When Sony released the VAIO P, there was much uproar about the price. While Sony didn’t classify the VAIO Pocketable as a netbook, most users around the blogosphere did based on it’s form factor. Featuring an 8 inch display, Intel Atom Z520 CPU and a 60GB hard drive, it certainly fell into netbook territory but, the 2GB of RAM, Vista as the operating system and high price, set it apart. While it’s still not in netbook territory price wise, Argos are selling the VAIO P for £499.99 instead of £849.99, saving a massive £350. The offer is an online exclusive but, applies to all color models. It’s available in black, white, red or green.

If you’re interested in either the white or green model though, Amazon also have the VAIO P listed. In white or green you can save even more, as they are listed at £469.99. The black model on the other hand, through Amazon is twice as much as Argos, retailing at £999.99.

Following on from the Satio finally being made available in the US from the Sony Style store, the Xperia X2 is now up for pre-order. With the X10 already released in some countries though and the US very soon, could it be too late for the X2? The Xperia X2 features similar specs of the X10 except the main difference is the X2 is powered by Windows Mobile instead of Android. The X2 is loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5 which is an upgrade from the X1. Windows Mobile 7 isn’t on the cards for the handset either.
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In aid of Earth Day, Sony Ericsson Canada will be donating $1 per leaf added to their leaf tree. You can view the GreenHeart Tree here and simply add a leaf. For every leaf added, Sony Ericsson CA will donate one Canadian Dollar to Earth Day Canada, until 5000 leaves are added. Currently there are 349 leaves on the tree.

The GreenHeart Tree represents Sony Ericsson range of GreenHeart handsets which are more eco friendly by using recycled plastics for the handset and eco friendly packaging, such as the Sony Ericsson Naite.

Almost a year after Sony Ericsson announced the Satio, the handset has made it’s way to the US. The Satio has been available since October in the UK and faced many initial launch problems, including being pulled from stores. Hopefully with such a long gap between the US release, all the bugs should have been fixed. Although being almost a year after the announcement, is anyone in the US still interested in the Satio handset? If you are you can pick it up from Sony Style for $650.

The Satio is part of the entertainment unlimited range, bring CyberShot, WalkMan and Smartphone together. Read the rest of this entry »

Sony are holding a competition where the prize, will not only be a chance to blog for Sony but, to also win the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 handset. The winner will also receive a PSP GO, Sony Reader Pocket Edition, α330 DSLR Camera and a trip to see the FIFA 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, covering the event.

The contest is open to US residents aged 18+, who also have their own blog. You’ll need to enter by 11:59 PT May 7th. Ten finalists will be selected by three judges, to win an X10, PSP GO, with Fifa 2010 and to blog for ten days beginning May 17th. The judges will then select one winner to take the grand price, of the α330 DSLR Camera, Sony Reader and of course, the trip to the World Cup finals. You can enter the competition here.

Sony Style USA

Sony have released an update for the PlayStation 3, which has caused quite a stir. The 3.21 update removes the ability to install another operating system, though the “OtherOS” option. If you don’t update, you lose the ability to connect to the PSN network. Fortunately, if you have updated, or need to update but, want to keep your Linux install on your PS3, there is a work around. Geohot, famous for his simple iPhone jailbreak, has found a way around the update, in the form of a custom firmware. Unfortunately there’s no information on when he’ll be releasing it to the public. However there is currently a work around available:

- On your PS3, sign out of PSN
– Download and install PS3.ProxyServer.GUI here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ywnmy1wykzi
- It doesn’t create shortcuts so navigate to C:Program FilesCF3B5PS3.ProxyServer and run PS3.ProxyServer.GUI.exe
- Type your current LOCAL IP ADDRESS (probably 192.168.*.*), you can leave the port as 8080, check PS3 Mode
- Whatever port you use must be open on your router, so if 8080 is blocked, open it now
- Go to the Replace Files tab and click Add
– In the left box, paste this address: http://fus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/…st/us/ps3- updatelist.txt
– In the right box, click browse and find your LOCAL COPY of the 3.15 ps3-updatelist.txt file, download from here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dyjldy24yod
- Back to the Proxy Settings tab, click Start
- From your PS3’s XMB, go to Settings, Network Settings, then Internet Connection Settings
- Keep everything the way you have it configured now except for the Proxy Server option, make sure you click Use
- Type the IP address and port number to your local computer (from step 4 above)
- Finish configuring, test connection, make sure it connects
- That’s it. If the connection test works, you can now sign into PSN with 3.15 and bypass the 3.21 firmware check
- Note that you must keep PS3.ProxyServer.GUI running when you want to use your PS3 until we get Custom Firmware

