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Ebooks: Misses and Hits

Zealot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:27:39 +0000

The biggest miss in the Ebook world this week has to be the Sony Daily Reader, the 7 inch, wireless equipped device that Sony is intending to compete with the Kindle DX (as well as the IREX and the upcoming Que). Remember in my holiday shopping guide, where I listed the Daily as a long shot to make it into stores for Christmas? That shot just got MUCH longer as preordering opens today for the device. Sony says that if you order today, the device will be get to you sometime between Dec 18th and Jan 1, with no Daily Readers actually physically in stores before next year. At least the price has been confirmed to be $400, as assumed.

Since the Daily was intended to be a big holiday Ebook reveal, promised for release in early December, this has to be viewed as bad news for Sony and anyone who was hoping that Santa was going to leave a Daily under the tree for them. At this stage, that tree could be pretty brown and rancid before the Daily gets there.

More Ebook news and notes after the jump.

(...) Read the rest of Ebooks: Misses and Hits (867 words)

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Sony Opening Up their Ebook Store to Self Publishers

Zealot — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:51:43 +0000

In a move which I feel shows even more clearly that Sony “gets” the power and possibilities of Ebooks more than other companies, Sony has announced that they will be selling books by popular Self ePublishing services Smashwords and Author Solutions via their Ebook store. This store can be browsed over the web or accessed directly via Sony branded Ebook Readers as well as others.

According to the press release…

Starting today, established publishers as well as independent authors and smaller publishers can access Sony’s newly re-launched Publisher Portal.

This portal serves as an easy way for larger publishers who may not already have a relationship with Sony to get in touch and also provides a way for individual authors or publishers with just a handful of titles to work with market-proven solution providers to publish books and make them available on Sony’s eBook store.

“We’re committed to providing our customers access to the broadest range of eBook content available and believe these collaborations will allow us to expand the store selection with a host of compelling works from independent sources,” said Chris Smythe, director of the eBook Store from Sony. “Additionally, we recognize that it is important to provide independent authors and publishers the opportunity to quickly and easily bring their ideas and content to a wide audience of readers.”

New authors can select a self-publishing path and get their work published and for sale on Sony’s eBook Store in as little as ten days. As Sony completes the conversion of its eBook store to the industry-standard EPUB format, Smashwords and Authors Solution will expand the offer to all existing Author Solutions and Smashwords authors to get their titles up on the Sony site.

“Author Solutions is pleased to work with Sony to make our titles available through the Sony eBook store,” Author Solutions, Inc. CEO Kevin Weiss said. “ASI is the leader in the fastest-growing segment in book publishing — bringing to market more than 20,000 new titles annually. To best serve our authors, it is imperative that we make their content available digitally to a multitude of readers."

“We’re thrilled to help power the new Sony Publisher Portal,” said Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords, a publisher and distributor of multi-format eBooks. “The free Smashwords service makes it easy for any author or publisher, anywhere in the world, to distribute their eBooks via the eBook Store from Sony. Authors and publishers simply upload their manuscript to Smashwords as a Microsoft Word document, select the price, and then we manage the conversion and distribution.”

I think this is a fantastic move by Sony, since the key to any successful Ebook strategy is not only sheer amount of content available, but also making sure that their store is a very big tent. The fact that anyone can write a book and get it up on Sony’s site in a couple weeks is a wonderful way not only to express yourself or tell your own story, but to encourage authors outside the increasingly narrow and stultifying world of publishers and best-sellers lists.

Just continuing the good news, these books will be available in EPUB format, as the open source Ebook format takes another step to becoming the standard that the Ebook industry so badly needs to make the get to the next level.

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Sony Blurs the Line with the Vaio X

Zealot — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:24:48 +0000

At IFA 2009, Sony has unveiled their new Vaio X Notebook/Netbook/CULV/Something or Other. It’s a half-inch thick “ultraportable” made of carbon fiber that weighs in at just a pound and a half with an 11.1-inch screen and a battery Sony claims will last all day.

