10/01, 10:49am
Xperia TL will get Android 4.0, 1.5GHz Snapdragon, 13-megapixel camera
A new Xperia phone from Sony, the TL, will arrive at AT&T, the carrier revealed recently. It's being marketed as the official phone of the next James Bond flick, Skyfall, so it will get exclusive ringtones and wallpaper from the movie. The phone's technical specs are fairly impressive on their own, however, with a 4G LTE radio onboard, a 4.6-inch, 1080x720 touchscreen, and a 13-megapixel camera.
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09/28, 4:04pm
Tablet S update brings Android 4.0.3 and many other improvements
Sony has issued an update for its older Tablet S, not the newer Xperia Tablet S, that includes Android 4.0.3 as well as a number of other changes. Released on Thursday, the update brings new features, including a Guest Mode that easily lets owners share the device with friends and family without giving them widespread access to apps and personal files. Redesigned Sony media player apps such as Walkman, Album, and Movies are also included, all with new features.
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07/18, 7:19am
Sony reveals slew of new Walkman MP3 players
Sony has revealed a slew of new Walkman devices led by the arrival of its second Android-powered Walkman, the F800 Series. The new device joins the Walkman NW-Z1000 unveiled earlier this year which centers on a large 4.3-inch display, but only runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The new 3.5-inch F800 ships out of the box with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but shares the NW-Z1000's proprietary S-Master MX Digital Amplifier for superior audio reproduction.
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05/14, 3:59pm
Sony Walkman docks out in Japan in June
Sony will be releasing two new Walkman docks in Japan on June 9. The CMT-V70B and CMT-V50 will dock with the Sony Walkman range of personal media players, with the V07B variant allowing Bluetooth streaming. Both docks are 5.4 inches thick, have FM/AM radio tuners, and will be available in five different colors. Price is not currently known.
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04/09, 2:50pm
Choice of inspirational quotes to inscribe
Sony Japan are commemorating the 110th birthday of Walt Disney with the release of a new Walkman S range. Available from today and similar to a promotion in March 2010, the NW-S760 series of audio players include wallpapers featuring Disney characters and a choice between three inspirational quotes from Walt Disney to be inscribed on the reverse.
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04/09, 1:20am
Sony may slash 6pc of all staff to go profitable
Sony's April 12 strategy meeting might see it make its largest job cut to date. Leaks to the historically accurate Nikkei have had it slashing 10,000 jobs, or about six percent of its worldwide employee base. The Japanese trade paper added that seven executive leaders, including chairman and former CEO Sir Howard Stringer, would likely be asked to forfeit their bonuses.
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03/30, 1:00pm
Japanese see Apple as top home brand
Nikkei BP Consulting on Friday awarded Apple the position of Japan's top home brand for the first time. The American company's overall "brand power" hit 90.5 percent, taking the company from 11th place in last year's look to the lead position in 2012. The iPad was a key ingredient, as it and two "other key products" were among Japan's top 40 brands.
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02/08, 6:25am
We get a feel for Sony's new music oriented range
Electronista has had the opportunity to go hands-on with the forthcoming Sony Walkman Z
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) media player and its core range of high-end Balanced Armature in-ear headphones. Although both product lines were announced late last year, due to the natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, Sony are only now in a position to bring them to the US and other markets. We came away impressed, but particularly with the new Balanced Armature earphones, which are the best in-ear headphones Sony has released.
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01/24, 6:45pm
New Walkman E-series now lighter, thinner
Sony Japan has just introduced two new E-series Walkman players in Japan that are said to be thinner and lighter than their predecessors. Both have a 1.4-inch color LCD and a noise-cancelling design, while promising 30 hours of music playback on a full charge. The NW-E060 gets 2GB of built-in memory while the NW-E063 doubles that, with no other differences detailed.
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01/20, 10:30am
Sony B170 Walkmans weigh 28g, have quick charge
Sony has just released a new Walkman portable audio player range, the B170. The players weigh just 28 grams and sport a Bass Button to pump up the low frequency reproduction. Battery life is rated at 18 hours, but there is also an option to plug it in for a quick, three-minute charge that will return 90 minutes of playback.
