Google TV Developers announced on Google+ today that they are rolling out a new over-the-air update to Sony Google TV-enabled devices over the next couple of days.
Version 2.1.1 now allows users to watch movies rented through Google Play and at YouTube.com/movies on YouTube. The notice also revealed that further update news for Logitech Revues is on the horizon.
(Image via <a href="http://im.tech2.in.com/gallery/2012/jun/htc_sony_051008085315.jpg" target="_blank">Tech2</a>)
Sony announced its first partnership to bring PlayStation Mobile certification to HTC devices.
The video game maker revealed the news at E3 yesterday. The collaboration allows HTC owners to access a slew of classic PlayStation games, while also giving HTC an enticing edge over other Android manufacturers (including Sony). Moreover, HTC devices can make use of third-party apps and games developed with the SDK.
This is also a lead for Sony, because its fledging Vita console does not encourage developers to work on games and apps. HTC’s involvement now increases the perceived value of the Playstation Mobile platform, which only attracts more interest from developers.
The One series is the initial line slated to join the program.
Check out the full press release below.
Sony and Google introduced a new Google TV product at an event today in Palo Alto, Calif. Phandroid was on-hand for the event and noted the box also comes with a completely redesigned double-sided remote that integrates a multi-touch trackpad on one side and a full keyboard on the other. There is not much word on pricing or specs, but Sony is expecting to launch the Google TV 2.0 device sometime this summer with more information likely coming out of Google I/O. Go past the break for videos of the device and remote from the event:
LG Electronics announced it will release its anticipated Google TV-enabled television set in the United States during late May.
“Production of Google TVs will start from May 17 from our factory in Mexico and U.S. consumers will be able to buy the product from the week of May 21,” said Executive Vice President of LG’s TV business unit Ro Seogho to a group of reporters.
According to Reuters, Seogho further revealed that a launch in Europe and Asia would follow as long as the product performs well stateside.
Earlier this month, NewGeekGuide also reported LG’s 3D Google TV-enable sets would launch in early May.
Sony’s rumored flagship smartphone, codenamed “LT29i Hayabusa,” is allegedly eyeing a summer launch, but a Chinese blog just unearthed a few purported pictures of the device (above) coupled with a bevy of specs.
The Hayabusa reportedly boasts a 4.55-inch HD reality display in 720p, a Snapdragon S4 processor, rear-illuminated 13-megapixel camera, HDR video recording (sample video below), a 2200mAh battery, Android 4.0, and a slew of connectivity features. Oh, and it is supposedly 7 mm thick.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/fM2xYCcbV5U]
(via Baidu [Google Translate] and Brief Mobile)
Sony’s SmartWatch unveiled at this year’s CES and has been available in the United Kingdom for a few weeks, but Sony launched it in the United States today. Available at the Sony store, the SmartWatch costs $149 and ships for free May 4. As for the features of the SmartWatch, it is powered by Android and can pair to any handset packing Bluetooth. It features a small 1.3-inch OLED display that can showcase email, text messages, calls, and more. We played with the watch at Sony’s offices in New York, and while we were pretty impressed, the OLED screen is pretty lacking. You can check out the teaser video and full gallery below.
Sony plans to expand Google TV-based set-top-boxes to Europe starting this September.
According to GigaOM (via machine-translated Les Echos), Sony France Marketing Director Stephane Labrousse said a set-top box will sell in France for €200 ($266 USD) and another box with a built-in Blu-ray player will go for €300 ($399 USD).
Aside from a France launch, Les Echos indicated a simultaneous release in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Google TV is currently only available in the United States, but Sony announced at Las Vegas’ 2012 Consumer Electronics Show that two Google TV-compatible set-top boxes would go international within the year.
Google and its partners do not divulge Google TV sales data. This makes figuring just how many Sony Google TV units and Logitech Revue boxes there are in the wild anyone’s guess. According to GigaOM, less than a million of Google TV 2.0 devices by Sony and Logitech are in active use. The publication came to this number by observing Google’s own install data in Android Market for the Movies & TV app for the Google TV platform. This program is part of the Google TV 2.0 software update, so it gives a clue on the number of Google TVs:
The active install base for this app, according to Google’s Android Market, currently is 500,000 to 1 million. The same is true for all the other apps that come pre-installed with Google TV, which suggests that the number of Google TV devices that are currently being used by consumers is less than 1 million.
