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Sony mylo 2 on sale
All five of you who have been waiting patiently for Sony to upgrade its mylo Personal Communicator should be pleased to learn that the revised internet tablet has finally gone on sale at SonyStyle. With its high-res 3.5-inch touchscreen, 1GB of storage, and improved Flash support, the $299 mylo 2 does indeed offer a number of attractive feature bumps over its predecessor -- however, we're still a little wary of how Sony's positioned this product in the market. But hey, what do we know: apparently they pushed enough first-gen units out the door to give this restyled number a shot. Starts shipping on the 28th, in either white or black, says Sony.[Thanks, Michael E]
Sony selling the ATI TV Wonder CableCARD tuner all by its lonesome
Although Vista Media Center supports up to four CableCARDs, we haven't actually seen the required ATI TV Wonder breakout box for sale by itself yet -- it usually only comes bundled with a CableLABS-certified Vista Media Center PC. (In fact, from what we hear, OEMs are strictly forbidden from selling them without a PC.) It looks like Sony's ready to bust these things loose, however, because SonyStyle.com is now selling them as the "VAIO Digital TV Tuner" for $299. You'll still need that Vista Media Center PC with the required special firmware to make it work, but those of you itching to add more tuners to your rig -- or just hack away at these things -- might finally be able to make it happen. Just don't blame us of CableLABS's locks prevent you from properly capturing all those delicious high def MPEG-2 streams.[Thanks, William]
Sony sneaks BDP-S500 in before 1.1 goes mandatory
With October 31st barreling down on us, Sony's BDP-S500 hits SonyStyle.com just before the deadline. We have to say we're really confused why Sony -- or anyone really -- would release a higher end Blu-ray player at this point in the game and not be profile 1.1 compliant. While most think Sony should be releasing less expensive players, not more, many videophiles will appreciate the upgrades -- DTS HD, better build quality. Regardless of the feature set, why would anyone pick this up rather than wait a little while longer for a player that isn't already "obsolete".
20GB PS3 discontinued from Sony's official store
Well, if this isn't just a kick in the ol' keyboard! Seems that Sony's official store, SonyStyle, has taken down any listings of the 20GB PlayStation 3. That's correct, sir, all you see now is the 60GB model. Does this portend a worldwide shunning of the lower-end console, or is it simply being phased out in a different way? As in, available upon personal request, but no longer shipping en masse to stores alongside their 60GB brethren?Obviously, we don't have an answer, but we do have a little comment. That "lower end" model might become akin to those Beanie Babies way back in the 90's -- as in, the 20GB will become the "rare model" and be more respected. Sure, the chances of that are very slim, but who knows -- perhaps the lack of chrome trim and card readers and wireless internet will somehow turn into a good thing. Make absolutely no sense? Good, then our point is made.[Thanks, Jason!]
Last gasps of a dying format [Update 1]
Sony handled movie UMDs terribly, so it comes as no surprise that movie studios and retail stores are becoming reluctant in supporting the format. Recent exceptions, like Borat or Casino Royale, got me thinking: When will the last UMD movie be released? A trip to Sony Style lists "Stomp the Yard" as the last UMD available for pre-order, with a release date of May 15th. Amazon has a few other UMDs listed, but with release dates set in the year 2025, it's very likely that these UMDs have been canceled. In any case, it's painfully obvious this is the last year we'll see new UMD releases. Does anyone still buy new UMD movies, or do you simply buy them when they're on clearance? [Update 1: The ever-lovable Dave Karraker has sent us an e-mail, stating "There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that we are discontinuing the UMD format for PSP."]
Dirty cops exposed: cut to front of PS3 line
A pair of greedy Rhode Island police officers have been accused of skipping the line that formed outside of Providence Place Mall's Sony Style retail store on PlayStation 3's launch day. Two security guards allowed the officers, along with five others, to move past those who had gathered earlier. The guards have since been dismissed from employment, and the officers now face punishments handed down by their respective police departments.One of the officers has admitted to his superiors that he cut the line, but believes in using his authority to do so, he has done nothing wrong. "I just beg to differ. We think he did something very wrong," expressed a concerned Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman. "He's been identified and he's going to be disciplined."The second officer, of Warick, is currently under investigation. "If the facts bear out these allegations, we will take disciplinary action against the officer," declared Warwick Police Chief Steve McCartney. If you were chief, how would you punish these jerks?
