On stage at the "See the Future" event in New York, Sony has just announced its latest gaming console: the PlayStation 4. "We believe that PlayStation 4 represents a shift from thinking of a box or console," said Sony's Andrew House. "PlayStation is the best place to play." The console will be arriving in the holiday season of 2013, though unfortunately no pricing details were given, and Sony didn't provide any glimpses of the new hardware.
As introduced by lead system architect Mark Cerny, the PS4 is based on a "supercharged PC architecture," with an X86 processor, enhanced PC-style GPU, and 8GB of GDDR5 unified high-speed memory. The controller is called, unsurprisingly, the DualShock 4, and features the Vita-style touchpad we'd heard about, and a light bar on the back to identify players. Each PS4 will contain a 3D camera to track the various controllers using the bar. The PS4 contains 8 CPU cores, providing almost 2 teraflops of computational performance. The power allows for 30,000 polygons to be rendered in real time (by way of comparison, Heavy Rain on the PS3 utilized 15,000). "Overall, our goal has been to architect the system to support a breadth of experiences," said Cerny.
For those tired of waiting around for lengthy boot times, there's some welcome news, as the console will let users suspend and resume play just by pressing the power button. The console also contains a secondary chip that is designed just to manage uploads and downloads, even if the power is off — and digital titles will be playable as they're being downloaded. On the upload side, the PS4 has always-on video compression that will allow users to upload video as they go (proving another set of rumors correct), and letting gamers share footage or photos of their gaming excursions easily. Showing off the feature, Cerny said "Our goal is to make sharing of video as popular in the PlayStation 4 as screenshots are today."
That social focus extends to chat, where the platform will allow users to watch games being played by others, and "reach out" to play on a friend's system. Owners will also be able to use their smartphones and other personal devices to browse videos and use companion apps. Facebook and Ustream were both touted as third-party services the PS4 was designed to work with.
Sony's acquisition of Gaikai is also bearing fruit with the new console. Gaikai co-founder and CEO Dave Perry took the stage to introduce his company's contributions to the new PlayStation, which include instant notifications when your friends buy a given title. Trying a game ahead of time is also in the cards, with Perry saying "With Gaikai and the PlayStation Store, you'll be able to instantly experience anything you want. Try it for free, share if you like it, and pay only if you like it."
While not many specific examples were given, users will be able to broadcast themselves in real time — triggered by the new "share" button on the DualShock 4 (video trimming is built into the PS4 interface). Developers will also have the tools to enable what Perry called "director" status, letting one individual alter the gaming environment of the player using the console, such as changing maps, or throwing power-ups when they're in need.
The company is also betting heavily on the PlayStation Vita: developers will be able to implement second screen functionality that will let gamers play PS4 titles on their Vita. The stated goal is that all PS4 titles will eventually be playable on the Vita. Unfortunately, while the new console will in fact not be backwards-compatible with current PlayStation 3 titles, the much-anticipated streaming solution for PS3 titles isn't here. However, Perry did say that the company was "exploring" the ability for PS3 titles to eventually be available on almost any device.
A series of game demos rounded out the presentation — including the confirmation that Bungie's Destiny would be coming to the console. Sony's decision to not announce the price or a firm shipping date for the PlayStation 4 will no doubt give the company room to maneuver should it need to respond to any gaming announcements from Microsoft, and the lack of a hardware reveal will give it something new to trumpet as the year progresses. We imagine we'll learn a little bit more at this year's E3 in June.
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Sony's got a new transformer tablet/laptop hybrid, the Vaio Duo 11, which is a sliding converter with a stylus. It looks pretty darn good.
The Duo 11 has an 11.6-inch "full HD" touchscreen (16:9, 1080p), and will have current-gen Intel Core Ivy Bridge processors. The screen in particular, just judging by specs, should be pretty great. The 1080p panel on Vaio Z computers is really good, for reference. The new iPad runs at 2048x1536 resolution, but this should blow the doors off of most current ultrabook displays, which are generally 1366x768 or 1440x900. The Duo will be configurable to 4 or 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB or 256GB SSD.
It is 17.85mm thick with its keyboard. That's about twice the 9.4mm of an iPad and the Surface, which is 9.3mm, and about the same thickness of an ultrabook like the MacBook Air 11 (at its thickest point), which is 14mm thick. It weighs 1.7kg.
The Duo's keyboard isn't a detachable accessory, like Microsoft's Surface tablet. Instead, it's revealed by a sliding mechanism from behind the screen. The small dimensions of the keyboard should give a moment's pause, since Vaio laptops have had some pretty questionable keyboards, especially the super-slim Vaio Z, but hopefully Sony's figured things out with the Duo. We'll know more once we play with it. Design-wise, it looks really good, but we'll have to see it up close before we can speak to build quality. Sony will also apparently focus on handwriting, with dedicated software to recognize the stylus, which will have swappable pen tips to change up how it feels on the surface.
There is also the Vaio Tap 20 that converts from a 20-inch desktop computer to a lay-flat slate. Here are the relevant specs for that: It's got a 20-inch 1600x900 screen with 10-point capacitive multitouch. It can be configured with an i3, i5, or i7 Ivy Bridge processor, from 750GB to 1TB 5400rpm HDD, and 4GB or 8GB of RAM.
We don't have any word on pricing, but will let you know when we do.
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Sony has been releasing new, tweaked versions of its NEX cameras every year to impressive results. Today we got our first look at its latest, the Sony NEX-5R—the follow-up to last year's NEX-5N, which is one beast of a mirrorless camera. The new shooter introduces a new "Fast Hybrid" autofocus system, WI-Fi connectivity and a new programmable dial and multi-function button.
The new sensor-based 99-point autofocus system uses both contract and phase detection and contrast detection to zero in on a subject in a snap. Phase AF quickly zeros in on a subject and then contrast AF makes a fine adjustment.
The camera follows the slews of other new shooters out there with Wi-Fi connectivity. You'll be able to transfer photos directly to your smartphone or tablet using Sony's PlayMemories Mobile app available for both iOS and Android. You'll also be able to push your photos to your DLNA connected TV or your computer. Sony is also introducing PlayMemories Camera Apps, which are new functions that you'll be able to download and install onto your camera. From the sound of names like "Picture Effect+" "Bracket Pro" the apps will fall somewhere between your favorite smartphone camera app and the gimmicky functions that come pre-installed on all cameras these days.
The new programmable inputs add to the camera's flexibility—that makes the cameras more like the button-packed DSLRs that mirrorless cameras aim to replace.
Otherwise, the specs of the NEX-5R are identical to those of last year's NEX-5N: a 16-megapixel, APS-C sensor, and HD video recording at up to 1920 x 1080 at 60 fps. And of course, a lovely touchscreen that makes navigating menues and changing settings a piece of cake. The NEX-5R will be available in October for $750 with an 18-55mm kit zoom lens. The body alone will cost $650. [Sony and Sony]
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Sony's latest flagship Android Smartphone is the Xperia T: a 4.6-inch, 1280x720 Bravia-powered smartphone equipped with not only a 13-megapixel camera, but also an NFC receiver for quickly connecting the phone to accessories and services at home and away.
The flagship Xperia T is the latest phone to be added to Sony's roster since its split with Ericsson last year. The phone comes installed with a skinned version Ice Cream Sandwich and also has a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor (likely the Snapdragon S4), and a gig of RAM. This wouldn't quite put it in the same league as a phone like the Samsung Galaxy S3—especially considering the lack of LTE—but it's not shabby either. [Sony]
