sony

Sony Chairman Howard Stringer to retire in June

After having led Sony's board of directors for a year, former CEO Howard Stringer has announced that he will retire from the company in June, the Financial Times reported.

Stringer had his role with Sony increasingly minimized over the last few years. After serving as CEO from 2005 to 2012, Stringer was replaced in that role by Kazuo Hirai, who was at the time head of Sony Computer Entertainment. Stringer remained on the board and then replaced board chairman Yotaro Kobayashi in June of 2012.

Stringer spoke of his decision to retire during a Japan Society lecture in New … Read more

Four simple ways to overcome the PS4's challenges

It's been weeks since the PlayStation 4 event underwhelmed many people. Myself included. But as time has passed, my mind's become clearer as to why, exactly, I was so disappointed. It's a challenge for the PlayStation 4 to overcome, but it's also a challenge of all "next-gen" consoles.

I hate the term "next-gen" as much as anyone else, but that's what happens when you have one piece of hardware sit out on the market for six or seven years while you anticipate what the Next Big Thing will be. "Next-gen&… Read more

How YouTube could ignite streaming music: Go mobile, go free

Google's YouTube, the entertainment industry's longtime "frenemy," is emerging as an important component of record label plans to adapt to consumers who are taking their music mobile.

A part of the streaming-music service that Google is aiming to launch this summer is a new YouTube product that would be designed for the desktop and mobile devices, according to a person familiar with the negotiations between Google and the major labels. Such a mobile offering, coupled with the powerful YouTube brand, could ignite the nascent streaming-music business, now led by Spotify for on-demand music and Pandora for … Read more

Get the most cash for your used electronics with Flipsy

Selling or trading in your older used electronics for some fast cash is quick and convenient. You don't have to deal with pesky eBay fees, or haggle over the final sales price with a stranger on Craiglist. Sites like Amazon Trade-In, eBay Instant Sale, and Gazelle all make it easy to send in a used item. You mark the condition of your item, ship it off, let the company inspect it, and wait for the cash to show up in your PayPal or Amazon account. I rounded up five trade-in sites here if you're interested in reading more … Read more

Sony sells Tokyo building for $1.2 billion

Sony has sold off one of its most prominent buildings in Tokyo.

The company announced today that the Sony City Osaki building in Tokyo was sold off for 111.1 billion yen ($1.2 billion) to the Nippon Building Fund and a Japan-based institutional investor. The company, which currently has 5,000 employees working in the 25-story building, will lease the facility from the new owner for a period of five years.

Sony was reportedly shopping the building last month. The move is part of a broader strategy on Sony's part to offload assets and increase cash flow. Sony … Read more

Take a Leap in May with motion control

This is the CNET Update you're looking for:

Get ready to control your computer like a Jedi: Leap Motion's controllers are arriving mid-May for $80. Watch the video above to see how users can navigate programs with the wave of a hand or the wiggle of a finger. Developers like Corel and Disney Interactive are releasing apps that work with Leap.

But that's not the only company taking the "touch" out of touch screen. At Mobile World Congress, STMicroelectronics shows how to control a tablet without making contact.

Also in Wednesday's tech news roundup: … Read more

PS4 is 'gigantic leap for the industry,' EA exec says

Sony's PlayStation 4 is a major step forward for the games industry, according to an Electronic Arts executive.

Speaking yesterday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, EA Chief Technical Officer Rajat Taneja said that the PlayStation 4 has "8 to 10 times the power" of current-generation consoles, making it a "gigantic leap for the industry."

Polygon, a PlayStation news site, attended the event and reported on Taneja's comments.

Sony unveiled its PlayStation 4 last week. The company said the console will offer a gaming experience superior to current-generation devices, thanks to … Read more

Sony needs help naming its pink balls

It's not every day the president of Sony writes a blog post headlined "Help Sony's President Name His Pink Audio Balls."

What balls are we talking about? Today, Sony U.S. President Phil Molyneux took to the company's official blog and asked the Internet to leave a comment with a new name for the anemic-sounding SRS-BTV5 Bluetooth Wireless Mobile Speaker. If he likes the name, he'll push it through as the product's new moniker. The people behind the top five names get free -- ahem -- balls.… Read more

Amazon nabs exclusive rights to stream 'Justified'

Amazon has scored a deal to distribute a couple of FX shows online, dealing another blow to rivals Netflix and Hulu.

The online retail giant today said it has reached a content licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Television to make Amazon Prime the exclusive location to watch FX's "Justified." It also said it would now offer episodes of "The Shield," but that show is not exclusive to Netflix.

Prime subscribers can watch the shows for free, while other Amazon visitors can purchase and download episodes for $1.99 apiece.

"'Justified' and 'The Shield' are … Read more