Tag: Sony

News Articles

Sony’s Upcoming SMP-N100 Networked Media Player Packs a Punch | eHomeUpgrade

Hands on: Sony’s $129 N100 Media Player ‘Does More Than Roku | CEPro

My comments

Already have a Sharp LCD TV / Blu-Ray Disc combo or a good LCD TV or projector hooked up to a Blu-Ray player that you like so much? You may want network video playback or access to Internet TV.

This was fulfilled with devices like the WD TV Live or similar devices but if you place heavy value on consumer-electronics brands, you could be interested in the Sony SMP-N100 Networked Media Player. This unit isn’t just a DLNA Networked Media Player but is a dedicated component version of the Sony Bravia Internet Video platform which is what Sony is using to bring Internet video and applications to the lounge-room TV.

It can work with an 802.11g/n Wi-Fi home network, an Ethernet network or a HomePlug network if you use a HomePlug-Ethernet bridge and can play media from USB Mass-Storage Devices but there are still a few questions that need to be answered.

One is whether the device can work properly as a Network Media Renderer where it is controlled by a DLNA-compliant external controller like TwonkyManager, Andromote or PlugPlayer and the other is whether it can handle high-definition media like high-resolution “megapixel” JPEGs or AVC-HD videos properly and quickly on suitable equipment. The former function is one I would consider important if you are using it to play music from your home network and you don’t want to turn on the TV to select what you want to play.

At least this is an example of a way of bringing Internet-based video to most users in a cost-effective way without having to consider replacing video equipment.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Sony VAIO E-Series laptop computer which is Sony’s attempt to create a VAIO laptop that can be positioned as a sole computing device for small business owners and similar people.

RRP AUD$1399

The computer itself

This laptop is another attempt to upstage the MacBook Pro laptops in aesthetics and functionality. It is finished in a cyan-blue housing with a black keyboard and keyboard surround. There are different variations with a larger variety of different colours available for the series.

Processor and RAM

This unit comes with an Intel Core i3 multicore processor and works on 4Gb RAM that is shared with the display subsystem’s memory. This configuration seems to be “de rigeur” for most mid-range laptops offered on the market by the major manufacturers and is capable of handling most office and multimedia tasks.

Secondary Storage

The test sample came with a 500Gb hard disk which has all of the capacity as one logical drive rather than the usual practice of creating separate partitions for recovery data or vendor-supplied tools. There are machines in the range that have 320Gb at a cheaper price or 640Gb at a more expensive price. This is a size that I would find adequate for a computer that is expected to be one’s only computing device used for their work and personal computing needs.

There is a standard DVD burner supplied as the optical drive but you can get a Blu-Ray reader / DVD-burner drive as an extra-cost option.You also have a separate SD card slot and Memory-Stick card slot for removeable storage.

Display subsystem

This computer’s display subsystem is driven by an ATI Mobility Radeon 5650 subsystem with 2.8Gb shared with the system’s main memory. It uses a 15.5” LED-backlit widescreen LCD as the main display but can be connected to an external display device using either a VGA connection or an HDMI connection.

Keyboard and trackpad

Sony VAIO E-Series keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard is a chiclet type with a dedicated numeric keypad that would please business users. It has shied away from  requiring you to press the Fn key to gain access to the standard function keys, a practice that has been required with other competing laptop designs. Yet it is still suitable for long-haul computing tasks because it doesn’t appear to be cramped.

There are dedicated keys for use in gaining access to the VAIO shell extension, the Web and Sony’s VAIO ASSIST program. The trackpad is a similar design to some of the Dell notebooks I have reviewed where it is a recessed area finished in the same style as the palm rest. The buttons that you press to select the option are distinctly different and are actual buttons rather than marked-out areas on the trackpad.

Networking and Connectivity

The computer uses an 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless connection or a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection to connect to your network. There is the option of an 802.11a/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi network available at extra cost if you have deployed such a network.

The computer has an ExpressCard-34 slot which you can use for ExpressCard-34 (slim-profile) expansion cards such as wireless-broadband modems. As well, there are four USB 2.0 sockets with one that is shared with an eSATA external-hard-disk socket. You also have a headphone socket and a microphone socket located up front.

Software complement

The VAIO E-Series is powered by the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system but I would recommend that business users use the “Anytime Upgrade” option to upgrade to either Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate to do it justice. There is the complement of multimedia programs that Sony provides for all their VAIO laptops, including a VAIO DLNA media server.

Use Experience

With all optical-drive-equipped laptops, I run them through a DVD run-down test with a movie to assess how long the battery will llast under a difficult environment. This is with the display showing the movie constantly and the optical drive spinning constantly. This unit was able to make through 1 hour, 42 minutes with wireless networking and Bluetooth enabled and 1 hour, 50 minutes without wireless networking and Bluetooth enabled. The DVD playback experience was smooth even with scenes that have a lot of action in them.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

This is another laptop that I would consider as being useful as a portable computing device for users who perceive it as their only computing device. This would includ users who want it as a “work-home” laptop. It doesn’t have the same “managed” business-class security complement that some business users would demand but would work as a basic all-around “work-home” laptop. It would also be another machine that I would put on the list of laptop computers that I would recommend to a parent who is giving a laptop to their son or daughter who is starting tertiary education and living at a dorm / hall-of-residence or similar facility.

It is also another machine that can can be considered as a Windows-powered alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro laptop and is priced in the similar range and offers similar performance. It may therefore be considered as a laptop solution for people who are disaffected by Apple’s recent goings-on and want to “move away” from Apple, yet still want a brand-name multimedia-capable laptop.