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12/13, 11:50pm
Launch details remain unclear
Sony's NW-Z1000 series portable media players, which carry the Walkman branding, have arrived at the FCC for testing. Test documents do not point to any unannounced functionality, as the device was merely tested for certification using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios, however the presence at the FCC suggests the Android device may be close to launch in the US.
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11/15, 10:50am
Sony Ericsson promises Android 4 for 2011 phones
Sony Ericsson made a pledge Tuesday that all of its 2011 Xperia phones, and the Live with Walkman, would be getting Android 4.0. The company planned to adapt its custom interface to the new OS regardless of size, ranging from the Xperia minis through to the Xperia arc S. It didn't yet have timing.
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09/13, 12:50pm
Premium player has Tegra 2, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DNLA
Sony has announced its first Android-based Walkman, the NW-Z1000 series of premium music players. The latest Walkman will run Android 2.3 and features a glare resistant 4.3-inch screen with 800x640 resolution. The NW-Z100 uses the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 and will be available in in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacity. In addition to Sony's proprietary W. Music player application, the NW-Z100 will have access to the Android Market app library.
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09/07, 1:45pm
8 ew models with enhanced bass and noise control
Sony has released several new earbuds and headsets for people on the go. Included in the launch are two new noise cancelling headsets, three new earbuds for iPhone users, and two smartphone headsets. Sony has also announced a new special edition Walkman MP3 player honoring Olympic medalist and 2009 New York Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi.
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08/31, 12:40pm
Sony Walkman gets Android platform
Sony, in an aside to its IFA unveilings, has demonstrated its first dedicated Walkman running Android. Known so far as the Mobile Entertainment Player, it goes beyond regular Walkman players or their phones by getting special music controls and an emphasis on high-quality sound output through S-Master MX processing. A W.Music app provides an optimized interface for songs, and using Android gives it ready access to Music Unlimited, Sony told CNET.
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08/22, 5:55am
SE shows music/social centric Live with Walkman
Sony Ericsson has launched a new Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) smartphone it has dubbed the Live with Walkman. The handset differs from previous Walkman branded devices in that as well as a dedicated quick access music hardware button, it also features deep Facebook integration for sharing and discovering new music. It’s music-centric focus is also evidenced by its tight integration with Sony’s Qriocity subscription music service.
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07/27, 8:00am
Sony intros new A, S and E-series Walkmans
Sony as introduced three new Walkman MP3 players. Headlining the updated range is the new A-series, which is closely followed by the new S-series. The new entry level dedicated MP3 player in the Sony line up is the new E-series.
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07/26, 12:00pm
8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB models available July 31
A British electronics reseller has Sony's new upscale A-Series media players available for presale. The A series player recalls the design of the earlier models with some refinements. Most notable is a 3.4-in. OLED touch screen. The player will probably use Bluetooth for wireless file sharing and music streaming, since it will not come equipped with Wi-Fi.
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07/14, 10:35am
Sony Walkman W260 brings lighter, smaller MP3 play
Sony revamped its exercise-friendly Walkman W series Thursday with a new W260 version. Its update is two thirds smaller than the outgoing W250 and also weighs a quarter less, the combination of which makes their all-in-one, over-ear design more comfortable for a long run. They remain water-resistant and have a quick charge that will get them up to an hour of playback in three minutes.
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07/08, 8:50am
Last Sony MiniDisc player to exit in September
Sony on Friday said it was cancelling sales of its last MiniDisc player, the MZ-RH1. It would "complete" shipments of the five-years-old player in September 2011. The recordable 1GB Hi-MD discs it can use will phase out a year later.
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05/23, 10:15am
Sony fiscal year sees 3.2b loss and 171m for PSN
Sony revealed a major blow to its finances in an early warning regarding results for its latest fiscal year (PDF). The company said it had lost $3.2 billion in the 12 months ended March 31 through several factors. Its nearly month-long PSN outage due to hacks is now known to have cost the company $171.17 million, both through repairing the damage as well as free PS3 and PSP games and a month of PlayStation Plus access.
