The next few months are shaping up to be extremely important in the console gaming space. And although we are yet to hear any official word from Microsoft or Sony regarding the intricacies of their next-generation consoles, that doesn't always mean we can't get the inside scoop. Following hot on the heels of yesterday's news that Sony's PlayStation 4 is likely to have 50% more raw computational power than the Xbox 720, we are now seeing some additional leaked information that claims to give us an insight into how the new Xbox and PlayStation will perform.
This is a young year, but throughout this month a lot has already been said about the next-generation PlayStation, which is due to be announced sometime this year. According to two separate sources, the company is getting ready to radically change its controller, putting an end to the traditional DualShock controller design, which has been around since 1997.
Just a few weeks into the year, Sony has already received quite a lot of press attention, mostly concerning its next-generation console. However, the company is showing some love for its current-generation console with its new bundle: a white PlayStation 3 with a 500GB hard drive, along with a white DualShock 3 controller and a one-year membership for PlayStation Plus, all for just under $300.
Sony Entertainment has made a name for itself over the years for a lot of things, be it games (remember Twisted Metal, anyone?), gaming consoles, motion pictures, and lately, mobile phones. When the entertainment giant partnered with Ericsson to form Sony Ericsson, they introduced the world to a whole new dimension of feature phones with their Walkman lineup. Then, they were also the first ones to introduce a 12 megapixel shooter in a smartphone (if you can call Symbian that) with their Satio. Lately, since the company has become Sony Mobile, they’ve produced some top of the line devices with their Xperia series, and even took a bold attempt at merging smartphone with PlayStation gaming console with the Xperia Play.
With the holiday season over, and an amazing New Year’s eve, the rumor mill is once again tipping us on how the big game makers are planning on tempting our empty wallets. According to a fresh new report, Sony may be planning on releasing a new PlayStation console this year.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the true power of Android operating system comes from the freedom of being able to use various custom ROMs – firmware that have been cooked directly from the AOSP portal, or that differ from the stock ones in features, or those that incorporate elements from other devices. Not only does that bring diversity to your otherwise-boring smartphone or tablet, but also unleash its full capabilities for your usage. However, not all custom ROMs might sit well with your smartphone, and from time to time, there might be a need to go back to stock software to start afresh.
It may be something of an ageing console, and the hardware packed within is most certainly of yesteryear, but Sony's PlayStation 3 console has just reached the impressive milestone of 70 million sold worldwide. Having launched now six years ago back in November of 2006, the PlayStation 3 has competed fiercely with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, and although the Redmond company's Kinect is subject of much press coverage, the Move motion controller for the PS3 has shifted 15 million in just two years - which is arguably the more impressive feat.
With PlayStation 3 sales slowly decreasing year over year, Sony appears to be preparing key developers for their next generation PlayStation console.
If you happen to be in the United Kingdom and are looking for a new smartphone deal and tariff, then it might be worth considering the O2 network as they have officially made the James Bond-branded Sony Xperia T smartphone available for customers. It's been known for a while that the network would be offering a 007 Xperia T experience to customers, but we just weren't sure when it would start appearing on the company's online store, but what they are calling "The Bond Phone" is now available.
Joining scores of other vendors, Sony has just announced its very own ultrabook / tablet effort with the VAIO Duo 11, and it certainly packs in some decent hardware to help kick its way into this increasingly-competitive market. When Microsoft first announced the Surface, it was praised as an innovative median between notebook and tablet, and since, a string of manufacturers have joined the potential gravy train.
