Showing posts with label Sony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sony. Show all posts

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Sony beats own estimates, sells 7 million PS4s

Sony beats own estimates, sells 7 million PS4s

Sony says it has sold seven million PlayStation 4 worldwide since its launch last year and admitted it can't make them fast enough, in a welcome change of fortune for the Japanese consumer electronics giant.

"The response from the global gaming community for PS4 (PlayStation 4) has been overwhelming and we are truly humbled that gamers are selecting PS4 as their next generation console of choice," Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., said in a statement.

"The PS4 journey has just begun, and although we are still facing difficulties keeping up with the strong demand worldwide, we remain steadfast in our commitment to meet the needs of our customers," he said.

Software sales for the console are also strong, with more than 20.5 million copies sold in retail stores worldwide and through digital downloads on PlayStation Store as of April 13, 2014, it said.

The PS4 is up against Microsoft's Xbox One, and Nintendo's Wii U for dominance of the digital home entertainment market at a time that consoles are under intense pressure to prove their worth in a world of ubiquitous smartphones and tablets for games and videos.

By comparison, the Wii U, launched in late 2012, took more than a year to sell 5.86 million units.

Sony's gaming division has emerged as a potential saviour for the company, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals like South Korea's Samsung.

Sony launched the PS4 in the global company's homeland Japan on February 22, more than four months after it debuted in the United States and well behind many other markets.

The company said it had wanted to give developers more time to exploit the potential of the console in the Japanese gaming market, where top-selling titles are often markedly different from popular offerings in the US and Europe.

Reports surfaced last month saying that Sony will sell properties at a prestigious Tokyo site where it had its headquarters for six decades, as the once-world beating firm struggles to improve its bottom line.

Sony warned in February that it would book a $1.08 billion loss in the fiscal year to March as well as cut 5,000 jobs and exit the stagnant PC market.

The embattled company said in January last year it was selling its US headquarters in Manhattan for $1.1 billion.



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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Cameraduel: Nokia challenges Sony


#Cameraduel: Nokia challenges Sony

It seems Nokia, which is confident about the camera prowess of its Lumia 1020 smartphone wants to challenge Sony to a camera-duel.

Nokia differentiates its high-end smartphones with top of the line optics. Upbeat about the camera prowess of its high-end smartphone, the company has challenged Japanese giant Sony to a camera duel. Nokia has called for a contest between its nearly year-old Lumia 1020 and Sony's latest Xperia Z2.

In response to a tweet posted by Sony's UK account talking about the camera technology deployed in the Sony Xperia Z2, Nokia UK responded with a tweet challenging Sony to a camera-duel.

Sony's Xperia UK account tweeted, "Picture-perfect moments deserve award-winning camera technology, see how with #XperiaZ2." Nokia responded, "This town ain't big enough for the both of us, @sonyxperiagb! #CameraDuel," along with a picture featuring the Lumia 1020.

Sony did not reply to the tweet.

Sony's Xperia Z2 smartphone boasts of noise-canceling technology and ultra-high-definition video recording. The Z2's built-in camera can capture video in so-called 4K resolution that offers four times the details as current high-definition video. Z2 sports a 1/2.3" 20.7MP Exmor RS camera with Sony's G Lens. The Z2 is waterproof, so it can shoot even under-water, which the Lumia 1020 is not capable of.

On the other hand, Nokia's contender sports a 41MP camera with PureView technology. The 41MP Zeiss camera has six lenses and features Nokia's PureView imaging technology, along with two types flash - one LED and the other Xenon. The Lumia 1020 also features a technology called Dual Capture, which takes two shots at the same time, one at 38MP resolution and the other at 5MP. The former is meant for photo editing, while the latter is ideal for social media uploads. It also comes with Optical Image Stabilization, which the Xperia Z2 lacks.

Nokia has been known to take potshots at its rivals on Twitter and other social networks. Recently, it fired a salvo at Apple when it announced the 8GB version of the iPhone 5C. It tweeted, "Hey Apple: "Today we announce a colourful, fast and affordable 8GB smartphone" - Nokia, Feb 2013."


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Sony agrees to sell PC business, revises forecast to loss

Sony plans to sell it Vaio PC operations to an investment fund, cut 5,000 jobs, and revises full-year forecast from a profit to a loss of $1.1 billion. It will also spin off its TV business.

