced technologies and deliver new products in collaboration with Sony. Gary Durack will continue to lead the company through this period of growth and expansion.
New products and advancements will be announced at CYTO 2010, the upcoming Congress of the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC), in Seattle in May 2010.

Sony has been exploring healthcare applications for its consumer-based optic technologies, such as those used for Blu-ray discs and its advanced data transmission technologies. Recent progress in regenerative medicine has highlighted the importance of cell analysis and, specifically, flow cytometry, an indispensable tool for research. Sony plans to realize unique technological advances in flow cytometry through the application of its core technologies. As part of this effort, Sony and iCyt have been jointly developing new flow cytometry devices since April 2009. Through this acquisition, Sony expects to accelerate its development of next-generation cell analysis systems and deliver innovative products to research and clinical laboratories around the world.

Rebooted Spider Man 3D Coming To Theaters July 3, 2012

The Spider-Man film series are superhero films based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, and unless you’re living in cave you’ve probably seen one of the movies. The rights to a motion picture based on Spider-Man were purchased in 1985 and moved through various production companies and studios, at one point having James Cameron to direct, before being secured by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The three films, produced on a total budget of US $597 million, grossed nearly $2.5 billion worldwide. Each film set several box office records, with all three included in the top 20 highest-grossing domestic films as well as the top 25 highest-grossing worldwide films. Sony Pictures just announced the release date for the next movie in the Spider Man series, but first, lets take a look as this huge franchise is going to be very different.

In 2007, Spider-Man 4 entered development, with Raimi attached to direct and Maguire, Dunst and other cast members set to reprise their roles. Both a fourth and a fifth movie were planned, and at one time the idea of shooting the two sequels concurrently was under consideration. However, Raimi stated in March 2009 that only the fourth film was currently in development and that if there were fifth and sixth films, the two films would actually be a continuation of each other. James Vanderbilt was hired in October 2007 to pen the screenplay, after initial reports in early 2007 that Sony Pictures was in contact with David Koepp, who wrote the first Spider-Man film. The script was subsequently rewritten by Pulitzer-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, and rewritten again by Gary Ross in October 2009. Sony also engaged Vanderbilt to write scripts for Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6.

In 2007, Raimi expressed interest in portraying the transformation of Dr. Curt Connors into his villainous alter-ego, the Lizard; the character’s actor Dylan Baker and producer Grant Curtis have also been enthusiastic about the idea. It was reported in December 2009 that John Malkovich was in negotiations to play Vulture, and that Anne Hathaway would play Felicia Hardy, though she would not have transformed into the Black Cat, as in the comics. Instead, Raimi’s Felicia was expected to become a brand-new superpowered figure called the Vulturess.

Sony Pictures announced in January 2010 that plans for Spider-Man 4 had been canceled due to Raimi’s withdrawal from the project. Raimi reportedly ended his participation due to doubt that he could meet the planned May 2011 release date while upholding the film creatively.

Simultaneous with the cancellation of Spider-Man 4, Sony announced that the franchise would be rebooted with a new director and new cast. The reboot film is scheduled to be released in summer 2012 and will focus on Peter Parker developing his abilities in high school. Sony also confirmed that James Vanderbilt will write the script for the new film and Marc Webb will direct the next Spider-Man film. Now things have finally come together, with Sony Pictures tweeting that the next Spider Man movie will come to theaters in 3D on July 3rd, 2012.

Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said, “At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life. We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure. We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”

Arad and Ziskin added jointly, “Over the years, the Spider-Man comics have been told with bold and creative new writers and artists who have re-calibrated the way audiences see Peter Parker. Marc Webb will do for the new direction of the films what so many visionary storytellers have done with the comic books. He is an incredibly talented filmmaker and we look forward to working closely with him on this new adventure.”

Webb said, “This is a dream come true and I couldn’t be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi’s virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon. The first three films are beloved for good reason. But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to ‘take over’ from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I’m here because there’s an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man.”

Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, added, “I’m excited that Sony has chosen a director with a real penchant and understanding for the character. This is a brave, bold direction for the franchise, and I can’t wait to see what Marc comes up with next.”

Sony Going Modular With 11Gbps Millimeter-Wave Wireless Technology

At ISSCC 2010, Sony announced the development of wireless technology specifically designed to be used within future gadgets. The Millimeter-wave band used in this advancement refers to electromagnetic waves with a frequency of 30GHz to 300GHz, and wavelength between 1mm to 10mm. With their high frequency, millimeter-waves are suited to ultra high speed data transfer, while a further advantage is their ability to transfer data using only very small antennas. This could potentially replaced soldered connections one day, if a low enough cost was achieved.

This could also help reduce costs by making things more modular. If Sony wants to add a tuner to a monitor to make it a TV, with something like this they could just slap on a module that just needs connections for power and ground. Eliminating the data interconnects means simpler connections and less traces to route.

The high frequency technologies used in this system draw on Sony’s extensive expertise and years of experience in the field of wireless communications and broadcast products. Specifically, Sony has integrated highly energy efficient millimeter-wave circuits on 40nm-CMOS-LSIs (with an active footprint of just 0.13mm2 including both the transmitter and receiver), to realize high speed, 11Gbps data transfer over a distance of 14mm using antennas approximately 1mm in size. By replacing complicated wires and internal circuitry with wireless connections, this technology enables a reduction in the size and cost of the IC and other components used in electronics products, delivering advantages such as size and cost-reduction and enhanced reliability of the final product.

You have to route a lot of traces very carefully to move some data at 11Gbps. If all they have to do is take a few different sub-boards and slap them on one simple main board, they could make their electronics simpler and cheaper. Even if that is all on one board, taking a few pre-designed sections is easier than routing it all together.

The advancing functionality of today’s electronics products requires ever increasing quantities of internal data transfer. Once wired connections approach the limit of their data capacity, additional circuitry is required to facilitate larger data transfers, however this leads to the issue of increasingly complicated IC packages, intricately printed circuit boards, and larger IC sizes.

By replacing physical circuitry in electronics products with high speed wireless connections, this new data transfer technology reduces the number of wired connections and minimizes IC use, to simplify the IC package and printed circuit board. Furthermore, because the data transfer occurs without contact, this enhances the reliability of movable and detachable parts within the product.

Sony will proceed with efforts to adopt this technology in a range of electronics products, while continuing its development to meet ever-increasing data-rate requirements.

Impress Your Special Someone With The Reader Valentine’s Special Bundle

Valentine’s Day is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Fast forward to 2010 – how about instead of flowers, you give your special someone the gift of intelligence with the Reader Valentine’s Special Bundle ($329). The bundle includes a red Reader Touch Edition, limited edition red cover with light, and a code for a free eBook download of The Heart Speaks by Mimi Guarneri.

The PRS-600 Reader included in this bundle is feature rich with ePUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, BBeB Book and other text format compatibility – it also has 512MB of built in storage and the ability to use storage cards. Another cool value is the built-in MP3/AAC player and 3.5mm headphone jack to listen to your music or audiobooks. The PRS-600 also has a built-in dictionary, the ability to enlarge text, and a stunning two week battery life (7,500 page turns).