sony

August is here and like clockwork the cell phone manufacturers start spewing out a host of new models. It's not just Motorola, LG and Helio for today in London Sony Ericsson announced its new K770i Cybershot phone. Also called the "Victoria" (we're not really sure why) the K770i sports the familiar Sony Ericsson candy design but with a 0.57 inch (14.5 mm) profile. As you'd expect from a Cybershot model the features are heavy on photography. There's a 3.2 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom, an auto focus, a lens cover … Read more

Fans of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) media device must continue to wait for a download store, a feature that experts have said is a must if the player is ever to launch a significant challenge to the iPod.

Sony representatives, which have been holding press gatherings in major cities in preparation for the September launch of the upgraded PSP, refused on Tuesday to set a launch date for the download store.

They did reveal that the store will launch with "short-form" games. Whether music and movies will be available at rollout is "still unclear," said John … Read more

Universal Music Group, the largest of the four big music labels, has become the second major to offer DRM-free MP3 downloads.

EMI was first to take the plunge, selling DRM-free files first on Apple's iTunes (in the AAC audio format) and later offering MP3s through a variety of other services via a deal with MediaNet.

Unlike EMI, the Universal deal is only a five-month trial, and the company hasn't announced any such deal with Apple--not surprising, given the two companies' recent history. In fact, nobody should see this as an act of kindness on Universal's part. Rather, … Read more

Yes, you've seen this headline before. For the third month in a row, Toshiba customers are being urged to exchange potentially dangerous notebook batteries for the nonexploding kind.

This time around, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says 1,400 of the lithium-ion batteries containing Sony-made cells sold with Toshiba laptops pose a fire hazard. There have been three reports of models with those batteries overheating in other countries, but none of the incidents caused injury, according to the CPSC.

Users of Toshiba's Satellite A100, Satellite A105 and Tecra A7, it's your turn. If your notebook was made … Read more

In another installment of everyone's favorite series, I had the opportunity to take a look at the new Sony Micro Home Theater System. And while it pumps out some nice sound while offering a slick interface and design, I'm still wondering why there's no HDTV integration or a Blu-ray drive. For a full hands-on, keep reading.

Design

The Sony Micro Home Theater System is one of the best looking devices you will come across. Featuring a slot-loading drive and a nice chrome outline around the said drive, the device immediately reminds you of the PS3.

The Micro … Read more

Sony, recognizing that not everyone is ready for Blu-ray or HD-DVD, announced three new CD/DVD burners today. The 840 series of multiformat drives includes two external models--one a slim drive designed for portability--and an internal model.

The DRU-840A (internal) and DRX-840U (external) offer the same burn speeds:

The DRU-840A is an ATAPI (EIDE) drive, while the DRX-840U is connected via USB 2.0 (or USB 1.1, with slower write speeds). Both drives come with Nero 7 Express for disc authoring and mastering. … Read more

It's no secret that we have a soft spot for supersmall laptops. Ultraportables, as they're called, generally have 11- or 12-inch screens and weigh in at less than four pounds--perfect for lugging around all day or hanging at the local coffee shop with. Unfortunately, these guys are usually plagued by the twin devils of high prices and poor battery life (not to mention occasionally underpowered processors).

This, however, has clearly been the summer of the ultraportable, with a generous handful of exciting new systems generating heavy buzz. But with all these new choices, which one is right for … Read more

As we previously reported, Sony announced Thursday it's offering to repair 350,000 digital cameras, a point-and-shoot model called the Cyber-shot DSC-T5 released in 2005, because of a problem that could cause metal on the bottom of the camera to cut or scratch the photographer.

"Sony has recently discovered that some DSC-T5 Cyber-shot digital still cameras may experience peeling and warping of the metal coating on the bottom of the camera that could result in a slight cut or scratch to the user's skin," Sony said in an advisory on its Web site.

The … Read more

Just a few short weeks after its first public unveiling at the Santa Monica E3 show, the newly slimmed-down Sony PSP was on display for New York media. We already knew the basic details of the PSP redesign (thinner, lighter, sleeker, faster), but Sony's John Koller, Senior Product Manager for the PSP, was kind enough to give us an on-camera summary of the updates. Executive Editor David Carnoy is handling the camera, an RCA Small Wonder EZ201--he's the one you hear asking the questions offscreen, and you can even see him reflected in the PSP screen at … Read more