The only solid spec about this device released thus far is the fact it will be running an Atom chip (don’t even know if it will run Diamondville or Pinetrail) and Sony says even THAT isn’t set in stone. As I see it, the Vaio X is yet another device that falls somewhere in between Netbooks and Notebooks. It will likely run an Atom chip, and has a screen slightly larger then Intel’s 10 inch netbook maximum but not as large as most Notebooks, which start around 12. It certainly is a sharp looking device, but that can be expected from Sony. What can also be expected from Sony is that the price will be more then most people would pay for a netbook OR a notebook, so we will see how they choose to position this alongside the Vaio P and the Vaio W. No word yet on dates or availability….and of course, no price stated yet.

Thanks to Engadget for the report and the picture. Check the link for more views of the Vaio X.

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Sony Throws the Ebook at Us

Zealot — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:30:24 +0000

As expected, Sony announced two new flavors of their Reader ebook devices today at a clever little event held at the New York Public Library. Both the 5 inch Pocket Edition and 6 inch Touch Edition had been heavily leaked before hand and look great. However, a third model was also announced that we hadn’t heard about in advance, the Reader Daily Edition. Built to be able to handle newspapers or magazines as well as books (hoorah for Landscape Mode), the Reader Daily Edition has a seven-inch touchscreen with 16 levels of gray (sorry, no color for those “artistic pictorials”). In addition, the Daily Edition comes with an AT&T 3G modem built right in for accessing content wirelessly for free, but only from the Sony eBook store. Sorry no net surfing. However, you can also add content via a USB port or a memory card slot (I assume SD).

Sony also announced a very cool feature that will reach across their full line of Readers, a partnership with Overdrive.com which will allow you to download content from participating public libraries for free (assuming you have a library card there). Libraries are still being lined up but two biggies, the New York and Chicago Public Libraries, are already on board. Apparently this feature allows you to “check out” an ebook which will only be usable for a set period of time, say two or three weeks. Each library will only have so many licenses for each book, so if they are all checked out, you’ll need to wait. While I resent almost all forms of DRM, I admit this is a pretty damn clever concept and should do a lot for popularizing ebook use, especially in areas with good libraries. Sony also says they will be bringing some University libraries on board as well. Since most Universities allow you to sign up for libraries cards even when you are not a student for a small fee, this could be an incredible way to make academic knowledge more readily available. Imagine having access to the stacks of one of the great research libraries, from anywhere in the world. Incredible.(...) Read the rest of Sony Throws the Ebook at Us (446 words)

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Altus – A new line of gear from Sony made for Best Buy

Chris Leckness — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:56:34 +0000

Sony and Best Buy team up to bring us some high end electronics in the form of the ALTUS Line.

Nearly two years worth of collaboration culminates in today’s announcement from Sony and Best Buy on a new line of audio products. The two companies worked together on nearly every aspect of the new product offering — from market research throughttp://pdnblog.palm.com/h engineering.

The new ALTUS line of audio products represents a unique mix of Sony’s legendary record of innovation and quality and Best Buy’s incomparable ability to zero in on the needs of the consumer. Together they’ve pooled resources to bring the new ALTUS line to life in exciting new ways throughout the retail environment.

Included in the ALTUS line is a stylish assortment of wireless music systems, speakers and home theater products, offering consumers a variety of simple, easy and effective ways to experience premium audio throughout the entire home.

Here’s a few details on the products that make up the exciting new ALTUS line:

(...) Read the rest of Altus – A new line of gear from Sony made for Best Buy (184 words)

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The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 On Video

Sam Hobson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:47:30 +0000

Browsing Engadget (yet again), I came across this rather ~~boring~~ quiet video demo of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2. Despite being very ~~boring~~ quiet, it did show some cool features of the device. WinMo 6.5, what appears to be improved Panels, a cool looking weather app and so on. This phone seems to have much to offer. And it looks just flat out cool. I may reconsider on the Omnia II…………nah.

