Sony Denies Chip Operations Sale

As a follow up to the previous report regarding the planned sale of Sony’s chipmaking unit – the Japanese the company said Tuesday that it is still looking at ways to improve its chip operations and has reached no decision on whether to sell it; essentially denying Japanese media reports that it has struck a deal with Toshiba.

Toshiba Corp. spokesman Keisuke Omori also said no deal has been decided.

Japan’s top business daily, The Nikkei, reported Saturday that Sony has decided to sell its advanced computer chip production operations to Toshiba, which partnered with Sony and IBM Corp. in developing the “Cell” microprocessor. Cell powers Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console, some IBM servers and specialized, graphics-intensive hardware, but it has yet to emerge as a mainstream processor.

The speculation about the future of Sony’s chip operations comes amid a restructuring at Sony and intensifying competition among the world’s computer chip makers. In general, prices have been dropping not only on lower-end chips but all gadgets, making it harder for manufacturers to maintain profits.

“There’s probably two or three things going on in concert,” said Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Research. “It’s very expensive not just to produce or develop but also to maintain a hardware platform. It’s not something that ends when the finished chip comes out.”

Sony shares fell 2.2 percent amid market expectations that the company will have to shoulder losses in selling its chip-making facilities to Toshiba. Toshiba shares dipped 0.6 percent.

Sony has been saying for months it’s exploring ways to streamline its chip business as it focuses on home entertainment devices. “But nothing concrete has been decided,” Sony spokesman Tomio Takizawa said.

In the weekend report, The Nikkei said Sony will sell its chip operations to Toshiba and then form a joint venture with Toshiba to use its products. IBM, which also produces Cell chips in East Fishkill, N.Y. — at a facility that got a $325 million investment from Sony in 2004 — declined to comment.

News source: Associated Press

Sony May Unload Its Chipmaking Unit

Financial Times reported yesterday that Sony is in talks to sell its advanced semiconductor facilities to Toshiba in a move that would represent an effective retreat from high-end semiconductor fabrication. This strategy is in line with Sir Howard Stringer’s desire to slim down the industry giant and if the deal with Toshiba goes well, Sony may stop making advanced chips and instead focus on audiovisual equipment come 2008.

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New Walkman Accessories for the NW-S71xF & NW-S61xF Series

Sony’s Walkman devices will always come with optional accessories and the new NW-S71xF/NW-S61xF series is no different. The new Network Walkman series will debut with new accessories as shown above; and it can also utilize existing Walkman accessories such as the AC-NWUM50, BCR-NWU3, WMC-NWR1, CPF-NW001, SRS-NWZ10, STP-NWN3/W, STP-NWN3/T, STP-NWN2/S, STP-NWN2/B and other miscellaneous Bluetooth accessories.

Product info and pictures after the jump …

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AV Watch Reviews the new MDR-EX700SL

AV Watch has released a pictorial review of the newly announced MDR-EX700SL canal-type earphones. For those interested, please visit AV Watch for the review piece.

More pictures after the jump …

World’s largest canal-type earphones; 16mm drivers

Magnesium chassis; weight: approx. 7g

Bundled accessories

MDR-EX90SL vs MDR-EX700SL

(Pictures courtesy of AV Watch)

NEW Sony NetMD Micro System: CMT-M35WM

It has come to our attention that Sony will be putting forth a new line of NetMD micro system on November 21, 2007. The new micro system, known as the CMT-M35WM will be available in three colors: Black, White and Silver; and has an expected MRSP of approximately 37,800 yen (or approx. USD328).

The micro system’s suffix – WM underscore its capability to facilitate direct recording to certain Walkman models* via its USB port. (as shown in the picture below) It is also interesting to note that basic operations of a Walkman while connected (via USB) to the micro system can be accessed using the CMT-M35WM’s remote control.

* NW-E305/E307, NW-E002/E003/E005, NW-A605/A607/A608, NW-S603/S605/S703F/S705F/S706F, NW-S203F/S205F, NW-E013/E015/E016, NW-A805/A806/A808, and NW-S615F/S616F/S715F/S716F/S718F.

The CMT-35WM has a CD, MD and Cassette Tape module and its amplifier has a maximum output of 20W×2ch; Dimensions: approx. 450mm (w) × 282mm (d) × 232mm (h); Weight: Main unit, approx. 3.1kg; Speakers, approx. 2.2kg for one.

More pictures after the jump …
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New Sony NETJUKE System: NAS-M95HD, NAS-M75HD, NAS-D55HD & NAS-C5

Sony Japan announced yesterday that three new NETJUKE system – NAS-M95HD, NAS-M75HD, NAS-D55HD along with an optional NAS-C5 wireless digital audio streamer will be added to its current fleet of NETJUKE system (click here for previous version). The new NETJUKE system – NAS-M95HD, NAS-M75HD, NAS-D55HD and NAS-C5 wireless digital audio streamer will be available for sale (in Japan only) on November 10, October 20 and November 21, 2007 respectively.

