Filed under: Gaming

While selling a PS3 soon after launch day probably paid some hefty dividends for those lucky enough to secure one, pistol-whipping someone in order to make it happen probably isn’t worth the trouble. Apparently a cash-strapped (or completely crazed) Massachusetts duo couldn’t quite weigh the consequences before taking action, and are now under arrest for “attempted murder and robbery.” One gunman, William J. Robertson, is already being held under a $1 million (or about 600 to 700 properly eBayed PlayStation 3s, whichever you prefer) bond, while his 17-year old partner in attempted larceny remains “on the loose.” While we knew the PS3 launch would potentially bring out the worst in people, unloading ammunition to get your game (or profiteering) on is just taking things a bit too far — so while camping out weeks in advance for a next generation console may surely pay off in the short-term, we’d say pulling a criminal stunt to get one probably won’t.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

If you’re still on the hunt for a PS3 (and haven’t fell for one of those eBay scams just yet), here’s an alternate (and relatively safe) way to finally snag one of your own while earning some bragging rights to boot. If you’re not the savviest camper (or thief), but you’re packin’ the heat when it comes to programming skills, listen up — the “0wn a PS3 and own it” challenge is in full effect, and the one thing between you and a PS3 is a seemingly simple web hack. If you manage to replace the JPEG image (pictured above) on the linked website while abiding by the site rules (no DOS attacks, etc.), you become the proud owner of a modified PS3 which sports a 160GB hard drive, HDMI cable, Fedora Linux pre-installed, and a free game for when you’re not tinkering around in the OS. The site is reportedly running on this very PlayStation 3, loaded up with Fedora Linux and a presumed heavy amount of security around the said picture. So, what are you waiting for? Hit the read link and get to work, because you’ve only got until “the beginning of January 2007″ to pull it off.

[Via Digg]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

While Sony’s been dealing with exploding batteries, PS3 craziness and now a recall for some Cyber-shot cams, the Japanese behemoth’s handset division is trying to expand into the mobile television sector by partnering with Ericsson. Already the two form a significant presence in cellphones with the Sony Ericsson brand, and they hope to continue that with television as well. Per Nordlof, Ericsson’s director of Product Strategy, said at a press conference in Stockholm on Thursday that a third of the world’s mobile phone users will be watching TV on their handsets on a regular basis by 2008 — something the folks at Qualcomm and others are thinking, too, with MediaFLO and the like. According to The Associated Press, the corporate duo is also working on a way to send clips from your living room’s TV directly to a handset. Of course, if you don’t want to wait until 2008, you could just buy a Slingbox or a Sony LVTV Box right now for the same effect.

Read - Reuters
Read - The Associated Press

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Cookie cutter gadget? Passe. It’s all about skins, even the kind that may or may not ruin the shiny new finish on your valued consumer electronics. Submitted for your approval: tons of skins for your rare and lustworthy devices. Ok, so the 360 isn’t much of a skin, but we find the literal use of the term rather amusing, and when was the last time you saw a fake-fur faceplate?

P.S. -Big ups on the Xbox 360 and Eames-inspired PS3 and Wii skins above.

[Via Joystiq, thanks Craig]

Read - PS3 skins
Read - Wii skins
Read - Zune skins
Read - PSP, Xbox, etc. “skins”

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

All you owners of HDTVs that can only do 1080i, we’ve got some bad news for you. Sony Computer Entertainment America’s head honcho of Corporate communications, David Karraker, apparently retracted — or at least backtracked — on Sony’s previous statements about the increasingly infamous 1080i issue (the one that won’t let PS3s play games at 1080i on HDTVs that don’t support 720p). According to GameDaily, Sony cannot actually confirm this issue can be fixed via a firmware patch (although they’re not denying it, either), and that they are “looking into the issue and haven’t stated any actions that will be taken regarding it.”