Boston's mayor to bill Sony for mayhem at Copley Plaza
As if Sony wasn't losing enough coin on each PlayStation 3 sold fought over, now it'll probably be invoiced for the police services that were required to maintain peace at Copley Plaza. While criminal activities weren't hard to come by on the PS3's launch night, there was apparently a smart way to handle the mobs of unruly potential customers, and then there was Sony's way. Rather than planning for an organized flow of individuals, or better yet, turning away those who would end up empty handed anyway, nearly 500 eager (and likely delusional) individuals rushed the doors of Boston's Sony Style, creating chaos that required "12 police cruisers" in order to halt the riot. None too pleased, the mayor (Thomas Menino) plans on "billing the company for crowd control," although he failed to mention exactly how much those boys in blue charge per hour to fend off fanatical hopefuls.[Via Joystiq]
Sony's Blu-ray player demoed in the wild
So here I am in San Francisco for a work conference, and I take some downtime to check out the Metreon mall downtown. I notice a Sony Style store, so I naturally stopped in to see what was there. Across the hall from the PS2s and video cameras, I discovered a Blu-ray demo setup -- complete with Sony's unreleased BDP-S1 player, hooked up via their DA7100ES receiver to the 60" SXRD A2000 model. The demo was sadly short and sweet, but the quality was very good, despite the TV being set on "vivid" mode, which I quickly fixed to standard mode *cough* It was obvious no one had really tuned the setup to its maximum performance, at least it was using HDMI cabling and was hooked up to a 5.1-channel amp.
Sony's A2000 series 1080p SXRDs dated, prices slashed
Sony's Grand WEGA 1080p SXRD LCoS-based line of HDTVs is a little closer to store shelves, since SonyStyle has posted ship dates & prices for the A2000 line (no word on the XBR models yet). Their features appear to be fully intact, with true 1080p input support, two HDMI inputs, NTSC & ATSC tuners. The good news is that the prices listed are significantly lower than when they were announced at the beginning of this month.Prices & Dates:50" SXRD KDS-50A2000 - $2,799.99 (down from $3500 previously), shipping 8/255" SXRD KDS-55A2000 - $3,299.99 (down from $4000 previously), shipping 8/1660" SXRD KDS-60A2000 - $3,699.99 (previously $4500), shipping 7/17Maybe Sony can transfer some people form their HDTV department to the Playstation 3 and BDP-S1 Blu-ray player departments, nothing like a price drop and ship dates moving closer instead of further away to make both products easier to love. We'll wait to see if this cost-conscious Sony extends to the XBR version of their SXRD sets before we get too excited. The BRAVIA line of LCDs are still slated for September, no prices or specific dates announced yet.[Thanks for the tip Carl!]
Sony Vaio UX180P shipping to US
Although the SonyStyle site still lists it under pre-order, the Vaio UX180P non-UMPC is apparently already en route to ecstatic US customers, as at least two of our readers have received shipping confirmations from Sony via email. The Core Solo-powered machines are scheduled to arrive on the sixth of next month, which jibes with Sony's promise of a July release, but we're still a bit surprised that they're getting them out this early -- as you know, we've been burned by Sony a few times before.[Thanks, Lee and Leland B]
Sony CRTs can't stop, won't stop
In fact, they may not even know how to stop, but that hasn't stopped people from saying they're on their way out. Sony is shipping a few new models, including the KD-34XBR970. It's an HDTV with integrated tuner, HDMI input and all the great features and quality you'd generally expect from Sony's XBR line. They also have a few other new CRTs with integrated tuners coming out, but those are SD so we know you're not that interested.As skeptical as we might be about the Playstation 3, Sony has been delivering with their XBRs for a long time and we don't see them stopping now. All that heavyweight CRT 1080i goodness will set you back $1,199 when they start shipping in March.
