Insufficient memory problems? Hopefully, not for long.

Is it just me or does the constant need to delete game saves to make room for others get kind of tedious and annoying? Home consoles have adapted to include hard drives, and come close to eliminating the problem. However, portable systems, even with memory card slots, just never had the capacity. This is especially true now that handheld gaming systems are getting downloadable content and media support like their homebound brethren.

That is, until now. SanDisk, the leading developer of flash memory cards, announced cards for the three top portable systems, which rival some personal media players. The new line up includes a 16GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2)™ card for the Sony® PSP® go system; a 32GB Memory Stick PRO Duo™ and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™ card for the Sony PSP® system; and an 8GB SDHC™ card for the Nintendo DSi™ system. For full details read the original press release here.

Each individual card practically doubles the memory capacity of their respective units, and are not limited to just gaming systems. Their compatibility extends to most electronics that use the same card size. What makes these special then? Read and write speeds that keep your data flowing fast and free, and avoid choppy video streaming and audio hiccups.

All of these SanDisk offerings are shipping now in the United States except the 32GB SanDisk Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo card, which will be shipping world wide a little later in October. Individual retailers will set final pricing.


To view Etronics.com’s full selection of current SanDisk Products, click here.
Read more!

Sony vs. Amazon: Sony has numbers on their side.

Amazon’s Kindle gets a lot of press across the Blogosphere and news boards these days, with the occasional mention of iRex, Sony, and other companies who produce, or are working on digital readers for the consumer market. Well, today is a day to talk about Sony.

In a Press release today, Sony announced its partnership with Google to provide public domain titles to their e-book shop at ebookstore.sony.com. As the press release states, a button on the shops homepage would lead users to Google’s resource of over a half million public domain titles; the best part being, those books are free.

Five hundred thousand free books; the classics from your time in school, the books you loved, the books you hated, all at your beckon-call. Google’s repository of titles alone it twice that of what Amazon is presently able to offer, that alone is enough to sway favor toward the Sony reader.

This extensive library just adds to the already standard features of text size selection, music player, and multiple file format support for personal documents. I think with all that put together, Sony can actually make me forget the joy of physically turning a page.
Read more!

Review of Sony HTIS100 BRAVIA Home Theater Micro System

Sony’s HTIS100 BRAVIA 5.1 Micro Home Theater System is really only about two-thirds micro. The system’s five, golf ball sized, satellite speakers are micro for sure, and easily concealable, but the subwoofer / receiver combo is a bit beastly. Though, considering the 450 watts it pushes, it’s forgivable that the tower is a little large.

Finished in piano black, the main unit has a 5x7cm display, five function buttons, a power switch, and is similar to a PC tower in size and appearance. The satellite speakers are cone shaped, metal, and finished in matte black with driver magnets finished in chrome. The center channel speaker has an IR sensor mounted underneath it for the remote, and all speakers have non-slip pads on their base.

The receiver rests at the bottom, while atop the BRAVIA tower there's a slightly awkward...
top mounted status display (this displays volume, mode, etc.). Recessed, the display is mounted at around a 45° angle, so you don’t have to be standing directly above the unit to read it. It should be easily readable while sitting at a comfortable TV viewing distance. This tower unit would fit well in an entertainment cabinet, but it’s also stylish enough to show off.

50 watts drives each of the satellite speakers, and given their size, they’re surprisingly powerful and have superb clarity; perfect at reproducing trebles and some higher range midtones. The 5" Mid-Driver and 6" Subwoofer mounted in the main tower fill out the system's sound.

I can’t really speak to another reviewer’s claims that the system’s reliance on the tower for so much sound reproduction makes the overall system sound unbalanced. The speakers were all close together when I tested the system, but I could hear vocals clearly through the center channel speaker, and overall the system thumps. Even at the loudest setting the system never distorted and the sound remained punchy and incredibly clear. I was quite impressed. Then again, when you’re dealing with this much power - it pretty much has to sound good.

The BRAVIA HTIS100 acts as an HDMI hub, allowing up to three HD components to be run through a single output. Video and audio from HD sources passes through the receiver in tact, as it supports the latest sound decoders as well as 24fps at 1080p.
System tested using the supplied iPod cradle (TDM-iP1) and an Apple iPod touch 8 GB playing Biggie’s "Kick In The Door"

Optional wireless rear-channel (WAHTSA1) and multi-room CD quality audio (AIR-SA10) supported with the addition of Sony’s S-AIR wireless technology.
Read more!

Sony's Latest Standalone Blu-ray Players

Try as the might; Sony just can't seem to make a standalone player that competes with their own Playstation 3. Something tells me they're really not trying that hard. Their latest player the BDP-S350 is priced the same as the Playstation 3 40GB at $399.99.

It only makes sense they'd rather you purchased a video gaming system that takes more than one media. When you buy a Playstation your not gonna just watch movies on it. Your gonna get some games too, even if your not a gamer per say. So the licensing royalties made off those Playstation games roll in. Plus, you need a remote and another controller right off the bat.

The initial reports on the player from the frontlines...
make it seem that Sony's tryin’ to pull one over on us. Hands on reporters had noted the cheap feel of the new unit and felt the asking price was inflated. Sure they’ve inflated the price, why not? It’s a new technology that people will fork over big bucks to be a part of.

Prices will come down. I think some technology reporters are getting too use to the pace of blogging and expect the world to follow suit. Sorry guys the market and the market alone will decide when the price can fall, and not even Sony can make more people buy these things.

