Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has struck back at Activision chief Bobby Kotick, claiming his calls to cut PS3 prices are “a lot of noise” and that there’s no “logic” in discounting the console. Speaking to Reuters, Stringer suggested that “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic.”

The rebuff comes in response to Kotick’s well-publicized threats back in June that Activision might consider dropping PS3 and PSP game development if Sony failed to reduce the entry-price to their flagship console. Kotick, who is in charge of the biggest independent games developer in the world, suggested that Sony’s reluctance to cut the PS3’s cost meant that studios saw fewer games being bought for the console versus its Xbox 360 and Wii rivals.

Sony, meanwhile, are tipped to announce a new version of the PS3, with a slimmed-down casing, that would use cheaper components and, it’s suggested, allow the company to reduce prices without losing money. Rumors suggest the new console will be announced in August or September, allowing retailers to clear stocks of the existing model.

Rumors regarding a PSP phone have circulated for almost as long as the gaming handheld itself has been available, and despite Sony’s best efforts they refuse to die down. According to the Nikkei business daily this weekend, Sony is looking to set up a department that would explore gaming/phone hybrid devices; the team could be established as early as July, suggests the report.
While the Nikkei’s sources are unspecified, the Sony project is tipped to bring together their own gaming-device experience and the cellular functionality of Sony Ericsson handsets. That implies that the project may not be a Sony Ericsson device but solely bear Sony’s branding; previous rumors have suggested strong internal disagreement over Sony Ericsson handsets using the PlayStation name.

Sony themselves have declined to comment on the report, which does at least make a change from the usual “we have no plans” we tend to hear from them. Their most recent handheld, the PSP Go, has WiFi but no 3G connectivity; however as it relies on digital distribution for its gaming titles and content, it would be a likely candidate for the sort of anywhere-downloads integrated WWAN would permit.

It’s perhaps saying a lot about our opinion of big businesses like Sony when admitting you purposefully milk early-adopters wins you kudos for honesty. SCEE’s Andrew House, current president and former chief marketing officer, has done just that, telling MCV that the PSP Go’s high price is partly the result of “a certain premium” associated with a new device.

“When you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account” Andrew House, president, SCEE

MCV asked House whether the PSP Go’s $249 price was a result of new R&D costs as well as being an attempt to make up for lost retailer markup thanks to the new digital delivery system. House, though, denied that was the case.

Sony has been criticized before regarding accessory prices for the PSP Go. The handheld uses a new connector, meaning that mini-USB accessories purchased for the full-size PSP will not work with the new version.

Sony let slip a bit more information about their PlayStation 3 motion control tech today, giving those who were anxious to hear more about it at E3 this year a little bit of reprieve from their desperate need to know more.

Apparently, developers can start making their own content for the new technology via the PS3 Software Development Kit. This SDK sports head tracking and face tracking abilities, giving developers quite a bit to work with just right there.

The new motion controller will also have force feedback rumble, voice input and voice recognition. Likewise, the PlayStation Eye can track four controllers at once. We still don’t know pricing or anything like that, but the new motion controllers are still expected by spring of next year.

After months of complaint from US would-be VAIO P buyers, Sony has apparently relented and added a new, faster processor option to their “don’t call it a netbook” ultraportable. The VAIO P VGN-P698E gets Intel’s 1.60GHz Intel Atom processor, likely the Z530, together with a 128GB SSD and the usual integrated Verizon EVDO Rev.A and GPS.

Unfortunately that’s still a fair few clock-cycles behind Japan’s latest VAIO P, the 2GHz Atom Z550 model announced earlier this month. In fact it’s slower, even, than the now-toppled Japanese flagship – which ran at 1.86GHz with an Atom Z540 CPU – and the Windows XP option is also unavailable, as Sony have seemingly decided US customers only want Vista.

Best of all is the price: for the smudge of extra processing power and double the SSD you’re looking at $1,499.99. That’s a full $500 more than the 1.33GHz 32GB SSD model. It’s available for pre-order now, and will begin shipping around June 26th.

It’s Monday morning, so what better way to start the day than with two netbooks most people can’t officially buy. Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A is one such device, complete with a touchscreen display in place of a traditional trackpad and Intel’s Atom N270 CPU, while the 1.86GHz Sony VAIO P25G has the faster Atom Z540 processor currently unavailable through official channels in the US. After the cut there’s a boot race video, plus more details on that surprisingly clever touchscreen.