[Thanks, Matt]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

Well, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and if the autumn foliage isn’t colorful enough, at least you can pick up a Sony laptop in nice, warm hues. The Japanese giant has just released seven new VAIO “Graphic Splash Edition” lappies, five C and two AR models — however, this is a limited edition, as only 2,650 will be made (500 AR’s, and the rest C’s). The seven color options include the pictured “Pink Swirl,” “Red/Green Storm,” “Blue Streaks,” “Angel,” (C series) plus “Orbit” and “Green Streaks” (AR series). But these laptops aren’t going to win you over solely on their good looks — they’ve got plenty under that cool exterior. Just as a refresher, the previously released C Series ($1,150, including the premium for the extra color scheme) is loaded up with a 13.3-inch screen, Core 2 Duo chip, DVD-RW, WiFi (a/b/g), whereas its bigger sister comes in as a 17-incher, with 400GB worth of storage, 2GB of RAM, and with the new colors, costs $2,100. Still, we’re torn between spending that extra $150 on a shiny new VAIO, or footing the bill for Thursday’s big dinner.

Read - AR series
Read - C series

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables

While neither can match the simple geek elegance of street artist Invader’s Space Invader-themed kicks, Nintendo and Sony fanboys now have some sneakers of their own to covet, although both look to be harder to get your hands on than a Wii or PS3. Sony’s the only one of the two to get official with its sneaks, partnering with Nike for some PlayStation 3-themed footwear (at least that’s what they’re sayin’ — from the looks of it, Nike may have just taken the opportunity to unload some rejected designs.) Only 24 pairs of the PS3 sneaks were made, with most no doubt spoken for by now. You won’t fare any better with the Nintendo shoes, however; these stylish but apparently non-functional kicks being strictly one of a kind, created by an talented sneaker artist for a recent Sneakerpimps event in Baltimore.

Read - Sole Collector, “First Look at PlayStation 3 Kicks” [Via Hypebeast]
Read - Format Magazine, “Sneakerpimps Customs” [Via DS Fanboy]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Portable Video, Wireless

Apparently dishing out surveys to garner potential interest in (hopefully) forthcoming products and services is the fad of the month, as Microsoft barely received back all the results in its latest Xbox 360 questionnaire before Sony threw down a few of its own. Most recently, however, a question was posed to PSP owners that piqued our interest, and it involved the possibility of receiving TV streams on that oh-so-sexy widescreen LCD. The higher-ups at Sony HQ seemingly have streaming video on the brain, as users were asked to choose which scenario they’d prefer when kicking back and catching a show on their handheld. The choices involved a “Sony LocationFree TV box” that would stream content directly to the PSP using a local WiFi connection, or a subscription-based service that would broadcast TV shows using “always on cellular technology” for $9.99 per month. Considering Sony can hardly pay folks to take those dust-gathering UMD flicks, we don’t think that making a move in the television realm would be such a bad idea — so, what’s up Sony? Inquisitive minds (and PSP / DS Lite fence-sitters) are yearning for an answer.

[Thanks, Simon V.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

We you know y’all want your damn PlayStation 3, but really, violence isn’t the answer. Unless it’s virtual violence, but no one’s set up a multiplayer match where the winner lands a PS3, or unlocked the Hot Coffee 2 mod that enables you to drive-by people standing in lines. But we have had eye-witness reports of depraved gamer violence; our own Boy Genius let us know he personally witnessed what came “close to a riot” at his local Circuit City. Waseem from Michigan told us how his local Best Buy kicked everyone out of line at 2.30AM this morning in the 30-degree weather, just to have people converge and duke it out for their same spot at 8:00AM. Like, literally fight. Seriously everybody, keep it clean, keep it real. It’s just a damned video game console.

P.S. -If you’ve seen any more incidents in the news or in person, please let us know!

Update: We take it back, you want to be violent about the PS3? We’ve got a target for you: none other than former Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards. First his son makes fun of other, less privileged children for buying their shoes at Wal-Mart (god forbid!), but then he has his aide call their local Wally and ask to cut in line to be assured a PS3. (Seriously, he’s not in office anymore, why the hell does he even need an aide?) Turning lemons into lemonade, Wal-Mart has issued a press release both praising Edwards’ selection for a retailer, and chiding his selfishness: “… and while the rest of America’s working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front. While, we cannot guarantee that Sen. Edwards will be among one of the first to obtain a PlayStation3, we are certain Sen. Edwards will be able to find great gifts for everyone on his Christmas list…” There, you want someone to riot on? You’ve got your man.