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05/05, 12:10pm
Sony shows new B160 Walkman MP3 players
Sony on Thursday announced the upcoming release of a new Walkman series, the NWZ-B160. The digital audio players come in a two-tone color and sport Sony's Zappin song search feature that lets users browse through their music by getting a short preview of each track, choosing to stop on a particular one they like. There is also a Bass button that will bump up the low-end performance of the music and turn on an LED pulse in time with the music.
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04/21, 10:55am
Sony Ericsson W8 brings Android to Walkman phones
Sony Ericsson's Indonesian branch has held an unceremonial launch for the first Android-based Walkman device. The Walkman W8 is skewed to the budget side with a 600MHz processor, a three-inch 320x480 touchscreen, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, but thrives on its connection to the Walkman's audio badge. The music player has a direct shortcut from the home screen and the customized player from Sony Ericsson's Mediascape front end, along with an upgraded set of stereo wired earbuds.
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03/31, 10:50pm
Sony Store LA opens with Apple influence
Sony said this week it would launch its first US store based on its new store template. Now just called the Sony Store, the shop in the Century City Mall in Los Angeles has a "new concept" with Apple-like bright, widely spaced areas instead of the dark spaces from Sony Style locations. The strategy includes a Premium Services area that duplicates the Genius Bar's technical help, though it goes beyond by offering in-home installs.
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12/14, 7:55pm
Company cites issues with UI
Sony Ericsson has reportedly delayed the launch of its Yendo handset, which was originally slated to arrive in the UK and other markets by November. The company now plans to release the device in February, citing unspecified issues with the handset's software. Sony Ericsson representative Ben Padley confirmed the delay in comments to the Dutch site NieuweMobiel.
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10/23, 5:45pm
iPod hits 9th birthday in shift to phones
Apple today reached the ninth anniversary of the iPod in the midst of a shifting climate. The MP3 player was first unveiled on October 23, 2001 at a special event on Apple's campus. Early versions were Mac-only, used Firewire 400 to sync and had just 5GB of space, which at the time was enough to hold Apple's well-known 1,000 songs but also cost $399.
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10/22, 11:45am
Sony ceases production of cassette Walkmans
After more than 30 years of producing its Walkman portable cassette players, Sony said it's ending sales of the Walkman. The final batch was produced in Japan in April, and no more will be produced as soon as the current run is sold out. Just over 200 million cassette Walkman players have been sold over the years since being first introduced in 1979.
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09/24, 11:55am
Sony outs multi-function Walkman dock in Japan
Sony introduced its latest Walkman Dock in Japan, though to be fair, the device is much more versatile than that. The CMT-L7D sports a nine-inch LCD display without touch input and 100W of power. It supports CD and DVD playback, with the videos showing on the screen.
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09/15, 10:45am
NW-A850 and NW-S750 feature rich and enroute
Sony has unveiled a fresh batch of Walkman players in Japan. The flagship range is the NW-A850 series, which incorporates Sony’s S-Master amp, while the mid-range is the NSW-S740 series, which incorporates most of the features of the flagship model without the amp. The NW-A850’s highlights include a 2.8-inch OLED 240x400 screen, a body just 0.3 inches thin and, earphones with digital noise cancellation.
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09/02, 2:00pm
Walkman takes iPod's lead for 2nd time in a year
Sony's Walkman line has temporarily passed the iPod for sales in Japan once more, researchers at BCN claimed today. Basic players like the S640 helped Sony creep past in August with 47.8 of sales where Apple dropped to 44 percent. While the Walkman overtook the iPod briefly a year ago, the new figures mark the first time Sony managed to hold an overall lead for the month.
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09/01, 12:30pm
Sony Music Unlimited, Qriocity Europe official
Sony's rumored media subscription service was revealed at a pre-IFA event today and is now known to be much less ambitious than rumored. Known as Music Unlimited, the feature will give streaming audio to Sony's Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players, PCs and the PS3. The PSP and other devices will get access later, Sony said.
