Sony has launched four audio products that work with current dockable iPod and iPhone devices – a CD clock radio (model ICF-CD3iP), boombox (model ZS-S4iP), table top HD Radio with iTunes Tagging (model XDR-S10HDiP), and docking speaker (model SRS-GU10iP).

The ICF-CD3iP device is Sony’s first CD clock radio with a hidden dock for iPod and iPhone devices. It gives users multi-function flexibility that enables them to listen, wake and fall asleep to their iPhone or iPod, CDs or radio in the form of a small footprint. Continue Reading…

Sony DR-BT160Q, Sony DR-BT160AS

Recently, Sony Europe has introduced three new wireless Bluetooth stereo headset geared for the sporty and active users – the DR-BT160AS, DR-BT160IK and DR-BT14Q. All three headsets boasts of individual features that make each one of them unique in their own rights.

The DR-BT160AS for instance, features a splashproof, street-smart design with soft elastomer hanger the fits comfortably and securely on users’ ears. Its earpiece shaft can be easily adjusted for users with larger ear sizes. It also features and easy to control menu functions for skipping tracks, adjusting volume and other music player functions.

While the DR-BT160IK boasts of its ability to stream music wirelessly from an iPod when paired with the TMR BT8iP Bluetooth dongle. While the DR-BT140Q features an ear-clip and fingertip control.

Sony-Style Europe will start accepting pre-orders for the three Bluetooth wireless headsets sometime in October. Pricing information has yet to be announced. [source: Sony]

Sony is planning a new entry level Walkman that would combine the simple features of its stick players with the more advanced features of its full-size devices, the company itself has accidentally revealed through its New Zealand website.

Sony NWZ-E430

The NWZ-E430 series appears a sequel to the A600 series with a slightly larger two-inch screen and at most 8GB of storage, but will be easier to load than earlier models; full drag-and-drop support allows not only loading music and video through the operating system’s file manager but through sync software; both iTunes and Windows Media Player are claimed to support new Walkman range.

Few extras will be included with the players, though all have an FM tuner as well as support for widespread formats such as AAC, MP3, and WMA for music as H.264 and MPEG-4 for video. Battery life, however, is claimed as a specialty with up to 45 hours of music and 9.5 hours of video in ideal conditions versus half as much for current players from Apple, SanDisk, and other rivals. Continue Reading…

Sony recently launched 3 new high-end home theaters receivers, the STR-DA4400ES, STR-DA3400ES and STR-DA2400ES. Each receiver includes Faroudja DCDi Cinema technology for upscaling all video sources to 1080p via HDMI, and supports the latest audio codecs; Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio and dts HD Master Audio.

Sony STR-DA4400ES

Sony STR-DA4400ES 7.1 channel receiver has a 120-watt amplifier (8Ω, 20 Hz – 20 kHz, 0.09 percent THD), six HDMI inputs and DSD decoding through HDMI. It offers high-definition video distribution to a second zone, audio distribution to three zones and picture-in-picture for monitoring of multi-zone output or an external video source. The model will be available in August for about $1,500. Continue Reading…

Toshiba Matsushita Display is about to mass-produce OLED screens that could be used for a wide range of portable devices, according to a report from Japan’s Nikkei BP. The joint venture between Toshiba and Matsushita (Panasonic) is claimed to be producing as many as one million 2.5-inch organic screens per month starting from Autumn of 2009 and would be the first Japanese company to do so.

The development would be primarily targeted at cellphones, GPS navigators, and other handhelds, the newspaper says, though no specific products have been announced. The screen size is also commonly used for portable media players such as the iPod classic and Zune 80. Continue Reading…

Sony BDP-S350

Sony’s next-generation Blu-ray Disc player BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), which is featured on select new Blu-ray Disc home video releases, and is also BD-Live ready, with an Ethernet port for easy firmware updates and access to Internet-based interactive content features. It also features quick start up mode improving the player’s boot up time to approximately a few seconds and offers an external port for local storage for BD-Live, allowing users to add an optional flash storage device (sold separately).

Sony Blu-ray Disc player BDP-S350 offers 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output, as well as DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio bit-stream output. The compact size of BDP-S350 allows Sony to reduce the C02 emissions related to shipping by approximately 43 percent. The Sony BDP-S350 is now available for about $400 at Sony authorized retailers.

Sony, Canon, Kodak, Hitachi, Victor Company of Japan, KDDI, Kenwood, Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus, Pioneer, Samsung, Seiko Epson, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba today announced an agreement to form a consortium to develop specifications for interconnecting products using TransferJet a new interoperable wireless transfer technology that enables rapid transfer of high resolution video, music and images.

Sony Trasferjet

TransferJet wireless technology enables a high speed data transmission rate of 560Mbps, while eliminating the need for complex setup and operation. Directly touching two compliant electronic products together allows files to be transferred automatically, without the need for an access point. Continue Reading…

Following an exclusive, and extensive, product briefing from Sony, we can now lavish you with more information on Sony’s 2008 range of receivers and hopefully sort out any model confusion in the process.

There are five models in the new line-up, and in a nutshell the UK will be receiving:

• STR-DG520 -360 USD – available end of July
• STR-DG820 – 600 USD – available end of July

• STR-DA2400ES – 1.000 USD – available August
• STR-DA3400ES – 1400 USD – available August
• STR-DA5400ES – 3.000 USD – available August

Continue Reading…

Sony has launched three new AV receivers in the UK this week, from the entry level STR-DG520 through to the midrange STR-DG720 and the high-end, high-performance STR-DG820.

All three of Sony’s new receivers support 1080p 24fps True Cinema, while the range-topping STR-DG820 brings full HD audio capability to even more users thanks to its onboard Dolby True HD/DTS Master Audio decoders, now available at a lower price than ever before ($400 US, with UK pricing still to be confirmed by Sony at time of going to press).

Sony’s just-in press release informs us that: “All three receivers also offer a host of features to make them easy to install and integrate into complete home entertainment systems, including Digital Cinema Auto-Calibration for simple, accurate automatic set-up, Digital Cinema EX processing for more immersive surround effects and Sony’s DM Port for fast hook-up of portable and personal music players, wi-fi networks and Bluetooth.”

The STR-DG820, STR-DG720 and STR-DG520 will shortly be made available from Sony Centre stores and online at the Sony Style shop.