Read - Gunmen rob California store of PS3s in the nerdiest heist ever (ok, maybe the second nerdiest ever).
Read - 10 to 12 people robbed in PS3 line (dubious, but possible). [Via Digg]
Read - Sheriffs shut down another California store for rowdy behavior.
Read - Police break up NY SonyStyle store fight.
Read - Brawl breaks out at another Wally when manager plays musical PlayStation chairs. Seriously, what an idiot. [Thanks Kyle D.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

That’s what IGN has discovered in testing several PlayStation 3 games. Despite 1080p being “the true definition of HD“, most of the titles available are rendered internally at 1280 x 720 and scaled up accordingly… or at least that’s what should happen. On many older CRT HDTVs that only support 1080i input and not 720p, instead of scaling to the appropriate HD resolution, the PS3 goes back down to the positively Wii-like EDTV standard of 480p. The problem is confirmed to exist in Resistance: Fall of Man, Tiger Woods 07, Need for Speed Carbon and NHL 2K7 so far, but no word from Sony if this can or will be fixed in a downloadable update. The Xbox 360 scales to 1080i without a problem — although 1080p results may vary — if you’re not reading this from your place in line already be sure to check your HDTV’s manual for supported input resolutions before grabbing a lawn chair (and bulletproof vest).

[Thanks, Michael J.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

We know you’re probably sick of hearing about gadget disassemblies, and we know we already hit up that one PlayStation 3 getting taken apart and everything. But, see, this Japanese site did it on video, and we have to tell you it’s extremely graphic and wonderful. And considering the fact that it takes two guys cumulatively nearly fifteen minutes to oh so ceremoniously pull this bad boy apart, it’s really no wonder Sony’s monster of a console will set you back a half a grand (or more).

P.S. -Be sure to hit up part three, that heat sink is one of the most elaborate and impressive we’ve ever seen.

[Thanks, Gustavo]

Watch - part 2
Watch - part 3
Watch - part 4

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

Well, here we are. 2006, and perhaps the last console launch of the decade. And here they are, all decked out n’ pretty. Go ahead, debate it. Just be nice, ok? At the end of the day the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, they’re only video game consoles, and we love our babies the same. Oh, catch some more flame-stoking conversation-inspiring pics after the break.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

When a single manufacturer accounts for an overwhelming majority of your license revenue, it stands to reason that said manufacturer might save a little dough in the long haul by acquiring you outright. And so it goes for the long, passionate relationship between UIQ and licensee Sony Ericsson; of the 13 handsets running the Symbian-based platform, nearly half — six in all — have been designed and produced by Sony Ericsson, with the remainder split between Motorola and Arima units that haven’t seen been met with nearly as much publicity. The Swedish company, currently owned by Symbian itself, will be transferred to Sony Ericsson (pending clearance of the typical bureaucratic stuff, of course) for an undisclosed sum but will continue to operate as an independent entity with the current management team in place. Though UIQ promises that its platform will continue to be available “on equal terms to all its licensees,” the move makes official what’s been known for years: that UIQ is to Sony Ericsson what S60 is to Nokia, an interpretation of the Symbian smartphone operating system to call its own. Will UIQ ever match S60’s popularity, particularly in the Symbian-friendly European market? Probably not, but with a committed partner now laying out the requisite cash, it does seem more likely than ever that UIQ’s here to stay — and as always, we’re all about choice.

[Via All About Symbian]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

Even though we’re basically on the eve of Sony’s big launch of the PlayStation 3, we still had a few outstanding questions about some of the minutiae of the console. Yeah, we’re dorky sticklers for detail like that. So here are a few interesting facts about the PlayStation 3 you may (or may not) be interested in knowing:

• After plenty of gameplay the console is cool — or at worst warm — to the touch on every surface. In a side by side test with the Xbox 360, the console is comparably virtually silent, and the Blu-ray drive is significantly quieter than the 360’s DVD drive.
• USB keyboards and mice will be plug-n-play, no fuss at all. Who really wants to browse the web with a PlayStation controller anyway?
• Bluetooth mice and keyboards will not work with the system at launch.
• Any (A2DP) Bluetooth headset should theoretically work with the system, though Sony will have a recommended hardware list.
• The EyeToy is the only USB webcam that will work with the system. The original PS2 EyeToy should still work with the PS3.
• There are currently no plans for VGA out on the PlayStation3.
• The system will not support more than seven controllers.
• There are currently no plans for a cheaper, wired version of the SIXAXIS.
• With its media playback software one can have in-game custom soundtracks, as with the Xbox 360, Wii, etc.
• Despite rumor, Sony insists the US is still officially targeted for a 400k unit launch; Japan is still set for a mere 80k. Sony execs are actually expecting an upturn in unit production before launch, so those numbers may actually go up.
• Some titles have an option to install some amount of game data (in addition to saved data) to the drive. Genji can install 4GB worth of data to decrease load times (quoted to drop from 12-15 seconds down to 3-4); this game data can be removed at any time without affecting your saved games.
• The drive can be upgraded, although not on any official basis (read: YMMV, do so at your own risk, you may void warranty, etc.).
• You cannot leave voice or picture messages for other users on the PlayStation Network, only text.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