There is a problem with GigaOM’s logic, however, as it is assuming everyone updated to the Google TV 2.0 software. The update is available to all Google TV 1.0 devices, but many folks might not have upgraded. They either do not care or their set-top box is sitting in the trashcan not being used at all…
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Get excited! Google teased a “big announcement” for the Google TV on its Facebook page last night. What in the world could this be? There is a chance tomorrow’s announcement by Google could surround the streaming home-entertainment device that was leaked last week, or it could be something entirely different. Perhaps it is new hardware out of an OEM, but we are not so sure that is Facebook-post worthy. We will know for sure tomorrow.
Get ready for Monday, we have some big announcements!
Update: It’s nothing special.
(via The Verge)
Google is continuing its push on Google TV by rolling out Android 3.2 to Sony’s Google TV while the update to the Logitech Revue is on its way, GigaOm pointed out. The 3.2 update is not too major, but it does bring some nice updates, such as: Google TVs now boast hardware acceleration, HTTP live streaming that helps with HTML 5 live video, changes to the way Google TV identifies channels to make it easier for developers, and lastly a few user interface changes to Google Chrome.
That is all fine and dandy, of course, but what we really want is Ice Cream Sandwich to roll out to Google TVs soon. Android 3.2 will be the last major update before Ice Cream Sandwich operating system lands, but smaller updates will obviously ensue. We should be seeing ICS land by the end of the year, hopefully. Perhaps Google will give us a little more info at their Google I/O conference, so stay tuned!
Before its official announcement at an event tomorrow night, more details on Google’s new Music service have leaked out. Bloomberg reports that Music will have a store that closely resembles Apple’s iTunes and will allow users to purchase music. Google has reportedly earned licensing deals with Sony (this evening actually), Universal Music Group, and EMI Group Ltd. Songs will also cost between 99-cents and $1.29, but Google may offer discounts.
Wall Street Journal drops an awesome feature that Google Music will reportedly have.
“Additionally, after buying songs from Google Music for around $1 apiece, users are expected to be able to share one or two free listens of the songs with their contacts on the Google+ social-networking service, these people said.”
All the details will be spilled tomorrow. Make sure to stick with us tomorrow evening at 5 PM EST for all of the breaking news.
From 9to5toys.com:
PC Connection offers the Sony GoogleTV BluRay Player NSZ-GT1 for $199. 9to5 coupon code 9to5Blu10 drops it $20 to $179.99, the lowest price we’ve seen. Google just updated its TV line to 2.0 which has applications, an easier menu system, HBO co and more. It features support for the Android-based Google TV service, 1080p upscaling, 8GB of built-in storage, 802.11n wireless and Ethernet connectivity, four USB ports, HDMI output, and more.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata declared Apple and iOS as the “enemy of the future” back in 2010. Not only was he right, according to new estimates for the U.S. portable game software by revenue from Flurry Analytics, 2011 seen Nintendo’s grip on the market slide even further as iOS and Android games triple their marketshare from 20% in 2009 to 60% during 2011.
The graphic above shows U.S. revenue for Flurry’s portable gaming category- a category that now includes Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, iOS, and Android. As you can see, iOS and Android have together taken the lead from Nintendo with 58% of revenues in comparison to last year’s 34%. In comparison, Nintendo DS held 57% during 2010, while dropping to just 36% in 2011. Total US revenue jumped from $2.7 billion in 2009 to $3.3 billion in 2011.
When comparing combined game revenues of the two veterans– Sony and Nintendo– with the combined revenues of the two new guys– Apple and Google– 2011 will be the first year where the emerging platforms dominate with iOS and Android estimated to take in $1.9 billion in comparison to the DS and PSP’s $1.4 billion. That accounts for a $200 million drop for Sony and Nintendo and $1.1 billion increase for iOS and Android from 2010. Perhaps investors were right to urge Nintendo to begin developing iOS titles.
