sony

Always On's last gig in Barcelona veers away from Mobile World Congress and lands Molly and Jeff in the streets of Barcelona with only their BlackBerry Z10s to guide them. While an Amazing Race-style mission involving lunch under the famous Arc de Triomf and a Spanish ragtime band at La Catedral should have had our hosts overflowing with enthusiasm, the BlackBerry Z10 had other plans.

Whether it was an inability to map the crew a half-mile east, wacky gesture control, or wildly imbalanced NFC photo exchange rate, BlackBerry's comeback kid left us lost in a strange land. Never … Read more

The annual Game Developers Conference, which attracts tens of thousands from the gaming industry, had all of the usual players this year: Nintendo, Sony, EA, Activision, etc. But they weren't the only players in town this week at GDC.

There was plenty of buzz about Ouya, the new $99, Android-based gaming console that broke Kickstarter records like Adrian Peterson breaks tackles.

Now, before the serious gamers out there savage me, let me be clear: The Ouya isn't going to be displacing the role of traditional consoles like the PlayStation or the Wii (although the Wii U has gone nowhere). … Read more

Sony gave the press a peek at its upcoming next-generation console last month, and today did the same with developers.

The company was in San Francisco earlier today as part of the Games Developers Conference, and showed off some of the only hardware of the PlayStation 4: the new DualShock 4 controller and PlayStation 4 Eye camera peripheral. Both were behind an enclosed display case and marked as mock-ups on GDC's expo floor.

High-resolution photos of both pieces of hardware were released by Sony late last month.

Key among the new features in Sony's new DualShock 4 controller is a built-in touch pad that can be used to interact with games and on-screen menus. There's also a built-in microphone jack, and a share button nestled next to the trigger buttons that lets gamers stream their gameplay live to friends in real time. … Read more

Our colleagues at CNET Asia just took the new Sony Xperia ZL for a complete test-drive and like how this elegant handset handles. While not as luxurious as Sony's current flagship the Xperia Z, the Xperia ZL offers plenty of smartphone goodies including a nimble processor, Android Jelly Bean, and even an IR blaster to function as a home theater remote. … Read more

Smartphone buyers eyeing Sony's Xperia ZL can now pre-order the phone directly through Sony's online store.

The ZL is available in two flavors and at two prices, both versions unlocked and carrier-free.

The C6506 model sells for $759.99 and offers 4G LTE connectivity. The C6502 model goes for $719.99 and is compatible with the HSPA+ networks used by AT&T and T-Mobile. Both models are available in black, white, and red.

The phone is pre-selling online only through the Sony Store for now but should soon pop up at other select online retailers, Sony said … Read more

Sony's high-tech timepiece offering, the Sony SmartWatch, isn't exactly known for smooth performance. The company's new software update, however, promises to offer a slicker interface and six new watch faces, and to address any lingering stability issues. … Read more

Sony today unveiled two new Xperia phones for people who may find the 5-inch Experia Z and ZL too big to handle.

The Xperia SP offers a super-bright 4.6-inch 720-pixel HD Reality Display. Sony's Reality Display borrows technology from the Bravia TV lineup, which the company says enhances the brightness and picture sharpness. Courtesy of the Mobile Bravia Engine 2, the phone automatically adjusts its display based on the image being viewed.

Packed with 4G LTE, the SP also comes with near-field communications to display photos and videos on a TV and share files with other devices. An … Read more

The video game industry once again had a down month as console and software sales slipped.

Total industry sales hit $810 million in February, representing a 25 percent drop compared with the same period last year, market researcher NPD said yesterday. Hardware sales were down 36 percent to $244.2 million, and console and portable software sales across the physical retail channel could only reach $352 million -- a 27 percent drop compared with February 2012.

The Xbox 360 once again led the hardware market, earning the top spot in console sales for the 26th month in a row. According … Read more

If you're still waiting for AT&T to update your Sony Xperia TL to Android 4.1 and patience isn't your top virtue, the carrier is now letting you download Jelly Bean yourself.

While connected to Wi-Fi, you can scoot on into the settings and choose "About phone," then select the software update to get things rolling.

Easy-peasy. You can check out the full Android 4.1 Jelly Bean features here.