News Article

Sony Internet TV Has An Intel Atom Processor And Runs Google TV, Chrome, Flash 10.1 | Sony Insider

From the horse’s mouth

Sony’s official Internet TV Website – Sony Style

My comments

Previously, I had written in my blog about People Of Lava introducing an Internet-enabled TV that was based on the Google Android Platform. This is a brand that may not be on everyone’s lips, especially when it comes to consumer electronics.

But now Google had determined an Android-based app-driven TV platform to go alongside their Android app-driven mobile phone platform and described it as “Google TV”. They have pitched this at digital TV sets and various set-top applications, primarily as an open platform for delivering Internet-enabled interactive TV.

Sony have become the first mainstream TV manufacturer to implement this platform, which will give it an air of legitimacy in the consumer-electronics space. This is eve though the interactive-TV space has been dominated by various closed or limited platforms like the games consoles, the PVR boxes such as TiVo, and various pay-TV platforms.

I often wonder that if Google keeps the Android platform as an open platform, they could provide many interesting applications and uses for many devices.

I am reviewing the Sony SRS-DB500 2.1 active speaker system which is the first multi-purpose high-quality active speaker system that I have reviewd for this blog.

This piece of hardware may not be to do with the home network but I am reviewing these speakers because they may end up being used as PC speakers, speakers for use with personal-audio equipment or simply as extension speakers for most of the Internet radios that I have reviewed here. User groups like churches may be interested in this speaker system as a separately-controlled “overflow speaker” for use with their public-address systems.

Description

This set of active speakers is based on a 2.1 speaker setup where there are two speaker units capable of reproducing the midrange and treble frequencies working alongside a bass unit that reproduces the bass frequencies. Here, the bass unit has all the amplification for this system and provides 75W (4 ohms 10% THD) per channel amplification for the speaker units and 150W (2 ohms 10% THD) for the bass speaker.

There are two inputs for this unit – one pair of RCA jacks located on the back and one 1/8” jack on the front. This is so you can connect two different signal sources like a PC and an iPod.

Fit and finish

The bass unit does feel very heave even though it uses Class-D amplifiers, which usually indicates that the equipment is of very good quality. This also influences the sound, especially with the subwoofer because what you hear from this unit is just whatever is in the recording.

When you operate the controls, there is a feeling of them being smooth, which is another hallmark of good-quality equipment.

Controls

There is a main control knob that is a rotary encoder with orange “halo” ring. Here, the orange marker indicated current position when it is adjusted or can be set to act as a VU meter or decorative halo at other times.

This control and the controls on the remote offer local volume and tone control, which is of use for line-level sources such as a CD player, or the Zone 2 or 3 outputs on the STR-DA5500ES receiver that I have reviewed. There isn’t a setting to set the speaker to bypass or “home” these controls for use with preamp-level outputs that have their own tone and volume controls.

When you adjust the ton settings on the bass unit, you have to press BASS or TREBLE then adjust the main knob. It is hard to know which settings are “tone-flat” for proper assessment and there aren’t any preset tone curves like “bass boost”, which may disappoint younger people who want to instantly “pump up” the bass.

Sound Quality

I have played “Café Del Mar” albums amongst other music material through this speaker and it handles the bulk of the music – the midrange and treble notes – properly without any “breaking up”.

The bass does exist but doesn’t “boom” or sound like an old juke box even if you turn the system up. Therefore I find that this system is capable of yielding a “mature” sound with any recording you throw at it.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

This speaker system would be useful as speakers for a desktop or laptop computer or can work as extension speakers for an MP3 or network-media player, a Discman or one of the Internet radios that I reviewed. I would also recommend using it as supplementary-area speakers for the Sony STR-DA5500ES home-theatre receiver that I reviewed or other amplifiers that expose a volume-independent line-level output.

The only limitation is that there isn’t an ability for them to make them easily work properly as pure active speakers for a pre-amplifier, where there is tone adjustment at the amplifier. This could be facilitated through a “power-only” mode which bypasses the controls.

News articles and links to campaigns

HP Envy premium laptops – HP US site

Acer Aspire Z5610 spotted in the wild – Engadget

Windows 7 launch day hardware spectacular – Engadget

L’Acer Aspire Z5610 également multi-touch – Journal Du Geek (France – French language)

My comments

Last night, I was checking on my blog and had noticed that Hewlett-Packard had taken a vertical image ad on one of the AdSense ad units that I have running on the blog just close to when Windows 7 was launched. This ad had an image of the Envy laptop and the words “The Power Of Envy” written down the ad as well as the HP and “Intel Inside” logos. So I did a search using Bing on the terms used in the ad and this led me to HP’s series of Windows-7-based Envy premium laptops, rather than clicking on the AdSense unit so I don’t commit click fraud. Judging from the photos of the HP Envy laptops that I saw on the campaign site, the look of this computer reminded me of a recent-model Apple MacBook Pro laptop.

Similarly, there was an Engadget post about the Acer Aspire Z5610 all-in-one PC which had the look and functionality that could upstage the newer Apple iMacs. As well, the “all-in-one” computers listed in Engadget’s Windows 7 launch day hardware list were styled to look like a tabletop version of a European-built premium flat-panel TV. Similarly, Sony had just launched a VAIO all-in-one computer that mimics the industrial design of one of the small-screen BRAVIA flat-panel TVs

These hardware product launches were intended to be hot on the heels of Apple’s recent iMac and MacBook prduct-range launch and most of these machines would appeal to Windows buyers who like the look of Apple’s computer range.

In my honest opinion, the Windows 7 launch has heralded one of the biggest consumer-computing platform showdowns ever.