I would have at least put some music in the background….

via Engadget

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VAIOs with Touchscreens, Lower Pricetags Coming

Zealot — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:07:04 +0000

Laptop magazine has run a great interview with Mike Abary, senior vice president of Sony’s Information Technology Products Division. This division, newly reorganized, has responsibility for some key Sony lines, including PlayStation, VAIO, Walkman, and Reader.

Abary made a number of comments that indicate that Sony may finally be waking up to the fact they have been viewed as a company specializing in over-priced, proprietary geegaws for several years now. The well documented protests over the prices of such recent devices as the VAIO P and the PlayStation 3 may have finally penetrated Sony’s ivory tower.

Here is Abary’s comment regarding Sony’s price structure and reputation in the marketplace:

That question is asking a greater broader question about Sony’s competitiveness in the marketplace, and doesn’t have to do exactly with netbooks. I’ll acknowledge we have had those issues across the board on all of our products and there has been a paradigm shift in the marketplace that has rendered Sony products to be seconded guessed in terms of its competitiveness by consumers. It means we have to do a better job of being relevantly competitive in terms of price points, but it doesn’t mean we are going to abandon our position in the marketplace.

So cheaper VAIOs that are still on the high-end in terms of price? I have no problem with that if the VAIO quality remains unchanged.

As for innovations to come, Abary says that touchscreen VAIOs will be coming soon to take advantage of Windows 7’s touch capabilities. In my opinion, if devices like the VAIO P or VAIO W had touchscreens, somewhat higher prices then the norm would be easier to swallow.

Another exciting change is that due to the reorganization, Abary says to look for more integration between consumer products. For example, PlayStation Network access from your VAIO for downloading films and video, or the ability to run Sony Reader software and access their eBook store on your VAIO netbook. If the VAIO P had a touchscreen AND Reader software, now THAT I would buy even at the current price.

Oh, and about that famous Sony allergy to the word “netbook”…what’s up with that Mr. Abary?

With the P series we wanted to come out with something that was a different class of product and more geared at lifestyle. With the W we think the category is now legitimate.

Then all is forgiven. Apple? You’re next.

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Sony IS Preparing Vaio P Updates

Zealot — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:58:57 +0000

Hot on the heels of news about the upcoming Vaio W “interNetbook”, Sony has confirmed that there will indeed be new models of the slim, stylish and very expensive Vaio P coming this fall.

TechRadar has heard from a Sony rep that “Vaio P Mark 2” models will be appearing in the UK in October or November. No word on specs yet, but apparently the first thing they are focusing on is improving the minute and a half Vista boot time. Odds are the new Vaio P’s will also be optimized for Windows 7 as well.

According to TechRadar, the Sony rep has this to say about the P’s popularity…

while overall sales of the ultraportable P Series hadn’t gone through the roof, they were still selling a significant amount to certain niche markets.

I am looking forward to hearing more specifics on technical specs. Since the W is going to be retailing at 500 dollars, I doubt we can expect to see any price drops for the “Starting at $900” Vaio P. But then I suppose that luxury gadgets is a good niche, just ask Apple.

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Sony ALMOST Discovers Netbooks

Zealot — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:42:55 +0000

The fallen tech giant Sony has been insisting for several months that Netbooks are a tawdry, sordid “race to the bottom” and that the Vaio P was NOT a netbook despite the fact that it looked, acted and smelled like a high-end netbook. Their logic being, of course, that Sony would never make a device designed to be low cost like a netbook, and since buying a Vaio P often required taking a second mortgage, it therefore couldn’t be a netbook…but rather a “Lifestyle PC”. Riigghhhtttt. As I recall they used a similar strategy with the long lamented Clie line, saying they weren’t ACTUALLY PDAs. How’d that work out for them again?

