Sony Develops “SmartAR” Integrated Augmented Reality Technology
Sony Memory Stick Gets a Speed Boost of Up to 50 MB/sec
Sony Bravia HX929 Firmware Available, New Features Abound
Sir Howard Stringer Addresses PSN/Qriocity Customers
PSP®go Phase Out
Music Unlimited Service Coming to Your PSP
Latest Forum Posts
Sony USA has been mum on pricing details for new Sony Bravia HX series TV sets since they showed off the XBR-46HX929 and XBR-55HX929 at CES. We already witnessed European announcement with their price tags, and they did seem pretty promising. As some of you may remember the original HX909 flagship models were pretty pricey (the 52″ model MSRP was set at $3699), so what might the new and improved HX models cost?
EA/DICE have revealed an explosive new trailer showing off Battlefield 3, a highly anticipated shooter coming to PC/PS3/XBOX360 in late 2011. It will reintroduce several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position and 64-player battles on PC, while the consoles will support 24 players. No word regarding PlayStation Move or 3D support at this time.
The next generation of Frostbite graphics engine will debut with Battlefield 3. It will take full advantage of the DirectX 11 API and 64-bit processors, with no support for DirectX 9 (nor, therefore, Windows XP). It will also feature enhanced in-game destruction with Destruction 3.0, creating more refined physics than its predecessor.
At SIGGRAPH 2010, DICE gave several presentations on advances in their rendering technology:
- “Tile-based deferred shading acceleration” via DirectCompute. This is being ported to the PlayStation 3′s SPUs.
- Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA), again implemented with DirectCompute, for bandwidth conservation. MLAA is currently available only to a few PlayStation 3 games such as God of War III and LittleBigPlanet 2. DICE intends to bring this feature to DirectX 11 GPUs.
- Quasi-realtime radiosity.
- Improved environment destruction.
Pre-order Battlefield 3 to receive the digital expansion pack Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand at no extra charge. This multiplayer expansion pack includes four legendary maps from Battlefield 2, remastered with Frostbite 2 physics, destruction and visuals. Completing the package are classic Battlefield 2 weapons and vehicles, unique rewards, new achievements/trophies, and more.
Players anxious to fight can pre-order the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition now. Pre-order while supplies last.
Kevin Butler is promoting the latest blockbuster FPS game for the PS3 – Killzone 3, which came out several days ago. And Kevin has a fish in barrel just for you.
Reviews basically state the obvious: incredible gameplay, groundbreaking 3D, exciting PlayStation Move support, and an 84 rating on Metacritic.
IGN gave the game an 8.5, praising the atmosphere, graphics and multiplayer. They also stated “the weak story never develops into anything great.” Destructoid gave the game a perfect 10/10, with reviewer Jim Sterling stating: “I don’t think the PlayStation 3 has ever had quite such a rounded, satisfactory package as this, with this level of polish, refinement and pure, simple, unpretentious action.”
Lets take a look at Sony’s new active shutter 3D glasses for their 2011 range of BRAVIA TV’s. There are two models: TDG-BR200 (large/adult) and the TDG-BR250 (small/child) differ only by size. Both series come in black and white.
With a new design, the glasses are more lightweight and have a less bulky appearance without sacrificing the ability to block out ambient room light. Despite the thinner look, these latest 3D active shutter glasses are durable, unless your chucking them around in an argument.
Definitely one of the best designs on the market.
The new shades have a standard micro USB port. The battery is rechargeable and boasts a very quick recharge time. 3 hours after just 3 minutes of charging. 30 hours use on a 45 minute full charge. Not too shabby!
Yes, you heard it, Sony decided to go all out and bring some smashing neon colors to your life, that of course if you bring one of their VAIO CA or CB series home. The exclusive colors will be represented in neon green as well as neon orange with 14 inch and 15.5 inch LED widescreen displays. I guess the VAIO P that came in similar coats did not attract that needed attention, so the bigger size and more neon color would definitely blow your fellow Starbucks coffee junkies away. Sony did not stop at just that, expect to see light radiating around the edges of the laptop, through the VAIO logo, and even around the touchpad emitting a beautiful glow, add to this the lit keyboard and you got a Tron-like visual effects in a dark room.
On the software side, the future users of these models will be greeted with the Sony Imagination Studio™ Suite VAIO® Edition combines five powerful Sony® applications for easily enhancing and sharing your music, photos, and movies. Turn your video shoots into Hollywood-style movies with Vegas™ Movie Studio HD Platinum. Make your own original music tracks or create remixes and mash-ups of your favorite songs with Acid™ Music Studio. And of course you can burn your videos to DVD or Blu-ray Disc™ media (select models) to share with your family and friends.
Interesting to note, these new models also come pre-installed with Remote Keyboard that some of you are familiar already, however this time it not only controls your PlayStation 3 XMB menu, it will also help navigate menus and options within your connected BRAVIA® television or Blu-ray Disc player (we are pretty sure it applies to 2011 models).
Specifications are not bad either – you will end up with second generation Intel Core i5 processor that delivers even more performance automatically when you need it with a better visual PC experience built-in.
In graphics department – AMD Radeon HD 6630 1GB Hybrid Graphics card (select models) gives a performance boost to your day-to-day processor functions for a faster, more optimized overall computing experience while lowering power consumption.
If you are not a fan of neon colors, Sony will be glad to sell you Lightning White and Bolt Black C Series which have a distinctive, appealing pattern that hints at the sophistication and powerful technology on the inside.
Expected ship dates are in mid March starting at $880.
Sony has launched a new series of professional OLED monitors in 24.5 inch (BVM-E250) and 16.5 inch (BVM-E170) varieties. (more…)
Engadget has leaked information from “trusted resources” about a $599 (Wi-Fi only) Sony tablet computer due in September. The device is a lovechild from several product groups, meaning it will not be specifically VAIO branded. The most obvious aspect of the product is a radical ergonomic “wrap” design optimized for comfort.
As for the design, the front of the tablet is rumored to be a high-gloss black bezel that surrounds the display. The rear is a matte-silver color with some texture near to enhance the grip. Premium materials all around.
The potential specifications are outstanding, and include a Tegra 2 processor that powers Android (Honeycomb) on a 9.4 inch (1280×900) capacitive touchscreen. Front and rear cameras are apparently on board, as well as a regular USB port. There will be few buttons, such as volume on/off and possibly a Q button to quickly access Qriocity services. Qriocity will be front and center in the device, which will allow consumers to purchase a variety of media. The UI rivals and/or improves upon the iPad experience.
There’s also word of an integrated IR port so you can control your TV (even non-Sony models). This will mesh nicely with the existing Android programs that already allow you to control Sony home entertainment products over Wi-Fi.
Engadget reports the tablet is also Playstation Certified, which probably means it will run PlayStation 1 games.
Sony Corporation YouTube (Japan) posted a PMW-F3 demo video shot in Los Angeles called “The Red Balloon.” The $16k camera body is a stunning hand held 35mm option, and can shoot some pretty incredible footage. Examples include daytime, night time, aerial, low noise, high sensitivity shooting situations.
