While we had high hopes for Sony's sleek and beautifully crafted VAIO P back in the day, it's become a major point of frustration and thus, ridicule, ever since we first powered it up. This $900ish ultra-portable is the very symbol of what tends to go wrong at Sony: beautiful hardware is crippled by software leaving consumers wondering why they paid a premium for such an undistinguished user experience. Now Techradar is reporting that Sony has a VAIO P "mark 2" ready to launch in October or November -- we suspect right after Windows 7 launches. The only real detail provided is that the "mark 2" will feature a "much-improved boot-up time." Whether that's the result of inherently fast-booting Windows 7 alone or via some third party Instant-on technology like Corel, well, Sony isn't saying.

Looks like our friends across the pond were among the lucky few to get a their hands on Sony's Vaio W netbook -- that still feels weird to write -- and the big takeaway here is that despite its size, the 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution screen is gorgeous. As for video, though, it's still an Atom-powered portable with integrated Intel GMA graphics, meaning smooth HD is more or less out of the question. The good news if it pans out, however, is that Sony will likely offer a 2GB RAM update, which should help out a bit. There was also near-universal love for the keyboard, with PC Pro being the lone exception, decreeing it just average when compared to what the Samsung N110 offered. Battery life couldn't be tested, and as for price? Well, no one seemed too bothered by the £400 tag, but we still maintain our own reservations until we get some time with it ourselves. You want more? A platter of impressions await you just below.

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It's with mixed emotions that we present to you Netflix's latest partnership with Sony, which is awesome, but could be so (so!) much more. Today, the world's leading online movie rental service inked a deal that'll bring instant Netflix streaming to Sony BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs this fall along with older BRAVIA models that are compatible with Sony's BRAVIA Internet video link module. Sadly, the PlayStation 3 is glaringly absent in the announcement, which is a golden opportunity missed in our humble estimation. Ah well, at least there's PlayOn, right? Full release is after the break.

We're pretty sure we've heard Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci say PC industry consolidation resulting in fewer players and lower component prices would be a good thing before, but he dressed it with a side of smackdown today: speaking to the New York Times, he said that Toshiba and Sony's PC businesses would be the first targets, since "the Japanese for sure are the weakest today." Ouch. It's especially harsh since Sony just broke down and released its first netbook this morning after claiming that the low-cost machines were a downward spiral, but that wasn't enough blood for Gianfranco: he also said that ASUS and Lenovo need to "think long and hard" about remaining independent companies. Yow -- sounds like someone's planning to do a little shopping, don't you think?

Nothing too remarkable about Sony's latest HD camcorders, but the new 64GB HDR-CX520V and 32GB HDR-CX500V are solid updates nonetheless. Identical apart from the built-in storage, both feature an Exmor R CMOS sensor with BIONZ processing that should offer solid low-light performance and decent 12 megapixel stills, Optical SteadyShot with a new active mode and three-way shake cancellation, Face Touch autofocus that allows you to simply point at faces to prioritize focus in order, and, most notably, 60p output, which'll interpolate your footage to 60 progressive frames per second when connected to a compatible HDTV. Not a bad piece of kit, but they'll cost ya: the HDR-CX500V will run $1,100 and the HDR-CX520V will be $1,300 when they arrive in September.

If Sony's PSPgo was some halfhearted attempt to quell incessant PSP2 rumoring (and our favorite PSP2 mockup render, above), it certainly doesn't seem to have worked. The new rumor out and about is that the inevitable PSP2 will harbor a PowerVR GPU along the lines of what's present in the new iPhone 3GS. The SGX543MP cited has four cores, with a rating of 133 million polygons per second at the low-end 200MHz mode that seems likely for portable use. GamesIndustry.biz calls this a "ballpark match" for the original Xbox, with some additional Dreamcast rendering enhancements for avoiding wasting time on hidden elements in a scene. They also point out that Imagination Technologies calls the chip a GP-GPU, capable of handling computing tasks in addition to graphics, and potentially giving the PSP2 the power savings of not needing a separate CPU to operate. Sure, it's all a difficult to pin down rumor at the moment, but if anything these sort of specs show what's possible for a new generation of handheld gaming when the likes of Sony and Nintendo are ready to give it to us. Now about a second analog stick...

