Four new 7.2 mega pixel Cyber Shot Digital Cameras released by Sony

Sony has added wings in its arena of Cyber Shot Digital Camera. It has unveiled four new 7.2 mega pixel cameras with 3x optical zoom capability in this range.

The four new models are an addition in their W and S series. These are DSC-W55, DSC-W35, DSC-S700, and DSC-S650. The positive aspect about these new inclusions is that the cameras are enabled with internal memory, which means pictures can be clicked without any memory card. Sony is also optimistic about the longevity of the batteries and claims that the batteries will be able to take around 380-460 pictures.
Sony claims the new models as a revolution in the world of digital photography. Except DSC-W55, the rest three will be available in silver bodies. DSC-W55’s storage capacity can be enhanced with an 8GB memory stick duo card. This facility of increasing the storage capacity is also available in the other 3 models. W55 model will be available in Caribbean blue, pale pink, black and silver color with 2.5″ LCD screen. This model will be available in the market on February and will be priced around $200.
DSC-W35 will also have 2.5″ LCD screen and comes with a function guide and resolution guide. It will also be available in February at the cost of about $180. W series costs a bit higher than the S series.
DSC-S700 and DSC-S650’s storage capacity can be enhanced with a 4GB memory stick duo card. These two models will also be available in the month of February. S700 will cost about $180 and S650 around $150.

Sony clears the Emmy Sixaxis ‘controversy’

Sony Computer Entertainment America(SCEA) has cleared the mess it created, that Technology and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, it had won was for the PS2 Dual Shock controller and not the PS3 SIXAXIS wireless controller, as originally stated. The confusion began when Sony had announced that the PS3 SIXAXIS wireless controller had won a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

They cleared the confusion after National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences contradicted their statement at the press conference.They said, that they would like to confirm that Sony did not win for their PS3 controller, they won for their PS2 Dual Shock analog controller. The award was presented at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on the 8th of January in Las Vegas.
Sony Computer Entertainment America(SCEA) has said that the confusion was created due to the “miscommunication.” They quoted: “In a press release dated January 8, 2007, SCEA announced we had been recognized by NATAS with a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for the Sixaxis wireless controller.Due to miscommunication between the two organisations, this information was incorrectly reported.”
SCEA also bagged several other awards includingthose for technology and innovation behind the PS3, including the CES Best of Innovations Award for 2007, PC World’s 20 Most Innovative Products Award, Sound & Vision’s Editor’s Choice Award and Digital Entertainment Group’s (DEG) Emiel N. Petrone Digital Innovation Award.
Jack Tretton, President and CEO of SCEA said. “The overwhelming consumer demand and critical acclaim for PS3 is a testament of the platform’s strength and the industry’s desire for a true next-generation entertainment system.”. The president further added: “The full potential of this powerful machine has yet to be realized - what you’ve seen so far is just a taste of what will be on the table for 2007 and years to come.”
Scea’s award winning creation PS3 is displayed at the 2007 International CES tradeshow in the Sony Electronics Booth (no. 14200). The show runs from the 8th of January to the 11th of January in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Centre.Main competitors for the PS3 are X-BOX from Microsoft and WII- from Nitendo.

Sony ships one million PS3 consoles to North America

Sony Computer Entertainment, the Japanese game giant, has finally met its goal of shipping one million PlayStation 3 video game consoles to North America by the end of 2006. In an announcement made by the company, it had stated goal of 2 million Play-Station 3s globally by the the end of 2006. Thus, the North American shipments contributed to about half of the total number, inspite of the production problems.
Sony corp. has a $30 billion share in the video game industry. The PS3s video game console can be acquired at a retail price costing $600 in the United States. Nintendo’s Wii retails for $250; and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 retails for $400. Sony had been the leader, with 70 percent of the global market, in the last generation of the console wars and done pretty good with the PlayStation 1 and 2, but its still a puzzle who will grab the market this time.
Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Wii are the main rivals of PS3. Microsoft sold 511,000 units of its Xbox 360 , while Nintendo sold 476,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the United States in November, last year. Microsoft, which gets most of its sales from North America, has made 10 million shipments of Xbox 360 by year end.
Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, which handles Sony’s PlayStation business says, “Within a week, at the most, a million units will be in (North American) consumers’ hands,” He further said that,”We are planning to ship 6 million PS3 consoles worldwide by the end of March 2007.We’re equally strong in all three markets Europe, North America, Japan. We can’t afford to sacrifice any one of them.”
Sony has ruled the video game console market with its two previous PlayStation models, PS1 and PS2, and has sold 200 million of them globally till date, but its launch of the PS3 was delayed due to limited supply to manufacturing glitches with blue laser diodes, the technological heart of the system’s high-capacity, high-definition Blu ray disk drive.