Sorry to kick y’all laptop owners when you’re down, but Sony announced that it’s initiating another recall of 340,000 batteries, this time adding Gateway to the list of the affected, in addition to already-affected Fujitsu, Toshiba, and its own batteries. (It’s not immediately apparent if this also includes the 300,000 batteries of their own that they recalled earlier this month.) There are a ton of models being recalled for each company, so we’d ask you visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission for full details; also, if you haven’t already checked your battery, please note the following companies are now initiating recalls:

• Apple
• Dell
• Fujitsu
• Gateway
• Hitachi
• IBM / Lenovo
• Panasonic
• Sharp
• Sony
• Toshiba

Kind of scary, but at this rate it’s probably just safest to assume that no matter what your notebook, your battery is or will be recalled — so be wary, and keep an eye out for battery recall pages.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Laptops

No double agent facade is complete with just an uber-stealthy Sony Ericsson cellphone, as everyone understands that no impossible improbable heist goes down without wiring a few mil to that heavily secured offshore account. Stepping up to the oh-so-dodgy challenge is Sony’s own 007 Edition VAIO TX ultraportable, slimmed down to just 1-inch thick and weighing 2.8 pounds in order to fit comfortably in the matching Attaché briefcase. The 11.1-inch machine touts a carbon fiber enclosure, WXGA XBRITE display, 1.2GHz Intel U1400 Core Solo processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 80GB 4200RPM hard drive, Intel’s GMA950 integrated graphics set, dual-layer DVD burner, and a snazzy “privacy screen” that blurs all on-screen content to curious enemies not looking head-on. The Casino Royale-approved device also touts audio in / out, Ethernet, 56k modem, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, 4-pin FireWire, MS / MSPro reader, PCMCIA, and the wireless tools (read: WiFi / Bluetooth) no undercover assassin could function without. For snapping up those incriminating reconnaissance photos, Sony bundles in a DSC-T50B (the “B” is for Bond, obviously) which rocks the same bevy of specs found on its less-secretive sibling, but sports a sleek, black finish and the obligatory 007 logo. While you may have got turned down when looking to become Pierce Brosnan’s sure-to-be-legendary successor, you can live vicariously through Sony for just $4,299.99 — but those desirable silhouettes are unfortunately not included.

[Thanks, Will]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Gaming

Sure, most Sony fanboys these days are probably saving all their pennies for one of those shiny PS3s just around the corner, but if they can’t quite swing enough hundies to grab a next gen unit along with enough games to keep them occupied, they can always settle for this “limited edition” silver PS2, which looks to be quite shiny in its own right. GameStop has been listing the $130 unit for pre-order for a while now, but now we’ve got word from a Target employee that confirms the price and date (October 24th) and reveals the quantity of the limited edition run: 500,000. While we’d hardly call that a limited edition with a new console on the way and current-gen sales waning, it’s good to have this silver edition finally in the States after eyeing those Japanese units jealously for a year and a half. It’ll also go well with that silver PSP we spotted last month, though hopefully we won’t have to wait quite as long for that one to get here.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

It looks like the Symbian Smartphone Show is shaping up to be a bit of a showdown betwixt placeshifters today, with both Sling and Sony announcing Symbian support for their respective products’ players. Unlike Sling, which announced both UIQ and S60 versions of its SlingPlayer Mobile, Sony is only going as far as UIQ support for its LocationFree on the wings of its fresh P990 smartphone — a very Sony-like (read: proprietary) move, considering Sony Ericsson isn’t down with the Nokia-backed S60 platform. Odds are Sony would’ve liked to have cut a version for its smartphones a year or two back, but the P990 is the first phone in the P series to rock data fast enough (via UMTS and WiFi) to handle the heavy-duty bandwidth requirements LocationFree — or most any other placeshifting tech, for that matter — requires. Sony Ericsson’s claiming immediate availability of the Symbian client, though it’s not yet live on the P990’s download site. Of course, a LocationFree player doesn’t do much good without the device itself, and a US release of the P990 is nowhere in sight, so just keep on toolin’ around with those PSPs until further notice.

