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Incoming: Military-grade carrying case for the PSP

Over the years, we've gotten letters from soldiers stationed in Iraq, and they've talked about how hard the place is on electronics gear--and I'm not talking bullets and bombs, but just the raw elements (dust, sand, and so on...). Well, I just noticed this item on PSP Fan Boy: a $100 military-style PSP case from TAD Gear that claims to be military-grade. A note on the site about the PSP Pod reads:

"This is a very special, limited custom run of nylon accessory pouches. These PSP Pods were produced at the request of some our associates … Read more

Sony: Good riddance, SonicStage

OK, OK, two Sony products in two days doesn't mean Crave's all loved-up with the Japanese Walkmanites, but considering how much we bash its media-manager software SonicStage, we felt compelled to mention that the company's ickle new MP3 player--the NWD-B100--doesn't require it. About time, too.

The NWD-B100 is possibly the most respectable Sony Walkman product to see the light of day in 2007. Yeah, the NW-A808 is a superb piece of audio gadgetry, and the E series earned kudos points for including a system very similar to iTunes' Cover Flow on a tiny colour display. But … Read more

New PS3 1.90 firmware update is now available in Japan

Thanks to Kotaku, word is out that a new 1.90 firmware upgrade is now available for download to PS3 owners in Japan. Based on an initial post from the Japanese site, Game Watch, the following features/tweaks are part of the update:

-- Ability to rearrange games on the XMB

-- Option menu now includes "eject disk"

-- Press triangle to eject games/CDs/movies in the XMB

-- XMB backgrounds

-- Change the folder classification

-- Emoticons

-- Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz

-- Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI … Read more

Sony's superthin TZ makes an appearance

A hand-delivered box containing a new Sony Vaio TZ laptop just arrived, temporarily holding the CNET Labs staff transfixed with its ultra-slim design. The spell was only broken by a quick inquiry about the system's price ("How much is that? $3,000? Oh...")

Our review unit is actually one of the lower-end TZ models, clocking in at a more reasonable $2,299, meaning it has only 1GB of RAM, a slightly slower CPU than the more expensive models, and a standard hard drive, instead of the 32GB solid-state option in the higher-end TZ configurations (those get up … Read more

More iPod-friendly products from Sony

Sony's taken the wraps off two more iPod-compatible home audio products: the ICF-C1iP clock radio, and the ZS-S2iP boom box. The ICF-C1iP clock radio is available in black or white and offers an adjustable backstop for accommodating various sizes of 'Pods in the built-in dock. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard feature set for the clock radio category--adjustable brightness control; AM/FM radio; wake to iPod, radio, or alarm; and wireless remote. Personally, i think the clock's digital display--along the bottom of the iPod dock--seems like it would be too easily obscured, but maybe I just have too many books on my nightstand. … Read more

Gamespot: Japanese PSP to get TV tuner

Gamespot is reporting that when the new, slimmer PSP is released in Japan on September 20, buyers there will also be able to pick up a new TV tuner accessory, the PSP-S310, which will attach to the new PSP's USB port.

The article says that, "The peripheral weighs in at only 17 grams and is very portable, but is compatible only with the new PSP model. Also, since it's a 1seg digital TV tuner (ISDB-T broadcasting format), its use is limited to the Japan airwaves. The TV tuner will be released at the same time as the … Read more

Sony's tiny TZ laptop gets official

Sure we've seen it in Japan for months, and you can actually order one from gadget importer Dynamism.com, but we're still pretty excited that Sony is finally releasing the Vaio TZ laptop here in the good ol' U. S. of A.

Last night, at the event space on top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (known as the Top of the Rock), Sony showed off what the company calls a "new line of richly designed, high-performance ultraportable notebooks." For once we pretty much agree--even with an 11.1-inch LED backlit display, Web cam, carbon-fiber casing, and a … Read more

Sony's new DVDirect loses PC connectivity, gains AVCHD support

The next iteration of Sony's DVDirect--the VRD-MC5--is already on its way, even though we just recently reviewed the VRD-MC3. The new version adds some features and loses some, but in the end, it's ultimately a gain.

Unlike the VRD-MC3, the VRD-MC5 doesn't work as a PC-attached burner. In researching how people were using the product, Sony noted that PC-attached burning fell to the back of the list. After all, the VRD-MC3's burn speeds couldn't compete with those of standalone burners, as verified by CNET Labs' tests. But it does add support for AVCHD videos. The … Read more