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08/31, 9:45pm
Sony may use PS3 to launch iTunes-rivaling service
Late tips this evening suggest Sony could temporarily upstage Apple's special event tomorrow with the long-awaited launch of its own media subscription service. Sony's pre-IFA keynote tomorrow morning is believed to be kicking off a music and video subscription service that would start first on the PS3 and PSP but spread to all Sony devices, including its home theater line, PCs, Sony Ericsson phones and Walkman players. The Financial Times sources claimed would be just an early preview and that the plan would go live only in 2011, once content deals had been lined up.
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08/11, 9:40am
Sony intros two Walkman E350 media players
Sony has introduced a new, entry-level Walkman digital audio player to the US, the E350. Sony has two models, with 4GB or 8GB capacities. Each can play back 128kbps MP3 audio for as long as 50 hours, or 10 hours of 384kbps WMV video. They still include Content Transfer software to either drag and drop or sync with an iTunes library.
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07/16, 2:40pm
Sony intros Walkman E459 wtih karaoke mode, more
Sony this week unveiled a new addition to its Walkman line in Europe with the E450. The new device sports a new Karaoke mode that lets users sync lyrics of a song and reduces the original singer's vocal level. A new Language Learning function is also present, allowing looping a phrase at reduced playback speed but without a loss of clarity or change of pitch.
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07/06, 10:15pm
Devices listed from major manufacturers
An alleged roadmap for UK cellphone launches has surfaced, showing a variety of upcoming handsets from many of the major manufacturers. The lineup, posted by Omio, lists several devices slated for July, including Nokia's E5-00 messaging phone, Samsung's Android-based i5500 handset, and the Walkman-branded W20 from Sony Ericsson.
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06/16, 4:10pm
SE Yendo borrows Android UI in regular music phone
Sony Ericsson put out one more device on Wednesday that represents the first touchscreen Walkman phone. The Yendo doesn't use Android but relies on the same four-corner UI as the X10 mini to provide quicker access to music and other common tasks. Music itself has been given an upgrade with a new Walkman app that carries many of the same features, such as track identifiers, MediaGo sharing and the PlayNow music store.
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06/04, 8:40am
Sony Ericsson may have Android 2.1 gaming phone
Sony Ericsson's first Android 2.x-native phone may also be its first to tie into the PSP gaming universe. A leak this week has shown a QWERTY tilt slider from the company marked with the W150 test badge, which is supposedly that used by a PSP phone. It would be dominated by a 5-inch touchscreen and would run Android 2.1; there are supposedly no plans to test 2.2.
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06/03, 7:55am
SE Walkman Android phone may come this month
Sony Ericsson may be on the verge of launching its first Android-powered Walkman phone if a rumor is correct. The phone would be similar in style to the Xperia X10 mini but would have a "powerful" Walkman component, presumably through an app. SEMC notes its OS would still be limited to 1.6, but hardware personalization would get some attention with removable backplates.
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05/27, 9:40pm
iPad gets strong start overseas
The iPad had a strong start in some of its first international sales today with initial reports of very long lines in Japan. Over 1,200 queued at Apple's Ginza flagship store for its 8AM opening. Lines had started as early as Wednesday in Japan and have been matched by similar lines in Australia and Europe. Japanese pre-order numbers aren't known, but over 900,000 allegedly ordered the tablet in Europe.
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05/14, 2:10pm
Sony not convinced 1m-plus iPads a real market
Sony is still only contemplating the idea of creating a tablet to challenge the iPad, the company's IT products senior VP Mike Abary said this week. Despite Apple selling over 1 million iPads in a month, the executive said Sony was "not convinced" the market was large enough for tablets. He also admitted that Sony had been thinking about a tablet for "years" but hadn't committed to the idea.
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04/13, 9:35am
Sony Ericsson Spiro, Zylo Walkman phones coming
Sony Ericsson on Tuesday rolled out two entry but still unique Walkman phones, the Zylo and Spiro. The former is rare among phones as it supports uncompressed FLAC format and can play a song in the background while having a phone conversation to share it. The handset can also play back fake ambient sounds, helping owners back up their alibis when they don't want to reveal their actual locations.
