sony

NFC: Not just for mobile payments anymore

Move over, mobile payments. NFC is finding other ways to make itself useful.

In fact, paying for items with one's phone seems to be the least common use for the close-range connectivity technology right now, at least based on gadgets unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show. Rather, essentially all products using NFC shown at the recent confab employed the technology in one of two ways: To set up a sort of digital handshake between a mobile device and another gadget or as a way to share information between products with just a tap.

"NFC really simplifies things," … Read more

Sony sells its Madison Ave. headquarters for $1.1 billion

Sony announced today that it is selling its U.S. headquarters building located on Madison Avenue in New York City to a real estate consortium headed by The Chetrit Group. The sale price for the 37-story building is $1.1 billion.

"Given the opportunities and challenges in the current economic and real estate landscape, selling 550 Madison now is a timely and logical strategic move," Sony Corporation of America President Nicole Seligman said in the statement, according to Bloomberg.

The sale of Sony's assets is a longtime coming. The company has struggled over the past few years … Read more

What to expect in the next BlackBerry

Wednesday's CNET Update gets a glimpse of the future:

Today's tech roundup looks at the leaked specs of the BlackBerry 10 L-Series all-touchscreen smartphone. TechRadar reports it got the specs from official training documents at Research In Motion. It's expected that all will be unveiled by RIM at an event later this month.

There are also rumors out about Nintendo and Sony. Reports say Nintendo is changing its corporate structure to combine its handheld and console teams into one. And Sony's vice president of home entertainment hinted that we may see a PlayStation 4 by the … Read more

White PlayStation 3 bundle on its way to North America

Sony will soon launch a white PlayStation 3 in the U.S. and Canada, postings on Best Buy's site indicate.

Best Buy's Canadian and U.S.-based sites today posted white versions of the PlayStation 3. The 500GB console is bundled with three games -- Little Big Planet 2, Infamous 2, and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. In addition, the bundle includes six PlayStation Vita games and a one-year subscription to PlayStation Plus.

In both the U.S. and Canada, the bundle will set customers back $299.99.

In North America, Sony has stuck to shipping black … Read more

Sony exec hints at PlayStation 4 announcement in spring

Sony's vice president of home entertainment, Hiroshi Sakamoto, has hinted that the next-generation PlayStation 4 console may be announced in the coming months.

In an interview with Chilean Web site Emol, Sakamoto implied that the Playstation 4 may be ready for formal introduction by the time 2013's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) appears on the calendar, or perhaps even sooner.

When asked whether a next-generation playstation console will be seen within the new few months, the VP told the publication:

That's still a big secret, but our friends are preparing Sony PlayStation. I can only say that we … Read more

Gaze at amazing art drawn on a touch-screen tablet

LAS VEGAS--We may never be able to replace the splendor of painting on a real canvas with store-bought pigments, but the supreme accuracy of a modern touch-screen computer can offer an artistic experience that would even make Dali's head spin.

Deep within the maze-like setup of Sony's booth at CES 2013, I sat down with artist April Wong as she painted a woman using the ArtRage drawing program on a Sony Vaio Duo 11 hybrid tablet. Stroke by stroke, a realistic image emerged from Wong's stylus, and I couldn't help but find myself surprised that the visage appearing on the tablet looked as good, if not better, than a real painting. No mess, either!… Read more

Sony eyes $1 billion building sale in Japan

Sony is trying to sell a Tokyo building in an effort to raise some cash for its ailing operation.

The Sony City Osaki building in Tokyo is on sale for between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources with knowledge of the plans. The move follows a corporate decree passed down by CEO Kazuo Hirai to offload any nonessential assets as Sony attempts to regain its financial footing.

Sony has watched its financials slip over the last several years. In the year ended March 31, 2012, Sony lost about $5 billion as … Read more

The 404 at CES 2013: Where we change out $100 (podcast)

We've seen plenty of innovative gadgets at this year's show, but Jeff wants to talk about a few things we'd be thankful to never see again.

We'll also talk about the trend of indestructibility with regard to smartphone cases and screen protectors, alternative computer displays, and more.

Finally, we'll check out a local bar called Insert Coin(s) that dispels the myth of video game stereotypes. It's a unique take on nightlife that lets patrons choose from a selection of 60 vintage cabinets and modern games that you can play on 44 HDTVs plastered … Read more

Sony chats up future of Music Unlimited, PlayStation Store

LAS VEGAS--Nearly three years after the formation of Sony Network Entertainment, the company still struggles to capture consumer attention with its Music Unlimited media-streaming service, but things look better than ever for the PlayStation Store.

Sony Network Entertainment COO Shawn Layden remains upbeat despite his company living in the shadow of Pandora, Xbox Live, and other competitors. In a conversation with CNET, Layden relayed the primary goals for Sony's entertainment services: bring content to more regions, expand the number of compatible devices, and design a common user interface across device categories.… Read more