As for Nintendo, the company who captured approximately two-thirds of the market in 2009 has seen their “enemy of the future” demote them to just a third of the market. Sony clearly has some catching up to do, but is hard at work on highly anticipated new handheld devices for 2012.
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While Sony recently made a deal to cut Ericsson out of their smartphone business, we’ll inevitably have a few more Ericsson branded devices before Sony rebrands their smartphone lineup, if at all. Today we’re getting our first sneak peak at the rumored Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD (model number LT26i), bringing their smartphone lineup up to the what seem to be the new standard high-end Android specs– 720p 1280×720 4.3-inch display, and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. It looks like every major Android manufacturer is producing a 720P display phone, except Motorola, and that is only a matter of time.
The device, previously referred to as the “Nozomi”, made its first appearance over at iAndroid.co.il this weekend, giving us not only a look at the device itself but also showing some Quadrant benchmark stats. Unfortunately, those benchmark tests are designed for single-core processors, so they don’t really give us the whole picture. However, we expect the device to rival performance by other high-end Android devices with similar specs- think Galaxy Nexus or HTC Rezound.
Other specs you can expect from the Xperia Arc HD include 1GB of RAM, and an LED illuminated strip near the hardware buttons which wraps around the backside of the device as well. It is also slated to run Gingerbread, although an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade is likely considering the device probably won’t hit market for a few months. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. More images after the break.
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From 9to5toys.com:
We reported earlier this month that the Wall Street Journal was claiming Sony was close to closing a deal to buy out swedish partner Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson’s 50% stake of the Sony Ericsson brand. Today the deal has been made official with Sony buying out Ericsson for 1.05 billion euros ($1.5 billion). According to the press release, the move will allow Sony to better integrate smartphones into its other product lines– tablets, PCs, TVs, and games consoles. It will also give them full ownership over “five essential patent families” related to wireless smartphone tech, which could obviously help the company easier implement tech being used in their smartphones into other devices.
Sony’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Sir Howard Stringer noted the deal would allow the company to put its “four-screen strategy in place” and allow them to offer services like the PlayStation and Sony Entertainment networks on all devices. We know Microsoft is focused on integrating Xbox Live and their other services with Windows phones, and it looks like Sony has plans to give the same treatment to their smartphones going forward with help from the PlayStation. Maybe the Xperia Play wont be the only PlayStation certified phone in the near future.
Its clear Sony isn’t going to just let the failing Sony Ericsson brand, which only captured approximately two percent of the worldwide mobile phone market last year, fall by the wayside in an Apple and Samsung dominated smartphone market. Even with considerable success since forming the partnership in 2001, Sony Ericsson’s brand recognition has arguably never been on par with the Sony brand associated with the Walkman, PlayStation, Sony TVs, and other iconic Sony products most of us grew up with. On top of acquiring the patents necessary to integrate smartphones with their other products, perhaps dropping Ericsson and branding devices simply as “Sony” smartphones will bring back some of that brand recognition that has obviously done companies like Apple well.
Full press release from Sony below:
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Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony is coming close to closing a deal with Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson to buy out their 50% stake of the Sony Ericsson brand. Sony Ericsson is currently the sixth largest mobile phone maker in the world, and Sony hopes to fully add them to their arsenal. As you can see in the graph after the break, Sony Ericsson’s market share has been declining rapidly in recent years.
While the talks could fall apart at any time, Sony Ericsson’s stake is estimated between $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion by analysts. Sony reportedly has high ambitions to regain the mobile phone market from primarily Apple and Google. For comparisons sake, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, but of course the Sony situation is a little different.
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Engadget has posted Sony showing off an updated Google TV set-top box running Honeycomb. We’ve been expecting Honeycomb to hit the platform all summer after seeing it leak, but this demo shows a much more stable version ready for release. As you can see above, Android apps are running on a Google TV.
