When we first brought up the idea of charging $30 for on-demand titles that are still lingering in theaters, less than 20% of you said you would be interested. But our little poll — and the protests of theater owners — hasn’t stopped everyone from moving forward with plans to launch the service in the coming weeks. [More]
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Worst Company In America Sweet 16: Ticketmaster Vs. Sony
By 3.29.11
We were going to buy tickets to this Sweet 16 battle, but Ticketmaster tried to charge us twice the face value for printing the tickets at home. And then we looked into watching the online stream, except our computer won’t work properly since Sony’s copy-protection software exposed it to malware. [More]
Android On Crack Dance Sets Hearts Aflame
By 3.28.11
This show really puts our mall cellphone carts to shame. Instead of a bored guy with a pencil goatee sitting on a stool, they have a full-on breakdancing show. This one features a life-sized inflatable Android just going absolutely ape-nuts on the dancefloor at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc cellphone stand near 101 Tower in Taiwan. As commenter Oranges w/ Cheese puts it, “Those inflatable suits are so weird because the movements are so sudden and odd. ” I don’t know how many cellphones it sells, but the branding effort endears the plucky green guy to your heart. He just tries so hard! And that positive association can pay dividends in brand goodwill down the line, just like his masters planned. Muaha – break it down! [More]
Sony Says Alleged Hacker Withheld Evidence, His Lawyer Disagrees
By 3.24.11
Sony’s Javert-like quest to legally punish a hacker accused of jailbreaking the PS3 continues to take soap opera-like turns, with the company accusing him of fleeing for South America and refusing to turn in key evidence, the latter claim which his lawyer denies. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Sony Vs. Dell
By 3.17.11
Here’s an interesting bout featuring not one, but two crippled combatants. One hobbled by shoddy electronics and the other shackled by leaden copyright protection software. [More]
Sony's "Kevin Butler" Retweets PS3 Jailbreak Code
By 2.9.11
“Kevin Butler” is the fictional Sony VP who is the face of its recent PlayStation ads, so of course he has a Twitter account. It looks like whoever is running the account hasn’t been reading the news much. When a Twitter user tweeted at him the code used to jailbreak PS3’s, the entity misinterpreted the series of letters and numbers and made a Battleship joke, retweeting the code in the process, reports Engadget. This is ironic because Sony has been cracking down with legal threats and attacks on anyone they can find disseminating the jailbreak information. I wonder if Kevin Butler will be getting one of these C&D’s… [More]
Report: Apple Tells Sony It Can't Sell E-Books Through Its App
By 2.1.11
The battle over the e-book market has just gotten a little nastier. According to Sony, Apple is now telling some application developers that they can not create apps for the iPad and iPhone that would allow users to purchase content — or even be able to access content — that isn’t sold through its App Store. [More]
Sony Closes CD Factory In NJ, 300 Lose Jobs
By 1.14.11
Three hundred people in New Jersey are losing their jobs, and it’s all our fault. Enough consumers prefer to buy digital downloads (when we buy music at all) that Sony is closing down their Pitman, NJ CD factory at the end of March. [More]
Sony Shows Off Enough 3D Stuff To Make Your Head Explode (In 3D Of Course)
By 1.5.11
Here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, just about everyone is showing off 3D TVs. But at Sony’s oversized press conference on the eve of the big expo, the company went far beyond TVs, hyping up everything from 3D cameras and handicams to laptops and self-contained 3D headsets. [More]
Sony 3D Television Promotion Goes Wrong, And No One Can Fix It
By 12.23.10
Chris’s 3D television was supposed to come with a voucher from Sony for four free PlayStation Network games. It didn’t. Now he’s stuck in that rarest of situations: a problem involving multiple companies where Best Buy is the most helpful and cooperative. [More]
Is This The Sony PlayStation Phone?
By 10.27.10
Love your PSP, but can’t stand Apple fans gloating that their iPhone can play games and make phone calls? Well, if this Engadget photo is any indication, you’re about to share in the fun of long-term contracts, high monthly fees, and random text messages interrupting your gameplay! [More]
Is The Walkman Really Dead Or Not?
By 10.26.10
Yesterday the Internet seemed to be stepping over itself to break the news that the Sony Walkman — the handheld icon of the mix-tape era — had finally died a quiet death. Only problem is… that’s not exactly true. [More]
Netflix Bringing Surround Sound To PS3 Users Starting Oct. 18
By 10.14.10
We’ve previously reported that PlayStation 3 users will soon no longer need a disc to stream Netflix movies through the device. Now comes news that there will be an added perk when the revamped Netflix streaming app debuts on Oct. 18 — Dolby surround sound. [More]
Netflix Agrees To Delay Rentals Of New Sony Releases By 28 Days
By 10.7.10
Yesterday, Netflix continued to demonstrate its focus on expanding the company’s online streaming library — at the risk of losing business on new release DVD rentals — by announcing a deal with Sony that would delay rentals of the studio’s new titles by 28 days. In exchange, Netflix receives access to streaming licenses for more Sony titles. [More]
10 Companies That Were Once Great But Now Kinda Suck
By 8.19.10
There was a time when many of us got our videos at Blockbuster after shopping for a Sony Discman at Sears, all while talking on our Motorola phone. All of these companies have had their glory days, but now they’re on the U.S. News & World Report’s list of 10 Companies That Have Lost Their Edge. [More]
Sony's Got A PlayStation Phone In The Works
By 8.12.10
Sony Ericsson has apparently got a heck of a digital rabbit inside its magic hat. Engadget reports the company is set to introduce a PlayStation phone, which will lack a keyboard but have a small touch pad in addition to controls much like that of a PSP Go. [More]
Overstock Accepts Returned Sony Reader But Charges $93.41 For Missing USB Cable
By 8.8.10
If you ever wondered why Sony eBook readers cost so much, it’s apparently because of the included mini USB cable—at least according to Overstock.com. When reader Matt forgot to include the cable when returning his $147 Sony Reader Touch Edition, Overstock smacked him with a $93.41 charge. [More]
