Some major news just came out of the PlayStation official forums. An employee of Sony has just made a huge mistake and confirmed that cross game audio chat may be coming to the PS3 when the next firmware is released. The posting was abruptly removed by Sony.
Cross game text chat has been around for a while now but the console is yet to get audio chat support. It is quite possible that the next firmware update will bring cross game audio chat to the system, but I would not count on it considering the bad track record’s of forum posts.
Along with the VAIO CW and VAIO X, Sony has decided to release a touch-screen, all-in-one desktop called the VAIO L. Like the CW and the X, it runs Windows 7 which should integrate nicely with the VAIO L’s 24-inch touch-screen. Apparently, Sony is actually billing it as part HDTV and part PC because it can play Blu-Ray discs and has a built-in TV tuner. The VAIO L will cost $1300 when released. Not bad
A few moments ago Sony announced the Vaio X at IFA 2009. This netbook is a half inch thick, an 11.1 inch display and a battery life that "will set the new standard for stamina." The computer just weighs 1 and a half pounds, and is made out of carbon fibre. We have no word on the specs of the machine, but I’ll keep digging.
Update: I have just found the first photos of the Vaio X, which are below:
Update 2: We now know why this netbook has such a long battery life, it has a weak Atom processor. I would not take these specs too seriously, considering that Sony still has to confirm them.
If you are one of the millions of super clumsy people, or a mythical mermaid, Sony has the thing that you need. The Rimotokomanda RM-PZ3SD comes in a variety of colors, works on several TV’s (including those by Panasonic / National, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Victor / JVC, Sanyo, Aiwa, Sharp, Funai / PRECIOUS, NEC, Fujitsu, Pioneer, Philips, and, of course, Sony) and offers hours of entertainment while watching your underwater TV. This product will be released in Japan soon (whenever that is) for ¥2,468, which is around $26.
Amazon’s German website has added a listing for "PlayStation 3 Konsole slim” (Translation: PlayStation 3 console slim) from Sony. The PlayStation 3 Console Slim is listed as Platform Independent and has its own ASIN. Unfortunately Amazon does has not posted any photos or launch date.
During a conference call, Sony CEO Nobuyuki Oneda announced that the PlayStation 3 is 70% cheaper to manufacture, then it was at launch. That means that the manufacturing cost went from about $800 to $240.
If what Oneda says is correct, it means Sony can significantly reduce the price of the console and remain profitable. Dropping the price would be a good move, if Sony which's to bean Microsoft and Nintendo.
Ever since Microsoft announced they would be opening a chain of Microsoft stores we’ve been wondering how bad the stores are going to be. Well, according to a PowerPoint presentation which was leaked to Gizmodo, its not too bad. In fact it makes the Apple store seem boring.
The presentation is by Lippicott, a "design and brand strategy" consultant firm with extensive retail experience that it appears Microsoft has hired to help develop the store's concept, principles, and design. The presentation seems legitimate; and if its fake I congratulate the creator.
Microsoft will be taking the best things from the Apple store the Sony store and other retail outlets and bringing them all together in the Microsoft store. The main focuses are going to be Windows 7, Xbox, PCTV (Windows Media Center) Surface and Windows Mobile.
Google has released a partiallist of Chrome OS partners and it includes most of the big manufacturers you would expect, from all sectors of the computing world, from full-featured PCs to netbooks to handhelds, plus Adobe for some Flash support.
The full list is: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments. Google made sure to note that this is a partial list, but we can see a range from primarily small-form computer makers like ASUS to bigger PCs like HP and Lenovo, and the addition of Qualcomm and TI means they've got low-powered chipset makers on board. Adobe is an interesting pull—can we expect heavy use of Flash in the OS's core?
The biggest company that is missing is Dell, although smaller PC makers like Sony and Toshiba are not included either. We are not to sure why Dell did not want to become a partner They make pretty popular netbooks and Chrome OS could be as big a boon for them as anyone else. Perhaps they will stick to Windows 7.
Sony’s PSP Go was a god attempt to smother PSP2 rumours but it failed miserable. A new rumour is out saying that the PSP2 will have the PowerVR GPU, which is just as powerful as iPhone 3GS GPU. The SGX543MP cited has four cores, and generates 113 Polygons per second on the low end potable 200 megahertz model. What's interesting is that GamesIndustry.biz calls the PSP2 just a "ballpark match" for the original Xbox. They also point out that Imagination Technologies calls the chip a GP-GPU, capable of handling computing tasks in addition to graphics, and potentially giving the PSP2 the power savings of not needing a separate CPU to operate.
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