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

It's some 60 percent smaller in size, but other than that Sony's new VRD-MC6 DVDirect looks and acts an awful lot like the previous VRD-MC10 and VRD-MC5: it can take 1080i video with 5.1 audio off your Handycam's drive or Memory Stick and shoot out an AVCHD DVD that plays back on compatible Blu-ray drives like the PS3. If you're not into the all-Sony seamless end-to-end HD experience, you can also bring in SD video over FireWire, composite, or USB to churn out regular old DVDs with automatic chaptering and custom menu backgrounds, or you can go totally old-school and just drop in an SD card full of photos and MP3s to generate a slideshow. Yeah, it's not nerd heaven and you won't be editing Oscar-winners here, but at $230 it's a pretty painless way for everyone else to archive and share their videos. Ships in September.

As Sony shoves one more PlayStation 3 bundle down our throats while we anxiously await the appearance of a slimmed-down version of the console, we have to admit that the game choices here are really top shelf. After catching wind of the Killzone 2 / Metal Gear Sold 4 PS3 bundle yesterday, we now have all the confirmation we need to believe that such a bundle is indeed filtering out to Best Buy stores. The image above shows an internal memo sent out to alert employees that the new package could start arriving as early as July 6th, with the official announcement coming in the July 12th ad. If you're actually in the market for a non-discounted, thick PS3, we'd say a phone call or two is in order, no?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: The $399.99 bundle is now live on Best Buy's website and available for in-store pickup in select locations.

Not so much of a surprise now, but Sony's bringing its 10.1-inch Vaio W stateside as well, and yes, according to the Sony reps we talked to, this time they really do mean to call it a netbook, unlike its Vaio P brethren. Likewise, with that nomenclature comes none too surprising specs, including a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Windows XP, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n, VGA out, two USB ports, Ethernet, webcam, and MemoryStick / SD card readers. The three cell battery should last an estimated three hours, and like usual there's also an option for six cell. That isolated (read: chiclet) keyboard is said to be 86% the size of a normal typing surface, and the aforementioned bundled VAIO Media plus software enables content streaming across DLNA-enabled devices like the PC or PlayStation 3.

Now for what's missing: the reps stressed this an "in-home" product for them, and as such there's no talk of 3G or GPS, nor should hold your breath for an optical drive or SSD option. The company stressed the hardware's build quality here, and while we'll have to wait until we get our hands on to validate, like we said before, the pics aren't exactly flattering when you look at what the competition is producing. All that's left to discuss for now is the release date, pricing, and color options, so in order: just around the $500 mark, mid-August, and berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown. Welcome to the bottom, guys. Full press release after the break.

If you find the ten megapixels of (legit) Sony's DSC-T77 absolutely decadent, why not settle for (illegit) Sony's two megapixel-wielding T77 smartphone? The tradeoff for lower resolution pics is a dual SIM solution with Bluetooth A2DP support, FM radio, MP3/4 player, microSD slot, e-book reader capabilities, WAP connectivity, and a 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD display that's a tad smaller than its doppelganger. It's even got its own plectrum for rocking out with your, erm, KIRF out. Think this is everything you could possibly want and more? Decidedly Chinese vendor solomobi's selling it at $116.

[Thanks, facelessloser]

Sure, the Japanese press release translates to "internet book," but there's no mistaking that 10.1-inch screen and 1.6GHz Atom running Windows XP on 1GB of RAM: Sony's new VAIO W is a netbook, folks. We're not sure how or why the company decided to enter this market after six months of hawking the overpriced VAIO P and insisting that netbooks were a "race to the bottom," but we're itching to see what the US price tag on this guy is -- with a nicer-than-usual 1366 x 768 screen, what we're hoping is a typically-solid VAIO keyboard, and some sort of home media-streaming software called VAIO Media Plus, the W could be a big winner if it's not crazy-expensive. Fingers crossed! Video after the break.

Update: We just watched the video -- kind of an ugly little bastard, innit? ASUS and Acer are way beyond this chunky design language now, and honestly, we expect way more from Sony.

Update 2: Reuters is reporting a Japanese price of ¥60,000 or about $629.

[Via Engadget Japan]

Well, it's not a price cut, but it looks like Sony could be about to offer one of its best deals to date to potential PS3 customers, with a little help from Best Buy. Apparently, in an effort to clear out the 80GB PS3s once and for all (to make way for... something), Best Buy will soon selling a bundle that includes said console, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Killzone 2 -- all for the usual price of $399.99. Better still, that bundle is supposedly set to go on sale as soon as next Sunday and, as you can see above, at least some of 'em have apparently already made their way into the stores' back rooms.

[Via Joystiq]

Looks like all that excitement over PSPgo's faster (but likely to be underused) 480MHz processor is all for naught. Our friends at Engadget Japan have gotten in contact with Sony Computer Entertainment and been informed that the Maximum clock frequency mentioned here is for the USB device, not the CPU. All those dreams of hacked firmware to unlock more power? Better hold that thought for now.