(Source)

If you haven’t updated yet, there is also a way to still access the PSN network:

You don’t have to update to fw 3.21 to use the PSN. Just enter the following
DNS — 67.202.81.137 — into your PS3 under Network Settings. The server fakes
the authentication and hands the connection back to your PS3 shortly thereafter.
No proxy needed.

(Source)

In the UK, a moderator of neogaf, has emailed Amazon to explain that, because of the new firmware and the removal of the OtherOS option, it no longer fits the description when originally purchased and violates European law Directive 1999/44/EC, specifically “be fit for the purpose which the consumer requires them and which was made known to the seller at the time of purchase.” The said PS3 model, was an original PS3 60GB and therefore out of warranty but, Amazon refunded him £84 including tax, which is around 20% of the value he paid. I also purchased a PS3 from Amazon, a 60GB model, so have contacted them and am awaiting a response.

After thinking about adding to the forums for quite some time, we decided it was time we added them. We will be seeing how well the forums go, to see whether to continue with them. The forums are open and fully functional but, we will be adding things as we go. Come by and say “hello”.

UK carrier Vodafone have announced on their website that the newest Sony Ericsson smartphone – the Xperia X10 – is now available to order from them. The Vodafone press release states the phone will be available on the 2nd of April however, their website states an expected release date of the 6th of April.

The Android powered handset, the latest in the popular Xperia range is available for free on Vodafone’s £35 per month tariff which is a 2 year contract deal including 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data usage or on their £40 per month tariff which is also a 2 year contract deal including 1200, unlimited texts and the 500MB of data usage. Both packages, if bought online offer an extra 300 free minutes and unlimited landline calls as an incentive to buy. See the Vodafone website for full package details.

If Sony’s original netbook was too overpriced for you, then the good news is, Sony are releasing a new netbook model at a lower price of £300. While still not really a budget netbook it does make owning a VAIO netbook more realistic. The VAIO M is due to be launched at the end of the month in the UK for £300. Tesco currently have the netbook listed on their website and their new catalogue, with an end of March release date. The netbook is available in both white and black but, Tesco are charging an extra £30 for the white model.

While in the US, the VAIO M11M1E is available for $380 in the white. Online retailers TigerDirect and J&R currently only have the white model listed but, hopefully the black model will follow shortly.

Specs of the VAIO M netbook include a 10.1 inch display but, Sony have trimmed down the resolution to 1024×600, the traditional netbook resolution, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Intel Atom N450 processor. Apart from the change in resolution from the previous VAIO netbook (1366×768), the island style keyboard has been replaced with, again a more traditional netbook layout.