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04/12, 2:15pm
Sony intros water-resistant Walkman W250, more
Sony on Monday introduced two new Walkman series portable media devices, including the water-resistant W250 and entry-level B150. The former can be had in 2GB or 4GB capacities and can even be worn in the shower or during a workout. The B150s can be had in the same capacities, and both share features, including ZAPPIN technology that plays a short sample of each song to let listeners pick based on audio cues.
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04/09, 9:10am
Sony Walkman docks stream Shoutcast radio
Sony late Thursday put out a slew of new Walkman speaker docks in its native country that each achieve something rare. The NAS-V5 and NAS-V7M both have Wi-Fi built-in and will stream Internet radio either from 9,000 pre-programmed vTuner stations or any Shoutcast MP3 broadcast. They both have CD players and can even rip CDs directly to a Walkman while it's attached; the V7M can also rip music directly to 16GB of built-in storage.
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03/14, 11:20am
Sony Store Nagoya has Genius Bar clone
As promised, Sony on Saturday launched its first flagship retail store. The two-storey Sony Store Nagoya showcases most of Sony's home lineup and is built to emulate the success Apple has had with stores like its Ginza location. Besides bright, open areas, it includes a designer (though not glass) staircase and even a Genius Bar-style service, nicknamed backStage, for getting technical support and training.
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03/12, 4:00pm
Disney-themed Walkman players outed in Japan
Sony Japan on Friday introduced new Disney-themed portable media players. The S740 and S640 devices are available in nine colors and can also now be had with an engraved image of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse or Mickey and Minnie together. All characters are dancing in the image. Along with the images, users can have a one-line, 15-character personalized message engraved on the back of their devices.
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02/04, 9:55am
Sony hints at iPad rival in works
Sony while discussing its latest results today said it would like to compete against the iPad. Company CFO Nobuyuki Oneda said Sony is "very interested" in producing a tablet and is "confident" that it can produce a device that competes with Apple's hardware. He didn't provide significant clues as to how far along in development the Sony device is, if at all, but acknowledged it would trail behind the iPad's late March ship date.
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01/28, 9:05am
Sony Store Nagoya to have multiple floors
Sony this week outlined a plan to fight back against Apple by opening its own flagship retail stores. Starting with Sony Store Nagoya, the stores will imitate the multi-floor design of Apple flagships like Ginza and use large, spacious display areas divided by category. The first floor of the Nagoya store will focus on portable devices like Cyber-shot and Handycam cameras, the PSP, Sony-Ericsson phones, Walkman players and VAIO PCs; a second floor will focus on home theater equipment such as Blu-ray players and TVs.
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11/27, 12:20pm
Walkman X1000 1.1 speeds the web, more
Sony finished up its week with a major firmware upgrade for the Walkman X1000. The 1.1 update significantly ramps up the accuracy and speed of the NetFront web browser, whose performance was a liability in our review and has compared poorly against those in rival devices like the iPod touch and Zune HD. It also brings faster scrolling and an update that uses Bing instead of the now outdated Windows Live Search.
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10/06, 10:40am
Sony shows OLED mobile electronics prototypes
At CEATEC, Sony is showing off three portable consumer electronics prototype products that use its flexible OLED technology. Conspicuously missing was an OLED TV from the electronics giant, such as its 21-inch OLED prototype shown off earlier in the year. The non-functioning VAIO notebook Sony did showcase was behind a Plexiglas case and was not powered on. It also was seen before, and sports a 0.2mm thick flexible screen that covers both the screen and keyboard area.
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10/01, 10:25am
Sony updates PSP to 6.10 firmware
In sync with today's launch of the PSP Go, Sony today launched its version 6.10 firmware update. The patch gives all PSPs a new SensMe feature which, much like most Walkman players, sorts music by an automatically generated mood or genre, such as "extreme" or "dance." In a special twist for PSPs, though, SensMe can use the clock to set the mood by the particular time of day. The interface is also much more visual with large album art and a pseudo-3D interface.
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