Contrary to initial belief, the touchscreen used in the NJ70A isn’t a standard capacitive panel such as you might find gracing the front of the iPhone 3G S; nor is it a resistive panel. In fact, the Sharp netbook uses a 4-inch “photosensitive” screen, which can not only respond to finger-touch but also pen input for recognizing Chinese, Korean and Japanese handwriting.

What will be particularly interesting is whether such displays – which seemingly combine the touch-feel of capacitive with the stylus-flexibility of resistive – transition over into Windows Mobile devices. Microsoft have justified their mobile platform’s dependence on resistive touchscreens as that it caters for handwriting recognition, important in Asian markets.

Game developer Activision have set their sights on bringing Sony down a peg or two, threatening to cease development for the PS3 and PSP consoles if the company does not reduce royalty fees. CEO Bobby Kotick has accused Sony of “losing a bit of momentum” and complained that the company does not “make it easy for me to support the [PlayStation 3] platform”. Kotick is now asking for a PS3 hardware price-cut.

According to the outspoken CEO, Activision – which is the biggest independent computer game developer in the world, with a market value of $16bn and operating profits of $179m in Q1 2009 – paid $500m to Sony in royalties and “other goods” in 2008. “It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better” he suggests, ”Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation.”

Sony has maintained that they have no plans to discount the PS3; however, analysts have tipped a $100 reduction in mid-August, timed with the back-to-school shopping season. The company are yet to release a statement regarding Kotick’s comments.

Sony have announced a new VAIO laptop, the NW-series, packing a 15.5-inch WXGA XBRITE display, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processor and an optional Blu-ray drive. The Sony VAIO NW is also being priced competitively: the standard model is $800, while adding Blu-ray to that is just $80 more.
Other specifications include an optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics card, standard webcam and chiclet keyboard. Connectivity includes three USB 2.0 ports, an ExpressCard slot, SD and Memory Stick card slots, and HDMI; there’s also a dedicated “display off” button to switch off the VAIO’s screen when using an external monitor, and an instant-on mode for speedy internet access without booting into Windows Vista.

WiFi a/b/g/n, a 400GB hard-drive and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory are on offer, while battery life ranges from a paltry 1.5hrs with the standard pack and up to 5.5hrs with the extra-chunky pack. The NW-series will be available in white, grey and brown, complete with a strangely textured lid finish, chiclet keyboard and translucent trackpad. It’ll go on sale this month.

Sony is showing off a new bluetooth mouse that’s super compact. It’s called the VGP-BMS10 and it’s made to go perfectly with the VAIO P ultraportable laptop. Now, apparently you can have the complete package.
The compact mouse has an aluminum cover that slides to switch it on and off. This also works to keep the scroll wheel protected when it’s not in use. Plus, buttons won’t be pressed and poked when the mouse is tucked away in your bag.

Other specs include an 800dpi laser with a 10-meter range, which is pretty good. You’ll be able to get the VGP-BMS10 in August for the equivalent of $67 in Japan. But it seems to work with Windows only.

Sony Japan have announced a new range of B-series Walkman PMPs, in the shape of the NWZ-B142F(JE). Not a snappy title, but the PMP claims to make finding the track you want more straightforward courtesy of its ZAPPIN feature, that runs through your music playing a five-second snippet from the middle of the song.

That won’t take all that long, since the NWZ-B142F(JE) Walkman only has 2GB of onboard memory. If audio previews aren’t your thing, then there’s a three-line monochrome LCD display, together with an FM radio. The battery is rated for up to 18hrs of music playback, and a three-minute “quick charge” is good for 90 minutes of runtime.

Other features include an equalizer, 30 radio presets, voice and radio recording, bass enhancement and support for MP3 and WMA files. File transfer is drag-and-drop over USB 2.0, and the whole thing weighs just 26g. It’s listed as “coming soon” but there’s no pricing information.

Video game hating ex-attorney Jack Thompson has finally made himself useful, with a copy of his book “Out of Harm’s Way” providing the donor housing for a rather nifty PS2 case-mod. Mattigus of the Halflife2.net forums is the modder in question, who bought a copy of Thompson’s book on eBay and stuffed his working PS2 inside.