Search Results « Previous Entries Sony VAIO M goes on sale in US Monday, March 22nd, 2010 Sony’s latest netbook offering, the VAIO M is now being stocked by US retailers.  Listed as the VPCM111AX/W, it’s currently available to order from TigerDirect for $379.99, who have it in stock ready to ship. J&R also have the netbook listed for pre-order at 99 cents less. Both companies only have the white model but, hopefully the black model will follow soon. J&R currently have the VAIO M listed with a display resolution of 1366 x 768, which is incorrect and should be amended soon. The VAIO W on the other hand does feature that resolution, for a not so budget friendly price. via Posted by: QuBic in 10-inch, Netbook, competitor, sony | tags: sony, sony vaio, sony vaio m, u.s., vaio, Vaio M | Edit | No Comments » Sony Officially Launches the Vaio M Netbook Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 Following our coverage of the unboxing of the Sony Vaio M by Stuff.tv, we now found the official Sony announcement courtesy of CrunchGear. Although it may already be a little late coming in, still it’s worth noting that Sony finally got it right when it comes to manufacturing a netbook with the Sony Vaio M.  Well, that is if its rumored price is true or even lesser at around $450. Specs-wise, everything seems to be what a netbook should be right now. The Sony Vaio M is loaded with Intel Atom N450 CPU, 250GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, and Intel GMA 3150 GPU, 10.1-inch LED backlit display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Windows 7 and a 6-cell battery. To be available in black or white color, the Sony VAIO M is slated for a release by end of March. Posted by: Arnold Zafra in 10-inch, Netbook, sony | tags: sony vaio m | Edit | No Comments » Unboxed: Sony Vaio M Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 It seems Sony finally flinched and got off its high horse and released a “budget” netbook. Stuff.tv from UK got a hands-on and unboxing of the new Sony Vaio M. From what I can see, the island keys that Sony laptops are known for have been replaced by an older early MSI Wind-like keyboard. Actually, come to think of it, it does look like a matte version of the MSI Wind 100, even just a little bit. Sony Vaio M 10.1″ 1024×600 LED-backlit screen 1.66GHz Intel Atom with GMA 3150 1GB RAM 250GB HDD 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, built-in Camera The feature set sure is boring and at the price of this thing (US$455), you would expect a bit more for a netbook. Better get one of the newer Pine Trail netbooks, maybe one of those with ION 2 already. source Engadget Posted by: Shinrai in 10-inch, Netbook, sony | tags: Vaio M | Edit | 1 Comment » MSI Wind U100 modded into an iPad lookalike Monday, March 15th, 2010 Sure this tablet mod isn’t the first one with seen, with a rebadged MSI Wind U100 most recently turned into a slider, like the VAIO UX. This time around, one modder has hacked his U100 to resemble the upcoming iPad from Apple. The keyboard was removed from the netbook, a touchscreen added and what really makes it look like more of an iPad than the regular tablet mods, is that alexbates, founder of InsanelyWind added OS X to it with customisations. He also cites that, not only does it look like an iPad but, the specs of it, far exceed that of the iPad with it having “10 times the storage, twice the speed, external video (VGA), webcam, USB ports, and built-in multi card reader.” via Posted by: QuBic in 10-inch, MSI Wind, Netbook, apple, competitor, tablet | tags: hack, iPad, mod, MSI Wind, msi wind u100, os x, tablet, touchscreen, u100 | Edit | No Comments » Sony Vaio W12S1E1 unboxed Monday, March 15th, 2010 While the Sony Vaio W12S1E1 may have been out for a couple of months now, over in the UK the netbook, according to SonyBrands has been hard to find in stores. The Vaio W netbook has been released in several variants, including a 160GB model, a 250GB model, an Intel Atom PineTrail model and an eco friendly version. SonyBrands have got hold of the VAIO W12S1E1, the second model to be announced, which features a 250GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, Windows 7 Starter and Intel Atom N280 processor. The VAIO W12S1E1 is available in white, pink, brown and charcoal, with the model unboxed being the white version. It has a 6 cell battery, which is shown on the netbook and sticks out but, looks like it will allow sufficient airflow. You can view the unboxing photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry » Posted by: QuBic in 10-inch, Netbook, competitor, sony | tags: sony vaio, unboxing, vaio, vaio w, w12s1e | Edit | 1 Comment » « Previous Entries

Sony’s PlayStation Portable first made it’s entrance to the market five years ago, on the 24th March. It become available in the US then and saw release to other parts of the world shortly after. Since then, the PSP has seen several make overs. The original 1000 series is now referred to as the “phat PSP”, ever since the PSP 2000 series, aka PSP Slim was launched in 2007 making the portable device 33% lighter and thinner. Shortly after, in 2008, we saw the release of the PSP 3000 series, aka “PSP Brite”, which had an LCD screen with five times the color contrast ratio. Sony’s latest PSP offering came in the form of the PSP Go in Fall 2009. The PSP lost it’s UMD drive and instead, titles can be downloaded from the PSN Store. Currently there are more than 520 UMD titles and over 300 titles on the PlayStation Network.

You can view the full press release from Sony after the jump.

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