[Thanks, Alex]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Sony’s Kutaragi gave the rumor mill plenty of fodder by speculating that multiple operating systems were being mulled over for use in the PlayStation 3, and eventually Sony posted an article confirming its interest in both OS X and Linux options. Now it appears that we just might have a winner. Terra Soft’s website proudly displays that the forthcoming version of Yellow Dog Linux “supports the PlayStation 3 console,” and leaves hints that we might see a few sweet video demonstrations in the near future. While intricate details about the the OS’s compatibility with the sure-to-be-scarce console are still few and far between, we’re expecting it to drop “in mid-November” to presumably coincide with the November PS3 launch dates — but at least pulling strings to get your name on a less-than-assuring pre-order list probably won’t be necessary here.

[Thanks, Clint]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Laptops

Now that the bulk of major laptop manufacturers have copped to battery problems and initiated recall plans, it’s time for the finger-pointing to begin. First up is Sony’s fellow Japanese manufacturer Toshiba, whose spokesperson has fired a warning shot across its competitor’s bow with threats to seek compensation related to the aftermath of this ugly incident. Toshiba is claiming that the faulty batteries have tarnished the reputation of its brand and consequently hurt sales, with Sony the obvious target of its efforts to recoup lost revenue. This is one development that we’ll be watching closely, because if money changes hands here, you can bet that everyone else will want a piece of the pie too — and right now, that’s exactly what Sony doesn’t need.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Gaming

It’s not really fair to judge the PS3’s online component before, like, the console is actually released and gamers start putting it through its paces, but it’s still interesting hear Eurogamer’s take on a pre-launch version of the PlayStation Network, courtesy of some exclusive face time with Sony exec Phil Harrison. From the site’s extensive coverage of many aspects of the service, the most noticeable theme is that Sony seems to have been closely watching the successes and failures of Xbox Live, and is serious about its promise to meet or exceed all of Live’s capabilities. Therefore, many of features that 360 fans have become accustomed to — consistent UI, multiple methods of communicating with friends, and downloadable content – are prominently featured in the Network experience, with other aspects — namely a full web browser, multitude of game-specific mini-stores, and pricing in real currency as opposed to “points” — clearly designed to one-up Microsoft’s offering. Other nice touches here include the ability to create a master account and regulated “associated” accounts (helpful for parents looking to police their kids’ usage), a global “Wallet” with which you make all micro-payments (including those required by third-party publishers), and of course, an upgradable OS that leverages the hard drive on both versions of the PS3. Downsides? Unlike Xbox Live, the first iteration of PlayStation Network doesn’t let friends communicate while playing a game; even though you’ll get a notification of new messages during gameplay, you have to exit the game in order to read them and respond. Also, it’s still not clear if / how Sony will implement player rankings a la Live’s leaderboards, which is a feature that naturally-competitive gamers have come to expect. All-in-all, though, it sounds like Sony has put a lot of thought into the usability of this increasingly important aspect of the console experience, and assuming that the company is able to overcome potential shortages, lack of rumble, and other well-known nitpicks, the PlayStation Network looks poised to attract the same fervent following as XBL.

[Via PS3 Fanboy and Joystiq]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Gaming

This whole PS3 delay game has really become something of an amusing sideshow at this point: after so much bad press concerning nearly every single aspect of the console, you’d think that Sony would do everything possible to ensure that things run smoothly from here until launch, and yet word on the street is that Europe may be victim to still another postponement. It should be noted we have no independent confirmation of the following information, but Spanish gaming site MeriStation is reporting that Ken Kutaragi recently admitted that supply problems for Japan and North America could force the European PS3 launch to be delayed until May — which would mean that Japanese and American consumers might have their systems nearly six months before the eager gamers in the rest of the world. Now keep in mind that Kutaragi also supposedly said that Sony has not modified its European launch plans at this time, so right now we’re only looking at a “what if” scenario. Still, this rollout has been plagued with nothing but problems since day one, and as much as we’d like to see Sony pull this one off considering the shaky condition it’s currently in, we’re starting to think that these little issues and public gaffes may add up to big problems.