The book actually came from a library sale on the online auction site, and the library card inside suggests that nobody actually checked it out. Happily it also means that Thompson didn’t receive another royalty check for the sale, though going by the wealth of one star reviews on Amazon – “Jack Thompson writes as if English were a second language to him” – there are plenty of people who actually paid for the book who would like a refund.

A row of pennies stuck to the underside of the front cover provides it with enough weight to keep it closed. Mattigus’ first act on completing the mod was, ironically, playing Grand Theft Auto III.

As well as throwing WiMAX into select VAIO P models, Sony is also giving the Japanese version of their “don’t call it a netbook” a processor boost. Intel’s Atom Z550 - at 2.0GHz the fastest of the Z-range – is now an option, and going from the preliminary benchmarks it’s clear that this new iteration is the best VAIO P to date.

The Z550 VAIO P comes with a 64GB SSD – we’re expecting 128GB to be an option – and runs Windows Vista. Compared to the original VAIO P, the 1.33GHz 60GB HDD version still available in the US, it scores almost twice the CrystalMark points overall.

Even the SSD performs better in conjunction with the new chip, outperforming both the 64GB and 128GB solid-state drives in the 1.6GHz and 1.86GHz models. Unfortunately, the new VAIO P with the Z550 processor option is currently only available in Japan, and there’s no telling when it might cross over to the US or Europe.

A whole new day is dawning for the never-ever-a-netbook Sony VAIO P -- those new processor and drive upgrades apparently have the little PC churning through benchmarks at twice the pace of the original. Most of the benchmark help comes from the SSD drive, but the Atom Z550 doesn't hurt. Meanwhile, Japan is getting a WiMAX version to churn through stereotypically Japanese websites in record time. We'd be jealous if only we lived under 1,000 miles from the nearest WiMAX signal.

Sony Japan have announced that they are working on WiMAX enabled versions of their VAIO Z ultraportable and VAIO P netbook. Expected to land in Japan before the end of this month, the notebooks will take advantage of Intel and UQ Communications plans to blanket the country with WiMAX access.

Other specifications for the notebooks are expected to stay the same, which means Japan’s broad range of processor options for the VAIO P and higher-power Intel chips for the larger VAIO Z. Both models are currently available with integrated 3G connectivity; it’s unclear whether that will remain or be supplanted by their WiMAX abilities.

Toshiba, Panasonic and Onkyo have all signed up to use Intel’s WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5150, an embedded WiFi/WiMAX module; Sony’s selected chipset is unnamed. No word on pricing, nor whether we’ll see US versions of the WiMAX VAIOs.

Sony’s PSP Go! might be a masterpiece of miniaturization, but it’ll bring with it a shrinking feeling in your wallet, too. Set to land in the US on October 1st, the all-digital companion to the existing PSP-3000 will not only cost nigh-on twice as much as its bigger sibling, but require all new accessories thanks to a sneaky change of port type.


Rather than using a mini USB port, as the PSP-3000 does, the PSP Go! has a new, multifunction socket on the bottom of the handheld. That keeps down space, of course, but it also means that accessories existing PSP owners already have won’t work with the new console.

Sony, unsurprisingly, are lining up a range of PSP Go! accessories - including AV cables, USB cables, AC adapters, wrist-straps and screen protectors - that will play happily with their new gadget, but that’s no use to the people who have already spent significant amounts of money on PSP-3000 add-ons. The company’s own GPS module and chat keyboards won’t work, and neither will hundreds of third-party accessories.

According to the latest “open secret” in Japan, Sony are working on a Walkman and a satnav PND that would each use Google’s Android OS. Expected to hit the market in 2010, full details about each device are unknown, beyond that Sony seem to be hoping to use the open-source platform for a range of future products.
One such device could, it’s tipped, be an Android version of the recent Sony Walkman X, the company’s flagship PMP with an OLED touchscreen that we reviewed last month. That currently runs an in-house OS, though analysts believe Sony would like to harmonise all such mobile devices - including PND and messaging devices like the Mylo - on the same platform.

Doing so would reduce duplication of development and reduce costs, a topic of particular interest to Sony who have suffered heavy losses as a result of the ongoing economic situation. Part of that strategy has been to push Sony’s previously distinct teams closer together, something a common groundwork in the shape of Android would certainly facilitate.