NAS-M95HD: 120GB HDD/MD/CD/S-Master 26W×2ch
★ approx. ¥120,000 (USD$1,053)
NAS-M75HD: 80GB HDD/MD/CD/S-Master 20W×2ch
★ approx. ¥80,000 (USD$702)
NAS-D55HD: 80GB HDD/CD/Digital amplifier 20W×2ch
★ approx. ¥60,000 (USD$527); available in Pink, White and Black
NAS-C5: wireless digital audio streamer
★ approx. ¥30,000 (USD$263)

Like its predecessor, the new NAS-M95HD and NAS-M75HD will feature Sony’s S Master Digital Amplifier*. However, the NAS-D55HD will only employ a standard digital amplifier. The new NETJUKE system will also have an Ethernet port (which is DLNA compliant) so that your Mp3 and ATRAC tunes residing within your PC can be transferred onto the NetJuke’s HDD via Wireless LAN. These new NETJUKEs are also equipped with Sony proprietary “WM-PORT”; so direct music transfer without the PC is possible for selected Walkman (*currently, NW-A800/S710F/S700F/S610F/S600 series).

The “S-Master” digital amplifier, used in the BRAVIA X series and a range of other Sony products, is designed to transform electricity into sound efficiently. This fully digital amplifier minimizes power consumption by converting more than 85% of electricity into audio signals*4. Moreover, the “S-Master” suffers almost no sound deterioration due to heat, because it generates only one-tenth the heat of analog amplifiers. This improvement ensures high-quality sound. In addition, Sony contributed to the conservation of resources by significantly reducing the size of the heat sink – a part that stabilizes the generation of heat.

More pictures and details after the jump …

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ATRAC Is Still Alive in the New NW-S71xF & NW-S61xF Series

Sony Japan announced today that the following new Walkman: NW-S71xF and NW-S61xF series will debut on October 20, 2007 (only for the Japanese domestic market). The newly announced NW-S71xF series will be available in capacity of 8GB/4GB/2GB (White, Pink, Red, Blue and Black) whereas the NW-S61xF series will be available in both 4GB and 2GB capacity (Silver, Blue and Pink). MSRP for the new Walkman S series are as follows:

★ NW-S718F [8GB] – 26,800 (approx. USD236)
★ NW-S716F [4GB] – 20,801 (approx. USD183)
★ NW-S715F [2GB] – 16,800 (approx. USD148)
★ NW-S616F [4GB] – 17,800 (approx. USD157)
★ NW-S615F [2GB] – 13,800 (approx. USD121)

The NW-S71xF series differs from the NW-S61xF by having the Noise Cancelling feature, higher capacity and different color variation. Otherwise, both these new Walkman series are identical in terms of basic functions and features. Like its predecessor, the NW-S700F/S600, the new Network Walkman also features a proprietary WM-PORT – which enables direct recording from CD/MD –> Network Walkman using an optional WMC-NWR1 cable, which is equipped with a recording level switch. The cable is about 60cm in length.

However, unlike both the new NWZ-A81x and NWZ-A61x series, the NW-S71xF series along with its non-Noise Cancelling variant, the NW-S61xF series will still support the ATRAC format and obviously, SonicStage. It is important to note that the Japanese NW-S71xF and NW-S61xF series is not part of Sony’s Open Digital Music Environment using Windows Media Player 11. So, for the time being ATRAC will still continue its existence in the land of the rising sun. In sum, the new Walkman series supports:
Audio Format: MP3 (32-320kbps), WMA (32-192kbps), ATRAC (48-352kbps), ATRAC Advanced Lossless (64-352kbps), linear PCM, AAC (16-320kbps) and HE-AAC (32-128kbps).
Video Format: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

More pictures and details after the jump …

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Forum Member Reviews the New NWZ-A818

AtracLife forum member, aznbro85 reviews the new NWZ-A818. This exclusive review is definitely a must-read! Check out the many other topics in the Product Reviews/Pictorials section that were not mentioned here, and you can add to the growing list – Register for free to participate in the #1 discussion board for ATRAC based device.

PSP Slim & Lite: A Comparative Pictorial with PSP-1000

Come September 20, 2007, the newly “redesigned” PSP (PSP-2000) with a reduced size and weight by 33% and 19% respectively will be available for your gaming pleasure. While we countdown to its debut day, Famitsu has released a comparative pictorial between the smaller PSP-2000 and the current PSP-1000. Enjoy the pictures exclusively from Famitsu!

PSP-2000 (top) vs. PSP-1000 (bottom)

more pictures after the jump…
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Console War Continues… What Should Sony Do Next?

The console war continues…. as writers of Forbes notes: “you’ve been hit with a disruptive attack. A competitor you dismissed has successfully changed the game in your industry. Analysts and investors are clamoring for your response…or your head. What should you do? “

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