Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

sony

Sony rumored to be marching after Club Penguin

Several blogs, including PaidContent, reported today that Sony is in "advanced talks" to buy ClubPenguin a social networking and online game site geared toward kids that was launched in October 2005. The price is reported as in the ballpark of $450 million.

The subscription-based (six dollars per month) ClubPenguin takes the form of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where children play games, amass virtual goods, and interact with each other, all while participating as penguin avatars. According to PaidContent, the site rakes in about $60 million in revenues and is already profitable despite being fewer than … Read more

Sony Vaio TZ photos leaked

When we told you about several leaked Sony laptops a few weeks ago, there weren't any photos of the ultraportable Vaio TZ11 to share. But Andrew at NotebookReview.com managed to uncover some images and more detailed specs on a French retailer's Web site.

"Anyone think that keyboard redesign looks a lot like the MacBook keyboard?" Andrew asks, and our answer is a hearty yes. We just hope it's comfortable for typing--which is tough to do when the case is only 10.9 inches wide.

Like its TX series predecessor, the 2.6-pound TZ11 is … Read more

Electronic Arts announces 'Simpsons' game

Electronic Arts on Wednesday announced that it will release this fall a new Simpsons video game.

The announcement, by the world's-largest video game publisher, came just minutes before an invite-only press event in San Francisco where it was expected to make a "special announcement." It's not yet clear if the two announcements are one and the same.

The game, which is expected to be released this fall in conjunction with Gracie Films and Twentieth Century Fox, will feature the familiar Simpsons characters, and presumably, the storyline. It will also feature the voice actors from the TV … Read more

The Santa Rosa shuffle

Every major PC manufacturer is announcing a lineup of new laptops this morning. These systems are all part of Intel's new Santa Rosa platform, which to the laptop-buying public means they'll have either a Centrino Pro or Centrino Duo sticker on them somewhere.

Our colleague Michelle Thatcher will go into further detail on the Santa Rosa specs later today, but for the most part, it involves having one of several new mobile Intel CPUs (From the T7000-series), support for Wireless N networking, Intel's new 965 chipset, and some additional onboard memory--Intel calls it Turbo Memory--for faster booting. … Read more

Sony Ericsson tosses out three new thin phones

Sony Ericsson today released three new cell phones that aim to capitalize on the still-hot thin handset craze. Two of the new models should make it to North American shores, while one model features two dazzling colors rarely seen in the mobile world.

The Sony Ericsson S500 features a 2-megapixel camera with a 4x zoom, a media player (though not a Walkman-branded one), a speakerphone, a memory card slot, and stereo Bluetooth. The S500 features a slider design that is 0.55 inch thick and is available in the very unique hues of mysterious green and spring yellow. We're … Read more

Sony Ericsson unveils next-gen P1 smart phone

Along with Sony Ericsson's other announcements today, the company unveiled its fifth-generation P-series smart phone, the Sony Ericsson P1. The P1 is 25 percent smaller than its predecessor, the Sony Ericsson P990i, but that doesn't mean it skimps on features. The smart phone is based on the Symbian and UIQ operating systems and has a 2.6-inch touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and push e-mail support for Exchange ActiveSync and BlackBerry Connect. Other goodies include a dual-function keyboard (like the one found on the Sony Ericsson M600i), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and VoIP support. The tri-band (GPRS 900/… Read more

Sony Ericsson introduces shiny new stereo Bluetooth headset

Sony Ericsson just released the HBH-DS980, a brand new stereo Bluetooth headset that is a slight upgrade from the company's HBH-DS970. The pendant-style headset features a hidden OLED display underneath the device's smooth mirror finish that only lights up when activated. Other features are pretty much identical to the HBH-DS970--they include digital noise cancellation and echo reduction, plus it comes with three sizes of soft silicon ear buds for a better fit. It has a promised talk time of up to six hours and will be available some time in the third quarter of this year.

Sony releases its noise-canceling answer to the iPod Nano

Sony's NW-S705F Noise Canceling MP3 player is now on sale in the U.S. for about $199 for 2GB version and $169 for 1GB. You may remember when Crave reported on Sony's announcement of this player back in October. The big hullabaloo is that the NW-S705F has active noise-cancellation integrated into the player. Before you get too excited, the active noise-cancellation system will still require you to use Sony's proprietary earbuds. Even though the noise-canceling circuitry is in the player, microphones located on the outside of the earbuds are necessary for the function to work properly. The … Read more

Loose lips sinking the secret Santa Rosa ship

It's hard to keep a tech secret these days. Some would say impossible, thanks to the army of blogs on the Internet looking to grab eyeballs with any bit of leaked information or speculation they can find.

While the average consumer may not be as excited about the May 9 release of the first wave of laptops with Intel's Santa Rosa platform as one would be about, say, a new video game console, the torrent of leaked specs and models appearing online are interesting, even if just because it's information you're not supposed to know.

Otherwise … Read more