Sony has reached an agreement to sell its Vaio laptop business to an investment fund and spin off its TV business.
The Japanese electronics giant had been in talks with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners, according to earlier reports. That deal is now official, according to Sony.
Sony "has determined that concentrating its mobile product lineup on smartphones and tablets and transferring its PC business to a new company established by [Japan Industrial Partners] is the optimal solution," Sony said.
Sony, which plans to cut about 5,000 jobs as part of the sale, also revised its full year forecast to a loss of 110 billion yen ($1.1 billion) from a profit of 30 billion yen.
And the TV operations will be spun off into a separate unit.
"Sony has decided to split out the TV business and operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The targeted timeframe for this transition is July 2014," the company said in a statement.

Here is the full Sony statement on the sale of its laptop business.

Following a comprehensive analysis of factors, including the drastic changes in the global PC industry, Sony's overall business portfolio and strategy, the need for continued support of Sony's valued VAIO customers, and future employment opportunities for personnel involved in the VAIO business, the Company has determined that concentrating its mobile product lineup on smartphones and tablets and transferring its PC business to a new company established by JIP is the optimal solution. Sony and JIP will now proceed with due diligence and negotiate detailed terms and conditions of the business transfer, targeting the conclusion of a definitive agreement by the end of March 2014. Following reevaluation of the product lineup, the new company is expected initially to concentrate on sales of consumer and corporate PCs in the Japanese market and seek to optimize its sales channels and scale of operations, while evaluating possible further geographic expansion.

As a part of the business transfer to JIP, Sony will cease planning, design and development of PC products. Manufacturing and sales will also be discontinued after the Spring 2014 lineup to be launched globally. Even after Sony withdraws from the PC market, Sony customers will continue to receive aftercare customer services. Approximately 250 to 300 Sony Corporation and Sony EMCS Corporation employees involved in PC operations, including planning, design, development, manufacturing and sales, are expected to be hired by the new company established by JIP. Sony will also explore opportunities for other employees to be transferred to other businesses within the Sony Group. For employees of Sony Corporation and Sony EMCS Corporation that are not hired by the new company or transferred within the Sony Group, Sony plans to also offer an early retirement support program to assist their reemployment outside of the Sony Group.



The company's money-losing PC business has a staff of about 1,000.
Sony established the Vaio brand in 1996 when Microsoft and Windows 95 ruled the world. At Sony's peak, it shipped close to 900,000 units a year. In 2013, it's expected to ship fewer than 600,000 units, according to IDC estimates.
This is happening against a backdrop of a shrinking PC market. Global PC shipments fell 10 percent in 2013, returning to 2009 levels, marking the worst decline ever, market researcher Gartner said in January.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Sony Xperia Z1



Key Feautures:

2200MHz Quad Core processor Snapdragon

5 inches of scratch-resistant LCD screen, with fullHD resolution and 16M colour depth

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

800 chipset, Adreno 300 GPU

2GB RAM

16GB internal memory

Expandable to 64GB

20.7MP of rear camera with fullHD recording

2MP of front camera

4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS (with A-GPS), microUSB connectivity

3000mAh Li-ion battery


Saturday, February 1, 2014

Sony 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector


This was one of the most mind-blowing devices we saw at the show this year. It's a projector that sits on the floor and fires upwards, turning your blank wall into a massive 147-inch 4K screen. It is the home theater device of the show. It's got a gorgeous, sleek, minimalist design that looks like a work of art. But then it comes alive to fill the room with a true theater-quality visual and audio experience. Sony says its Ultra HD movie machine will ship this year, but the company hasn't announced any pricing yet. You should count on it being expensive.

Sony Handycam FDR-AX100


It's always great when a company figures out a way to make brand new tech affordable (see the Vizio P-Series TVs). At this year's CES Sony managed to do it with a 4K camcorder. Well, sort of. The $2,000 FDR-AX100 is still kinda pricey, but it's more than half the cost of last year's massive FDR-AX1. Even better, it has the same size sensor found in the insanely excellent RX100 and RX10 cameras: a 1-inch-type Exmor R CMOS to be precise. Throw in built-in Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities -- which let you transfer footage wirelessly and pair the AX100 easily with NFC-enabled mobile devices -- and you have something we weren't expecting for a quite some time: a legitimately awesome prosumer 4K camcorder.

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