Panasonic wants to put PC batteries in your car
Panasonic has been making lithium-ion batteries to run computers for a while now — but it just announced that it has found away to bind them together in order to power cars. This makes it one of the first major electronics corporations to branch into… Continue Reading
Sony’s PSPgo hits store shelves tonight, targeting game download fans (video)
Sony’s PSPgo — the latest version of its PlayStation Portable — is going on sale tonight at midnight in stores across the country. More than 200 games will be available for digital download into the device.
We caught up with Sony’s director of hardware marketing, John… Continue Reading
Sony embraces small publishers and unknown authors on Sony Reader eBook store
The shift toward digital books is helping small-fry authors and publishers to get in front of wider audiences than ever before. That trend is being reinforced today as Smashwords announces that it has a distribution agreement to get its books published on Sony’s new eBook… Continue Reading
Roundup: Google goes down, Yahoo Meme goes up, Sony goes 3-D
Google owns up to Gmail outage – Ben Treynor, the company’s VP Engineering and Site Reliability Czar, blogged openly today: “Right up front, I’d like to apologize to all of you — today’s outage was a Big Deal, and we’re treating it as such.” Here’s his… Continue Reading
Roundup: New Sony e-reader, more Web 2.0 widgets, Chinese Social Networks 101
Here’s the latest action:
Sony launches a $400 electronic book, newspaper and magazine reader — The aluminum-bodied Reader Daily Edition, priced at $399, has a 7″ touchscreen and connects to Sony’s e-bookstore through AT&T’s 3G network, or through a local Wi-Fi router. There’ll be no monthly… Continue Reading
iLike, Sony launch new music trivia app to boost song sales
iLike, a platform for sharing music via social networks and other sites, took a step in a new direction today with the launch of its iLike Challenge application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Available starting now in the Apple App Store, iLike Challenge allows… Continue Reading
Sony to launch web-connected movie trivia Blu-ray app in September
Sony announced today that it will launch MovieIQ, a service that delivers up movie trivia and information to Blu-ray movie watchers.
The new service will launch in September on Blu-ray devices that can hook up to the Internet to fetch data associated with the particular disc… Continue Reading
Free pricing triumphs as Free Realms online game hits 3 million in seven weeks
Sony’s Free Realms has scored 3 million registered users in just seven weeks, making it a true hit for the free online games business model in the U.S.
The “free to play” games, where players start playing for free but can purchase virtual goods with real… Continue Reading
Video game sales still in a slump versus a year ago
Video game sales fell for the third straight month in May. Even though the industry can’t beat the extraordinary numbers it turned out a year ago, it’s not quite time to panic. The recession is a drag, but the blockbusters for this year are expected… Continue Reading
The top ten video games of the coming year
At the E3 convention in Los Angeles last week I got to see a lot of what the video game industry has to offer in the coming year. Hands down, the best technology I saw at the show came from Microsoft in the form of… Continue Reading
Roundup: Signs surface of new iPhones, Google releases Page Speed, and more
Here’s the latest action:
More signs of new iPhones coming this summer – European mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse has added spots for four new iPhone models to its inventory, according to AppleInsider’s sources.
Google introduces Page Speed – It’s a Firefox add-on that gives suggestions about improving the… Continue Reading
Dean’s video report on the latest trends and great games of E3
Here’s a video I shot with Alexa Lee of Ooyala at the Microsoft Xbox 360 booth at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles. After three and half days at the 40,000-attendee event, I’ve soaked in some of the interesting trends. In this segment, I… Continue Reading
Sony shows off its own motion-tracking technology for games
Not to be outdone by Microsoft or Nintendo, Sony is showing off its own futuristic motion-tracking technology today.
Richard Marks, creator of the Sony EyeToy, which enables two-dimensional camera-tracking games, showed off a new version of Sony’s motion-tracking technology today. You hold a wireless handheld controller… Continue Reading
Sony’s PSP Go: boasts wider screen, but still no “touch”
Details of the latest version of Sony’s PlayStation Portable, the PSP Go, keep leaking out.
If the details are correct, this new device will be one of the headline grabbers among all of the new developments at the E3 game show next week.
Engadget reports that Sony will announce the PSP Go… Continue Reading
Anticipating E3: the video game giants prepare to show their cards
The E3 video game trade show gets under way Monday, and is expected to draw more than 40,000 people with a new grandiose format.
Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, it will be much more like a Las Vegas extravaganza than the boring, press-focused shows that drew… Continue Reading
Peeling back another layer of detail on Microsoft’s secret gesture-control system for games
We reported recently that Microsoft was preparing to announce a gesture-control system for the Xbox 360 at the E3 show in Los Angeles starting Monday. Now we’ve peeled back another layer of the secret.
The motion-sensing control system that Microsoft is working on is key to… Continue Reading
LED TVs hit the market, but will they sell?
With Samsung leading the charge, several television makers are turning to light-emitting diode technology to build thinner, crisper and more energy efficient products, VentureWire points out today. The catch is that the LEDs take price tags up a few notches — so will consumers go… Continue Reading
Video games slide down the recession slope as April sales fall 17 percent
Hurt by the recession and a tough comparison to a year ago, video game sales fell 17 percent in April compared to a year ago.
That means game sales have fallen for the second month in a row, with sales in March also falling 17 percent.
Overall… Continue Reading
Sony reports first loss in 14 years, PlayStation 3 price cut hinted
Dashing hopes of a quick economic recovery, Sony reported its first loss in 14 years today, warned of a big loss coming, and dropped a hint it may cut prices on the PlayStation 3.
The strong yen and declining overseas sales are hurting the company’s bottom… Continue Reading
Roundup: Street View blinded, curtain to rise on new PS3 and more
Here’s the latest action:
It’s a pirate’s life for Asia — A new study indicates that software piracy is growing rapidly in Asia where the number of computer owners continues to skyrocket.
Street View’s prying eyes — Google must reshoot footage for its maps Street View tool in Japan… Continue Reading