Press Release

Read more!

Compact Megapixel King: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300

Sony gets what we want the ‘mega’ in megapixels to mean. With the Cyber-shot DSC-W300, Sony redefines this prefix to mean not a million but mammoth, incredible, abundant, *almost* an overkill. 13.6 million pixels is a densely packed sensor yet a large pixel count alone doth not a great camera make.

A digital camera sensor is nothing without superior optics to focus the light shining on the sensor, correctly and with no distortion. Carl Zeiss lenses have been making crisp images with a rich tonal range for well over a century, this is why all Cyber-shots are outfitted with Zeiss lenses to give us the best possible image. This is an especially important component to not skimp on.

Another component often overlooked is the case which all those electronics reside in. Cameras fall, some don’t survive; this one's chance of coming out unscathed is greatly increased due to its added titanium coating. The coating also helps keep that new camera shine longer by adding “highly-resistance” scratch and fingerprint protection.

Indoor lighting in past models could be a hairy proposition, but with the DSC-W300’s “extra high sensitivity” (ISO 6400) even dimly lit rooms can remain naturally lit and can be shot successfully without a flash. Grain and noise in the dark areas usually manifest themselves in lower light photos, Sony’s addition of a noise reduction filter helps minimize this and eliminates the need for post processing by performing in-camera filtering, a great time saver.

Try not to mistake this camera for the Terminator, because it does indeed use artificial intelligence technology. Only here, instead of murderous protection, it provides some sensational photographic skills. The technology prioritizes faces and triggers the shutter the moment the camera sees a smile. And, if switching between scene modes is too much of a hassle the powerful picky picture maker does this for you as well, with scene recognition technology. Freaky right?

Sometime we might wait months before downloading a batch of pics to our computer. Sony realizes this and offers new ways to organize and view snaps right on the 2.7 inch LCD. Image management is enhanced with the addition of an in-camera search by face, date, or calendar view and of course they’ve added HDTV output and, nicely enough, a longer music file capacity for sideshow playback. These enhancements allow for quick and intuitive preparation of elegant slideshow presentations.

The opportunity to actually lay hands on this Cyber-shot is still a few months away; feel its power vicariously for now, and preorder this hot shot for delivery around the beginning of May.

UPDATE: Video after the jump. Click for More Information
Read more!

Clock Radios: a Timeless Gift?

When was the last time you gave someone a clock radio? The only time most people think to give one as a gift is when their child or friend makes the precarious trek to college. However, after four years of being soaked in beer and getting thrown across the room, most clock radios have thrown in the towel. As far as thoughtful inexpensive gifts go, the clock radio wins. Sleep schedules are important. The Sony ICF-CD843V gives it’s user a better chance at promptness while allowing them to wake up to the method of their choosing (CD, radio, or buzzer). The CD-R/RW playback option allows one to be coaxed to consciousness while enjoying their own burned CD mixes or any CD. The Sony has 25 station presets and radio reception is strong via the wire antenna, which is a unique feature to find on a clock radio. Reviewing users on the fringe of larger areas found the radio could tune in stations that were previously unavailable to them. Along with radio, the unit’s digital tuner also tunes in TV audio and weather stations.

The sound quality was highly regarded among users as well, many noted the superior sound reproduction and powerful bass boost mode as being the deciding factor in whether or not to make the purchase. Having woken up to this clock radio first hand (many hotel chains have this model) I have to concur. The dual display of the alarm time and the actual time is useful and the alarm modes, themselves, are versatile. There’s nap mode, which lets you choose your nap duration (20 to 120 min) with one button access, while the main alarm stays set to your preferred wake time. The snooze setting functions similarly, one touch of the snooze bar gives you 10 minutes, press it again and you have 20 minutes, and so on, up to an hour. Again, you can do this without having to reset you alarm to a later time.

The major drawbacks of the Sony ICF-CD843V are the lack of battery back up, the odd shape, and the LCD display.It doesn’t read well at an angle. Conversely, the LCD does have a brightness adjustment so it won’t disturb users that are sensitive to light while dozing off. The unit’s shape is touted by Sony as being space saving, but the lack of a battery back up is pretty unforgivable. Why would Sony overlook this key feature? Battery backup has been a major feature of clock radios since they were first introduced. Maybe, Sony is betting gift givers, and gift receivers will be so distracted by the other great features that they will overlook this shortcoming. Plus you can always buy a battery back-up.

Read more!

Car Stereo Bluetooth From Sony

Have you been getting those annoying tickets for not using a hands free device with your mobile phone while driving? (I've gotten a couple.) Wired headsets get tangled and break and those Bluetooth headsets kinda turn everyone who wears them onto a Cyborg. If you have one and rock it more power to you. Bluetooth through the car stereo system seems promising yet has the possibility of being overpriced, but so does having a car. The safety of you and yours is the good reason for spending money on this technology. Plus, you may not have updated your car head unit in years so this is a perfect excuse to do so.

The Sony MEX-Bt5000 has just arrived. It's slick looking and inexpensive (if you buy smart)...it's definitely worth the bucks. Especially if you factor in those traffic ticket fines. This receivers' most stunning feature the Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities this allows you to connect your phone as the audio source. You can then play audio streams straight from your phone. This would be an upgrade for most high end car audio owners. iPods plug in along with CD changes. This unit is iPod friendly. Which brings me to this question. When the iPods going to get Bluetooth?
Read more!