[Thanks, Mercenary]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Portable Audio

Sony Japan just spilled the deets on their new Walkman S series of digital audio players. The NW-S700 players deliver pretty much exactly what we’ve already seen: 4/2/1GB of flash memory, 3-line OLED display capable of dishin’ albumn art, FM tuner, playback for MP3/ATRAC/ATRAC Advanced Lossless/Linear PCM and AAC/WMA sans DRM files, and the ability to record from external audio sources direct to PCM or ATRAC3Plus. The player features a quick 3-minute charge for 3-hours of playback or a 2-hour full-charge for up to 50-hours playback of all those 132kbps ATRAC files you probably don’t have. Finally, Sony claims that the NW-S700 series delivers the highest sound quality in Walkman history due to the integrated noise cancelation and bundled 13.5mmEX earbuds with integrated in-line Mic. Nice, if indeed their claims of 25% less ambient noise are true. Also announced are the NW-S600 players offered in 2/1GB flavas but without the FM tuner and built-in noise cancelation. The NW-S700 players will hit October 21st in Japan in your choice of black, violet, gold, and pink while the NW-S600 DAPs are set to roll on November 18th in black, blue and pink. And of course, there’s the limited edition NW-S706F/T in brown which, as you know, is the new white of consumer electronics. Expect to fork over up to ¥29,000 (about $242) for the 4GB NW-S706F or as little as ¥15,000 (about $125) for the 1GB NS-S603 model.

[Via Impress]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Laptops

And you thought you could go the whole day without reading a single battery recall-related post; sorry, we’ll try harder tomorrow. So you probably remember yesterday’s scary report which quoted a Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson predicting that Sony’s upcoming US battery recall will expand beyond just laptops, and might include portable DVD players and videogame consoles too. Well the same woman who made that statement, Julie Vallese, has now backtracked somewhat by telling CNET that “Any recall that the agency will make will be limited to batteries that power notebook computers. We have no anticipation at this time beyond that.” So, does this mean that those other types of batteries are safe — or that the CPSC knows about problems with them, but since they apparently won’t be part of the recall, there’s no need to worry the public? It’s hard to say at this point, although Vallese’s previous comment was pretty clear — unlike the following response from Sony spokesperson Rick Clancy: “Sony has provided a wealth of technical data to the CPSC involving this tech, and it is omnipresent in a host of portable electronic devices, but as far as we know, from Sony’s perspective, there is no initiative planned at this time that goes beyond what has already been communicated with respect to notebook computers.” Doesn’t sound very reassuring to us. Only time will tell if other kinds of devices are at risk from those little metal particles that tainted many a laptop cell, but if we had to proffer a guess, we’d say it’s pretty unlikely that the QA breakdown which allowed so many batteries to become fire hazards was limited only to the manufacturing processes for notebook power packs. Let’s hope we’re wrong about this one.

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Blue laser shortage or not, Sony’s hoping to avoid the delay bug with its first Blu-ray disc recorders, just announced at CEATEC 2006 for early December release in Japan. Both models will record two TV programs at once via their two digital and one analog tuners. Backing up video to Blu-ray discs is limited to 25GB — no 50GB BD-R/BD-RE writing or reading here — but it will play cartridges from the old Blu-ray recorders, as well as the new AVCHD discs. With the right NTT cellphone you can schedule recordings from anywhere, but at home owners will enjoy the slick PSP-style XMB crossbar menu like other Sony products. The high-end BDZ-V9 is the only choice if you must have 1080p output, DLNA streaming to connected PCs or compatible displays and video conversion to MPEG-4 to transfer directly to a PSP. All the connections you’d expect are a go, including HDMI out, plus i.Link and USB inputs to hook up digicams and make as many sentimental James Blunt-soundtracked slideshows as you can with the included x-Pict Story HD software. The BDZ-V9 will set buyers back a cool ¥300,000 ($2,543 US) or so on December 8th, with the value-priced BDZ-V7 only expected to go for ¥250,000 ($2,119 US) when it hits on December 19th. They may not have the 4x Blu-ray recording of Panasonic’s lineup or the soul-crushing bulk of Toshiba’s 1TB RD-A1, but with a simple menu system and joystick based remote control Japanese gamers who didn’t get one of the 100,000 launch PS3s will still bring Blu-ray to their living room this year.

[Via Impress]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.