Engadget: VAIO X spotted in champagne, propped up by extended battery, ripped apart

Posted by on under teardown, vaio, battery life, sy, champagne, ly, laptops, laptop, gap |

While the price might be the most notable -- and welcome -- aspect of Sony's VAIO X showing tonight, we were also privy to our first look of the laptop in champagne, the incredibly odd extended battery, which actually creates a bit of a gap between itself and the rear of the laptop, and even Sony's own little teardown of the components. We'd be a bit more grumpy about that big "14 hour" wedge, given that the regular battery only gets about 3 hours of quoted battery life, but since Sony is selling the laptop with both of them in the box, we can't complain too much.

Gallery: VAIO X spotted in champagne

Filed under: Laptops

VAIO X spotted in champagne, propped up by extended battery, ripped apart originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: teardown, vaio, battery life, sy, champagne, ly, laptops, laptop, gap

Engadget: VAIO L is Sony's first touchscreen PC, starts at $1,300

Posted by on under touchscreen pc, fashi, first model, multitouch screen, half baked, vaio, sy, gestures, tv tuner, hdtv, prototype, sorts, sony, heart |

Hey there Windows 7, we hear you've got some fancy new touch features, huh? Well, Sony's jumping on the ballooning bandwagon of manufacturers with a heart for touchscreen PCs, putting forward its very first model with the all-new L series all-in one. Sony is billing it as part HDTV and part PC (in typical Sony fashion), with Blu-ray playback and what sounds to be a TV tuner tucked underneath, piling up to a $1,300 starting price. Not bad for a 24-inch multitouch screen.

Update: We just went hands-on with the VAIO L and it's got a pretty great touchscreen sensor -- quite responsive and accurate, even in multitouch gestures. Unfortunately, the TouchSmart-style software that Sony's packed in his woefully half-baked. Hopefully what we saw was just an early prototype of sorts, or Sony's got some serious work to to before October 22. Overall the hardware is pretty Sony-ish and minimal, while the glossy display looks pretty brilliant. Pics below.

Gallery: VAIO L hands-on

Continue reading VAIO L is Sony's first touchscreen PC, starts at $1,300

Filed under: Desktops

VAIO L is Sony's first touchscreen PC, starts at $1,300 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: touchscreen pc, fashi, first model, multitouch screen, half baked, vaio, sy, gestures, tv tuner, hdtv, prototype, sorts, sony, heart

Engadget: PSP Go Rewards program hitting DRM-laced brick wall

Posted by on under rewards program, brick wall, free titles, drm, kink, rk, handhelds, sy, ps3, psp, attendance, nbsp, ing |

Needless to say, none of this applies to the Americans in attendance, but for international PSP Go buyers looking forward to taking advantage of Sony's PSP Go Rewards program, the always user-friendly DRM seems to be putting a solid kink in those enjoyment plans. According to a growing number of users at the official European PlayStation boards, an error by the name of 80109D53 is causing downloaded titles to not play back on the new handhelds. We're told that Sony is aware of the issue and is toiling away in an effort to fix things, but for now, it seems as if you can sidestep some of the risk by downloading your trio of free titles (which Sony offers if you're an existing UMD owner) directly to the PSP Go rather than sideloading 'em from a PS3. Any others having this issue? Figured out a solution? Shoot your mouth off in comments below.

[Thanks, James]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Software

PSP Go Rewards program hitting DRM-laced brick wall originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: rewards program, brick wall, free titles, drm, kink, rk, handhelds, sy, ps3, psp, attendance, nbsp, ing

Techcrunch: Review: Zune HD

Posted by on under ugly duckling, beautiful swan, zune, gray bird, champis, clear stream, anet, techcrunch, growing pains, ipod touch, thin air, quirks, caliber, sy, hd, offerings, swan, samsung, bush, microsoft |

But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. —The Ugly Duckling

It's been a long, brown trip for the Zune: from its early days (mocked and abject) to its awkward years (deemed a dead end and money pit) it's been embattled and criticized, and rightly so. After all, here was an unpopular company with a frankly ridiculous brand it had pulled out of thin air, attempting to compete with the guys who defined the market. We've always been champions of the devices, despite their quirks, and of the service, despite its growing pains — and Microsoft occasionally made it pretty hard for us to stand by our favorite little misfit media player. Well, for once they just made it really easy. Let's not beat around the bush, now: this thing is going head-on with the iPod touch, one of the most versatile and well-liked devices on the planet. There are other PMPs, sure, but the caliber of these two devices is well beyond the best offerings from Creative, Samsung, or Sony. To make it easy on the Apple fans who are impatient to comment on this story, let me just state it right now for the record: the Zune HD is not an iPod-killer, but it is the only player out there that can go up against it and not be annihilated in the process. It's good enough that everyone owes it to themselves to give it a look — unless you're afraid of just how good it might be.

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Tagi: ugly duckling, beautiful swan, zune, gray bird, champis, clear stream, anet, techcrunch, growing pains, ipod touch, thin air, quirks, caliber, sy, hd, offerings, swan, samsung, bush, microsoft

Engadget: PSP Go unboxing (update: with video!)

Posted by on under greasy fingers, fri, psp, umd, sy, photos |

Sony's just handed us a shiny new, UMD-less PSP Go (or "PSPgo," depending on who you ask) to run our greasy fingers all over, and while we can't give you our impressions until later this month, we can let you live vicariously through us and our unboxing photos. Enjoy!

Update: Now with video, after the break.

Gallery: PSP go unboxing