Lance says that he babied his Sony Vaio computer. He fed it electricity, kept it comfy, and left it docked into an LCD monitor all of the time. He didn’t take it everywhere or even toss it into a swimming pool. Yet after an odd negotiation with the world’s only onsite tech who refuses to make appointments, he learned that his version of reality wasn’t true. The computer had liquid corrosion, and Sony would only repair it if he paid almost 2/3 of the original purchase price in repair fees. Lance wants to know why the tech didn’t notice the corrosion until after he replaced the entire motherboard. [More]
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Why Doesn’t Sony Playstation Network Want My Money?
By 6.13.12
Jonathan’s sons sometimes want to buy downloadable content for their Playstation 3 games. He’s perfectly happy to buy this content for them, because he’s a nice dad like that. Unfortunately, his money is no good at Sony. He uses his credit card to add $10 to his virtual wallet. Then the same card won’t work immediately afterward. Neither will a different card. [More]
Sony Decides To Not Go Disc-Free For Next Gaming Console
By 5.30.12
With the next generation of gaming consoles set to debut during the next two years, rumors abound about whether or not digitally downloaded or cloud-stored games will replace the current disc-based standard. A new Wall Street Journal report claims that, for Sony at least, the day of the disc isn’t done yet. [More]
Which Worst Company Contenders Force Customers Into Mandatory Arbitration?
By 3.21.12
As we sifted through the mountain of nominations for this year’s Worst Company In America tournament, we noticed a trend of readers who cited companies’ mandatory binding arbitration clauses as a reason for nominating. And while it’s businesses like AT&T and Sony that have made all the headlines for effectively banning class action lawsuits, there are a lot of other WCIA contenders who are forcing customers into signing away their rights. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: EA Vs. Sony
By 3.14.12
If this particular WCIA bout were a video game, we’d charge you $59.99 to play the most basic version, another $20 or so to play the full version, and then we’d still nickel and dime you for extras… But not before your account data is compromised by hackers. [More]
Sony Teams Up With AT&T To Anger PlayStation Vita Customers
By 2.23.12
In the months leading up to the release of the Sony’s handheld PlayStation Vita, a number of people pre-ordered a $299 bundle for the 3G version of the device that included a free month of wireless service. But now some of those customers are less than thrilled to find out that that free month is actually the second month of AT&T service. [More]
Pay-Per-Use Electrical Outlets Closer To Becoming A Reality
By 2.15.12
Right now if someone wants to charge you to use their electrical outlet, they need to physically block your access — or keep the outlet turned off — until you fork over some cash. But that could all change in the not-so-distant future. [More]
Sony Apologizes For Accidentally Capitalizing On Whitney Houston's Death With UK Price Hike
By 2.15.12
In the wake of customer outrage over a price bump on two of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits albums in the United Kingdom iTunes store, mere hours after she passed away last Saturday, Sony is rolling out the obligatory, “sorry we tried to capitalize on a super famous person’s death” apology. [More]
Sony Responds To Bummed Out Fans By Raising The Price On Whitney Houston's Album
By 2.13.12
While fans of Whitney Houston mourned her death, fondly remembering belting her tunes into hairbrushes in bedrooms everywhere, Sony Music appears to be primed and ready to make a big stack of cash off our nostalgic appreciation, hiking up the price of her greatest hits album hours after her demise on Saturday. [More]
What The Heck Is 4K And Should You Spend $25,000 To Get It?
By 1.10.12
Several manufacturers are showing off so-called 4K technology — which promises TV pictures at four times the top resolution of current HD — at the Consumer Electronics Show, including Sony, which expects to have a 4K projector on the market in a few weeks, for $25,000. Assuming you have $25K burning a hole in your pocket, and a vacant wall in your home theater, should you rush out and buy one? [More]
Read The Fine Print Before Taking A Great Gadget Deal
By 12.29.11
Carolyn bought a Sony Blu-ray player for her husband for Christmas. The player’s box boasted of its streaming capabilities, but to use them, she would need to purchase a separate wireless adapter. No problem – she picked up an inexpensive one at the store and gave that to her husband as well. She missed one detail: the only compatible adapter must be ordered directly from Sony, and costs $75. Sometimes, great holiday season electronics deals aren’t what they seem at first glance. [More]
Consumerist Post About Broken Laptop Gets Reader Full Refund Within 3 Hours
By 12.15.11
Once again, Costco saves the day. Last week, we posted the story of Tom, who bought a Sony Vaio laptop from Costco only to have it malfunction a little more than a year after purchase. Sony didn’t seem to want to fix the problem at all, and Costco employees were very kind but couldn’t intervene. Only a few hours after that post went up, Costco contacted Tom, and gave him a full refund for the computer’s purchase price. [More]
Buying Laptop From Costco Extends Your Warranty And Your Aggravation
By 12.8.11
Last year, Tom bought a Sony laptop from Costco. Part of the reason why he chose Costco to purchase a computer was the warehouse club’s famed extension of manufacturers’ warranties: more warranty protection on a portable computer can’t be a bad thing. Except when it is. In Tom’s case, having another company involved just means that he can always get a very nice person on the phone at Costco who isn’t able to help him at all. [More]
Citigroup Gets Out Of The Music Business
By 11.15.11
Citigroup has sold the EMI music business for $4.1 billion, with Universal Music Group picking up the record label for $1.9 billion and a team including Sony and David Geffen buying the publishing business for $2.2 billion. The sale caps a nine-month bidding war, and splits up a company that has sold and published music for over a century. [More]
Sony Rewards Item Not Such A Great Deal Once You Actually Want To Buy It
By 11.4.11
Jonathan has a Sony Rewards credit card with Capital One, and tried to use his accumulated points to buy an AV receiver, Sony’s “deal of the week,” from the rewards site. There’s a special price this week for members, only 24,000 points. Great! Jonathan has that many points! Only the site won’t let him (or anyone) buy the item for the advertised sale price. [More]
Good Night, Sony Dream Machine
By 10.27.11
The Sony Dream Machine isn’t an iconic, distinctive product like the iMac or the Dyson bladeless fan. It is, however, ubiquitous: if you’ve never owned at least one, you’ve surely stayed in a hotel or guest room equipped with one. They’ve been on the market for 30 years or so, and have come equipped with FM dials, tape decks, CD players, and iPod docks. Now Sony is discontinuing the long-lived, diverse brand with the evocative and ironic name. [More]
Big Sony Bravia TV Fire Recall Is Only In Japan, But US Models May Be Affected
By 10.12.11
Headlines are blaring about the 1.6 million 40″ Sony Bravia TVs getting recalled for fire and smoke risk, but they’re overlooking a key fact. The recalled models were only sold in Japan. No recall has been issued in America. However, there are 400,000 models that were sold in the US that contain the same component that prompted the Japan recall. Here are the Sony Bravia TV model numbers you should check to see if you have. [More]
Movie Theaters May Start Charging For 3-D Glasses
By 9.28.11
In case you thought that part of that higher ticket price you pay for seeing a 3-D movie goes to pay for the glasses required to see the often poorly done, post-production 3-D effects, you’re mistaken. It’s the studios behind these big-budget cash-ins that have been footing the bill, but that could all change in the next year. [More]
