Many analysts and market watchers were expecting a strong Q2 earnings report from Sony Ericsson today, but the company took them by surprise, posting a net loss of some €50 million (about $70.5 million), compared with a net gain of €12 million (around $17 million) at the same time last year. The manufacturer also sold only 7.6 million phones during the quarter, marking a 31 percent year-on-year decrease, while overall revenue fell from €1.76 billion (about $2.5 billion) last year to €1.19 billion (almost $1.7 billion) during Q2 2011. CEO Bert Nordberg attributed much of the decline to the Japanese earthquake, which disrupted the venture’s supply chain, resulting in the loss of around 1.5 million devices. The report comes after Sony Ericsson launched a widespread cost-cutting campaign and re-focused its efforts on smartphone production, which comprised more than 70 percent of all sales during Q2, compared with just 40 percent at the end of last year.

SOURCE via Yahoo!News

We’ve seen plenty of 3D movies hitting the silver screen, and also television manufacturers are pushing 3DTVs and Blu Ray players that support 3D, but has 3D really taken off? Well, the only number we have to refer to is 3.5 million.

If that’s the number of a new laptop or smartphone or even camera, then that’ll be awesome, but that’s not the case here. That’s the number of 3D Blu-ray discs sold in the US, and half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player, which doesn’t sound very good indeed. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn’t make their debut until later in the year.

Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren’t looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we’re not really surprised that discs aren’t exactly flying off the shelves.

Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we’ll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology’s lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come. If only we have the numbers for the international market.

SOURCE via TG Daily

Sony’s latest Android tablet looks fluidic and futuristic, but that’s not the only product taking this ‘unique’ design. The company’s latest CMT-CX5 “HiFi” system sure is a looker, and could easily be mistaken as the lovechild of its S2 tablet and B&W’s Zeppelin, although slightly bigger.

This made for iPhone rig packs 40 watts of RMS power in its modular design with removable speakers, and can also be wall-mounted if you’ve cluttered your bookshelves. To get the jams flowing, you’ll find an iDevice dock, CD player, USB and aux-in ports, as well as FM and DAB / DAB+ radio tuners; Sony’s also added in its Dynamic Sound Generator X-tra processing, if you want to give your music a slap of vibrance.

You’ll be able to pick up the CX5 in either black or white from the UK beginning in August, although pricing remains to be seen.

It’s common to see companies holding contests to promote their new products and to expand their brand. But what we have here is a rather unique contest. It’s held by Sony and Adobe, called the Air App Challenge, and it’s all about Adobe’s latest product Air and Sony’s latest product, the S2.

For one, Air hasn’t exactly taken off quite like the Flash makers had hoped — especially in the mobile space. And two, that new S2 tablet is going to need some apps that are designed to take advantage of its dual screens. The $200,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to developers who whip up the best creations specifically for the forthcoming Sony Honeycomb devices, using Adobe’s Flash-plus-browser environment.

Challenges have proven successful in the past to spur interest in platforms from Android to New York City’s vast databases of information. If the contest is successful it could turn that little folding Sony from a novel design into a unique and compelling product.

Sony doesn’t seem to be shaken from all the attacks of the cyber warriors, and not only that, they’re also seeking new gold mine, and perhaps have already found one, in the EV-charged streets.

The company just announced its intentions to fab lithium-ion batteries for the cars mid-decade. The statement, made from its plant in Motomiya, hinges on a future market flush with consumer demand for the earth-friendly autos, and could see the construction of several dedicated factories.

Given the Japanese company’s recent history eating bits of competitor dust; we understand its forward-facing desire to become king of this Li-ion hill. But the mega-electronics maker isn’t placing all of its batteries in one fuel-source just yet — it’s “also [considering] developing batteries for gasoline-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids” — should they win the green energy popularity contest.

SOURCE via TechCrunch

Plug Sony’s new 180g portable drive into your PC and you’ll get decent USB 3.0 storage plus some preloaded software that claims to accelerate transfers over USB 2.0. Hook this tiny black brick to your other Sony-branded devices and you’ll unlock even more quest items. Will you actually believe that shit?

Besides storing data, it has other plenty of features at least, to compensate for its VAIO-ish price. It can record broadcasts straight off a Bravia TV, for example, so you can watch them back later on another device. It’ll also hoover up footage directly from a new HandyCam (such as the DCR-SX21E or DCR-SR21), removing the need for a PC. And, when you’re done, you can connect the HD-PG5U to your PS3 and watch all your AVCHD videos back via the Filmy app — again, no PC required.

SOURCE via Trusted Reviews

Sony has yet again published another teaser video for their upcoming Honeycomb tablet. And much like last month’s spellbinding ad, this sequel features plenty of balls, levers and bizarre figurines moving together in serpentine synergy. If you look closely, you might even spot one of Sony’s Honeycomb slates. This is only the second installation in what could very well be a never-ending series — but we’d be OK with that, because these clips make our brains happy. Click play to get the ball rolling and let the symphony begin.

Read more…

Just bought a brand new PS3 because you can jailbreak it? Well I’m not sure if this is a good news to you, because the next PS4 may be arriving as early as next year.

Based on nothing more than a game of component-maker telephone, sources out of Taiwan are telling Digitimes to expect a brand new PlayStation 4 for launch sometime in early 2012, though our estimation is still E3, which is the middle of the year, with sales starting around end of the year, just in time for the holiday shopping spree.

According to these anonymous insiders, Sony has a planned production run of 20 million consoles for launch. It should go without saying that news of this kind should be taken with not a pint, but a mouthful of salt, but with the PS3 turning five this November, it’s a safe bet that there’s a successor to the “It Only Does Everything” throne on the way.

SOURCE via Digitimes

Sony’s ‘Welcome Back’ campaign may have drawn to a close a bit early, but the PlayStation Network won’t make its full return to Japan until later this week. As of July 6th, Japanese gamers will once again be able to access the PlayStation Store and Qriocity, bringing an end to a nearly three-month suspension enacted after April’s widespread data breach.

These services have already been reintroduced across other parts of the globe, but Sony encountered notably stiffer resistance in its homeland, where authorities demanded assurance of the PSN’s security before allowing it to relaunch within their borders. The PlayStation Store remained down throughout Sony’s negotiations with government officials, but company spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka says those discussions have advanced far enough for full services to resume.

The PSN’s long-awaited return to Japan will also signal its full global restoration, meaning that Sony may finally be able to put the saga to rest — and try to forget about that $170 million it lost in the process. Hopefully it stays up longer this time…

SOURCE via IDG News Service (ComputerWorld)