*cough*self-hatingnetbook*cough*

Well, Sony has finally surrendered to common sense, and is releasing a thingie ~~netbook~~ in August that they COME CLOSE TO ADMITTING ~~ADMIT~~ is actually a netbook, the Vaio W. After all the fancy bells and whistles on the P, including the unusual form factor, the massive 1600×768 resolution on an 8 inch screen and the large capacity SSD options, I am shocked the W is so…ordinary. In look and specs the Vaio W appears to be like a product Acer or Asus would have released three months ago. It does have a slightly higher resolution then most netbooks at 1366×768 and of course as this is Sony a higher price then is typical, tipped to be retailing for 500 bucks in the US which is about a c-note dearer then most high end netbooks…but then that is a bargain at half the price of the lowest end Vaio P. Are they still selling those?

SonyStyle indeed.

ERRATA: I stand corrected. Apparently Sony is STILL not uttering Netbook, rather saying that the W is an “Internet Book”. Like what, a Kindle with a normal frickin’ keyboard???!!!

Who knew that de nile was actually a river in Japan?

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Breaking the Green Dam

Zealot — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:09:56 +0000

Politics are usually something I try to avoid on the internet. Lord knows we all have enough reasons for sleepless nights and high blood pressure (parenting for instance) without adding the endless partisan demonizing that goes on over the internet due to politics.

However, there are some things that go beyond politics and enter the realm of ethics and basic human rights. As I am sure all of you know, the current government of China decided that the agreement by such former champions of free speech as Google and Yahoo to censor information going into China and to turn over the details of those bloggers who the government branded as seditious was not enough. Information was still getting through, and coming out, through a thousand little blogs and independent web sites, to say nothing of twitter and other social networking sites.

Therefore, the Chinese government decreed that any PC sold in China must have their Green Dam censorship software built in to block any content that the Chinese government felt their citizens should not see. Of course they explain that this is to block pornography, which some people see as a reasonable thing to do. Personally, to me that is an inexcusable example of censorship and big-brother paternalism, but no matter. Once that software is provided with any PC sold in China you are already halfway down the slippery slope. Once the hubbub dies down, the Chinese Government will be able to use the same software to block any information they feel is too disgusting for people to see, such as free and open debate of their government’s policies.

Thankfully a good number of people saw things as I do and there was far more of an outcry then the Chinese Government had been expecting (did they learn NOTHING from the Olympics?) and they opted to postpone enforcing the requirement.

End of the matter, hurrah for democracy?

Not yet.

For one thing, the Chinese Government has stated they will still quietly go ahead with the plan, but they will just wait until the eye of the world is drawn to the next sensation. Beyond they, they don’t even need to enforce it. It seems that most PC makers, fully aware of the vast profits to be made by appeasing the Chinese bureaucrats, are shipping PCs with the Green Dam software ANYWAY.

The AP is reporting the following…

Taiwan’s Acer Inc. — the world’s No. 3 PC maker — Sony Corp. and China’s Haier Group said they were shipping Green Dam on disks with computers for sale in China. China’s Lenovo Group, the No. 4 producer, said it would offer the software pre-installed or on disk. Taiwan’s Asus Inc. said it was preparing to supply Green Dam disks with PCs. Taiwanese laptop maker BenQ Inc. said the system was on the hard drives of its computers.

Acer was supplying Green Dam because disks were already packed with PCs before the government postponed the plan, that had been due to take effect Wednesday, said a company spokeswoman, Meng Lei. Lenovo said it also was going ahead with plans made before the Green Dam order was postponed.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s top PC manufacturer, said it was working with the U.S. government to get more information and declined to comment further. No. 2 Dell Inc. said it was not including Green Dam with its PCs.

Well, if China can use economic clout to make PC makers willing and eager accessories to censorship and the denial of free speech, then we can at least use the same tools to make our own voices heard.

Choose not to purchase technology by Acer, Sony, Haier, Lenovo, Asus or BenQ. BOYCOTT THEM until they change their policy, or at least until China gives them no choice but to comply. Obeying an unjust law to make censorship easier is bad enough, but to do so when that law is not even being enforced is far worse. Support HP and Dell for their willingness to at least put the breaks on this infantilization and infringement of the basic human rights of adult Chinese citizens and think things through. Before you buy a PC or other device try to find out where their manufacturer stands on this issue. Samsung? LG? Apple? What are YOU going to do?