Last month, Google released the SDK for developers to begin optimizing apps for bigger television screens. Apps have seem to been Google TV’s number one requested feature, which would give the platform a lot more functionality. We’re hopping this hits as soon as possible! Read more at Engadget
Reuters is reporting that during the Edinburgh television festival, Eric Schmidt said Google is bringing on more partners to help expand their Google TV platform. Schmidt explained the company’s commitment to the platform, and that bring on more manufacturers would solve problems.
Schmidt sourced the scant availability of a set-top box version to be the reason why Google TV isn’t selling well. He said at the moment, Google TV is designed into televisions, which consumers replace around every 5 years. What about the Logitech Revue, Mr. Schmidt?
Along with new partners, Schmidt said Friday that Google TV would make its way to Europe in the next six months. It looks like Schmidt, and company, are committed to improving Google TV for the long haul.
It’s no secret patent-related legal disputes have become the subject of most media coverage lately…Whether it’s Apple halting sales of Samsung’s tablets, HTC going after Apple, or Google snatching up Motorola to beef up their patent portfolio, it’s clear the company with the most patents will have an advantage over others in the legal proceedings that we’re bound to continue encountering down the road. This is why we’re intrigued by the graphic above (via GigaOM) from mobile analyst Chetan Sharma charting the number of issued patents (in the US and Europe) between 1993 and 2011.
While these estimates of mobile communications related patents don’t take the quality of patents into account (which is obviously a huge factor in determining their long-term value), you can see from the breakdown below that Nokia and Samsung top the list, with the other expected players including IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Motorola, and Intel following.
Noticeably far down the list is Apple, the one company who seems to have had more success than others fighting patent-related issues recently. Again, these numbers in no way represent the quality of patents and the ability for companies to protect their IPs in the courtroom… which is also a good indication that perhaps we should be looking more closely at the quality of patents rather than the sheer number.
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We’ve been playing with Sony’s Xperia PLAY, from Verizon for the better part of a month now. The PLAY is available on Verizon for $99 (and free on Amazon), after seeing a price slashed from $199 just a few weeks ago.
The PLAY is running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with a pretty thick overlay, a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4-inch multi-touch display, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, and preloaded PLAY software. Also included are controls to play games. Is this the gaming phone the world needs? Read on after the break for our full review.
As promised in their latest horrific earnings report, Logitech has lowered the Revue GoogleTV box to just $99. That’s $200 less than it was yesterday, though sales had it near $150 in the past. Best Buy has dropped the price as well. Other retailers have yet to drop their prices, though that is expected to change soon.
Sony is also deeply discounting their GoogleTVs as well, though they haven’t made a formal announcement on the matter.
Google is expected to roll out a Honeycomb update for the Logitech/Sony GoogleTV by the end of summer which will give the device the ability to run apps on the big screen, a simplified interface as well as numerous other optimizations and improvements. Via 9to5toys.com
Press release follows:
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AT&T announced at a media event today that Sony’s Xperia Play will be available on their network. AT&T didn’t give an exact date or pricing, but said that the Play will land on its shelves by the end of the year. AT&T’s Xperia Play will be running Android 2.3, or Gingerbread, making it the second 2.3 phone on AT&T’s network alongside the Status (OK, that’s sad). Also, AT&T’s Xperia Play will bring support for 21Mbps HSPA+ 3G and a new “Stealth Blue” color option. No word if AT&T will change up pre-loaded games from the Verizon/international versions.
Sony’s inaugural Android tablet, the S1, was caught in the wild ten days ago and today Sony gets semi-official with a possible pre-order date for the UK set to Thursday, September 1, This is my next has learned.
We’ve just seen documents indicating that Sony Centre stores in the UK will be taking S1 pre-orders starting September 1st. That’s just a little later than the late-August pre-order date we’d previously heard, but nothing too major – and Sony will still be among the first to ship a themed and skinned Honeycomb tablet, which we suppose is something of an accomplishment.
No pricing information was released at press time. The Japanese consumer electronics giant will apparently work closely with the preferred retailers to educate them about the benefits of the S1. The September 1 launch is just a month and half away and we are expecting the S1 to hit the US shores shortly thereafter.
