The PS Vita – the gaming device that is the successor to the PlayStation Portable (and pretty much a very tiny library of games) – is getting a bit more useful with the addition of Skype. You will now be able to make video and voice calls with the new app, which will be available in the PlayStation Store for free.
While the majority of TECHGEEK’s writers (not myself) have been negative towards the PlayStation Vita, that doesn’t mean that it is a bad gadget. In fact, if you want a dedicated portable console, the PlayStation Vita could arguably be the best choice and it has been well received.
Sony Mobile has announced two new phones that will join the Xperia S announced back in CES last January. Called the Xperia P and the Xperia U, the two phones – which look like the Xperia S, but with different size screens – will be available in the second quarter of this year.
Sony has announced that Sir Howard Stringer will leave his role as President and CEO; and that Kazuo Hirai – the current head of Sony’s Electronics division – will succeed him. The move is effective from April 1.
With the rumourmill in full swing, many are eager to hear about the rumoured PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720. While previous rumours had E3 2012 penciled in for the announcement for both, Kaz Hirai, Executive Deputy President of Sony, has told the Wall Street Journal that “we are not making any announcements at E3. I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that.”
The iPod touch may finally have a competitor in the multimedia space, with Sony today announcing the Walkman Z at their CES 2012 keynote.
The Sony Walkman Z has a 4.3 inch touch screen with a 800 x 480 resolution, but sadly runs Android 2.3, meaning it’s already out of date before it’s even made available. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2012, in the US, but an Australian date and price has yet to be revealed. Based on US prices, it’s a fair bit pricer at US$249 compared to the 8GB iPod touch which is US$199. Meanwhile the 16GB ($279), and 32GB ($329) models are also pricer, and there is no 64GB option.
And you would have thought Sony would have learnt from their security problems of the year – such as the PSN network and the constant attacks on Sony’s affiliates. Turns out, maybe not. A hacker has found a flaw in the PS Vita in how it encrypt data.
The PlayStation Vita, which came out on December 17 in Japan, has already seen a considerable drop in sales numbers just days after release. While the 3DS also had a difficult time gaining traction, the Vita lost a much larger amount of sales in the first week. After selling 321 000 units in its first two days of availability, the rest of the week from December 21 to Christmas Day saw only 72 500 units sell.
Songl, Sony and Universal’s new browser-based and iOS and Android compatible streaming service, has today sent out an email to all members letting them know that their 30 day free trial, which would’ve expired soon, if not already, has been extended to the 31st of January, 2012 as a holiday gesture, or more likely because the site is yet to officially launch and could easily be described as beta.
A new PlayStation 3 exclusive has been revealed, in a very non-description nature, with a single screenshot, barely related video and a date where more details will hopefully come.
The Last Of Us, as it’s called, will be shown at the Spike TV Video Game Awards on the 8th of December and until then all we have is a screenshot of a lush rainforest which looks very nice, apart from the fact that it reveals nothing about the game.
While its been known for some time now that AT&T would supply 3G coverage in the US and that NTT DoCoMo would provide it in Japan, Sony has been quiet on details for Europe and Australia. But today Sony has announced that the PlayStation Vita 3G version will ship with a Vodafone SIM and provide 3G connectivity via the Vodafone 3G network. Vodafone has also announced that it will be selling the Vita through its retail stores and online.
After rumours hinting at the deal, Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson is pulling out of the Sony Ericsson joint venture formed ten years ago with Sony. Sony is to acquire its 50% stake in the company in a deal worth EUR1.05 billion (US$1.47 billion/AU$1.40 billion).
Sony Computer Entertainment Australia has finally announced an Australian price and release date for the PlayStation Vita, their new portable gaming system.
The PlayStation Vita will be available from February 23, 2012 and will come in two varities. A WiFi PSV will be for AUD$349.95 for Australia, NZD$449.95 for our New Zealand readers and €249.99 for Europe. Meanwhile the 3G and WiFi version will be AUD$449.95, NZD$549.95 or €299.99. The prices are hefty, especially for a system that will likely be used exclusively for gaming, but this isn’t surprising from Sony. Anyone remember the PlayStation 3?
Just in case the first four PSP SKU’s didn’t meet your needs, Sony has announced a new, budget PSP model that is exclusive to Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The PSP E1000 is fully compatible with every PSP game and will be coming for a tasty $139.95. But the budget price comes with it’s disadvantages. The biggest change with this SKU is the lack of a Wi-Fi connection. This means that the PlayStation Network, PlayStation Store and Ad-Hoc gaming will be 100% gone in this model. We’re guessing you will still be able to use the Media Go! PC software to transfer games to the new PSP and it fully supports UMD’s. But it’s still a little disappointing that Sony removed Wi-Fi to decrease the price.
Image: Reinis Traidas/Flickr (Creative Commons)
During Sony’s conference at the annual Gamecom conference in Germany, a PlayStation 3 price-drop has been announced.
From August 22 the 160GB PS3 will be available for $349.95 and the 320GB SKU will be available for a lovely $449.95. The price-cut isn’t as big as some may have hoped, but it is definately a welcome bonus for anyone thinking of buying or upgrading their PS3.