I for one put my money where my mouth (and heart) is just this morning. I was a hair away from purchasing a Lenovo or Acer netbook when I opted for a Compaq (HP) model instead. A drop in the bucket? Of course…but I will NOT let my money be used to bolster the bottom line of companies that give into Chinese pressure and threats concerning human rights. I simply can’t do so in good conscience, even if it has no effect at all.

I urge you to do the same.

(Source – Simple Thoughts)

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Is this the X2?

Jack Cook — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:17:59 +0000

We’ve seen the X1 so it sort of makes sense that there will be a X2 … but is this it? The folks at Engadget seem to think that this is a plausible image of an early prototype. What reinforces their thoughts is you can clearly make out the X Panel button in the lower left of the phone’s front and a Windows key in the upper left of the keyboard. Is it credible? Only time will tell….

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Sony Introduces High-End “EX” Earbud Headphones

Chris Leckness — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:15:23 +0000

Sony introduced a new line of ear buds yesterday. Ear buds have come a long way in a short time. I enjoy checking out the full range response of the premium offering out there. I am not the biggest audiophile, but I do like to hear the highs and lows with great clarity. I have not idea how these Sony buds perform, but I plan to check them out soon.

Sony Press Release. Thanks Amy.

Sony has refreshed its line of high-end EX-series earbud headphones with four new models that offer first-class sound, style and comfort.

This unique line of earbuds features removable hybrid silicone rubber tips in three sizes that fit snugly inside the ear canal to provide high quality audio. Basically, it is a hybrid of soft external silicone for a gentle fit and rigid internal silicone for minimizing sound leakage.

(...) Read the rest of Sony Introduces High-End “EX” Earbud Headphones (288 words)

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It’s All About the P, Baby

Zealot — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:13:46 +0000

The Vaio P, the mobile device which was debuted to great fanfare at CES 2009 has hit the streets at last. There is a great deal of debate raging around the blogosphere now about what exactly the P is (Netbook? MID? Sub-Notebook? Toaster?), if it is REALLY pocketable as Sony claimed, and what is up with that price (models start at a whopping $999).

The best early source I have found for P information and opinion is over at Pocketables where the always fascinating Jenn has published endless amounts of excellent comparison photos and initial reactions to the device (yes, she already has one in her hot little hands…or pocket).

Looking at the pics, it is certainly a very sexy looking device, definitely the sleekest of the Netbooks/Sub Notebook pack. But despite what Sony may be saying, style is not EVERYTHING. What about performance, Jenn? She has already started posting benchmarks, including the following numbers..

These tests were done after Vista was very lightly optimized using some of these tips and the number of startup items was reduced from the original 18 to 10.

Cold boot: 1 minute, 33 seconds to desktop

Shutdown: 16 seconds

Restart: 1 minute, 10 seconds to desktop

Sleep: 6 seconds

Awaken: 3 seconds

Awaken, connect to internet, launch Firefox: 10 seconds

I can heartily recommend Pocketables for excellent coverage and debate over the Sony Vaio P and all things small and backlit.

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Sony Vaio P Unboxing…

Jack Cook — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:27:59 +0000

The folks at Akihabara News .com got a hold of a Sony a Vaio P70 to test for a week and posted a slew of pictures for you to check out. They will have a review shortly but these pictures will get your device envy juices flowing … especially if you are looking for a solution that might well fit in your pocket.

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CES: New Vaio P Snapped

Zealot — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:30:10 +0000

Engadget got out of CES with the goods…some slightly fuzzy pics of a picture of a Vaio P on a display monitor. Hey, beggers can’t be choosers.

Yep, it looks like a Picturebook reborn, with all the elements that have already been leaked and an ugly bezel to boot, so no great surprises, just confirmations….however, what are those two slots on the front of the unit under the keyboard? TWO media card readers? Why? Must be the Sim card slot….right up front. A nice change from so many other devices which bury the Sim card in hard to reach places. Looks like Sony is headed for the cloud right off the bat with this one.

Check out more angles of the same picture at Engadget.

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