Posts Tagged ‘Sony’

Sony Computer Entertainment now has dedicated social media applications for the handheld device, including Facebook, foursquare, Skype and Twitter. But we will not hold the device until its launch in Japan by the end of 2011, followed by the U.S. and Europe early next year.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.

Numerous firms seem fascinated with the idea of producing a successful dual-screen device. Nintendo did it years ago with their successful line of Nintendo DS series of mobile game consoles. There was Microsoft’s concept Courier tablet that was never manufactured. Then, there’s the odd gigantic dual 10-inch Kno tablet targetted at college students that never [...]

If you haven’t heard the news yet, Sony movies have been temporarily pulled from Netflix’s streaming service. The reason? Netflix is becoming too popular.

Sony’s subscription music service is available in the US now and they have an Android app to use it. The free Android app is found at: Sony Music Unlimited for Android Sony’s Qriocity service has a 30-day free trial period that can be activiated fro use with the Android app as well as other supported [...]

Sony’s apology to its Playstation Network members for their multiple recent security problems is to offer a couple of free games. This offer is not limited to the PS3 home game console. Playstation Portable (PSP) owners can take advantage of the offer too. UPDATED: Welcome Back Program Available Now – Details Inside I fired up [...]

The studios told Variety that premium VOD draws from audiences who rather not make the trip to the megaplex because of the size of their families or the expense to hire babysitters or pay for food and other concessions. On the serious side, if audiences get used to staying home watching movies, they might stay away from theaters all together. We will have to wait and see if that is true.

Calkins suggested that most of the excitement about Facebook is resurfacing of a title, maybe recent or old, when our marketing budget has subsided, but now we can turn it over to consumers and in effect use their marketing budget. “A few weeks into DVD, we really don’t talk about the title anymore. … If you can have fans do that through something like Facebook, it’s incredibly powerful. So, we like the idea. I think it’s just very early days.”

CD Baby, the music distribution site where indie musicians sold handy little compact disks in the late 90′s has entered the publishing scene, and the 21st century, with the launch of BookBaby, a book distribution site for independent authors.

To be fair, the parent company has already gone digital, partnering with online retailers including iTunes and Amazon to distribute some 300,000 independent albums from over 200,000 indie artists, with licensing and other DIY services to boot. And indie publishers could certainly learn a thing or two from the music industry.

BookBaby converts .doc, .html or .txt files into the open eBook format EPUB, which is industry standard and works on all e-reading devices including the iPad, Nook, Kindle and Sony Reader. The books are then distributed across the company’s retailer network, which includes Apple, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony and, soon, Google. For $99 (marked down from $149 to promote the launch), it’s a pretty good deal. The authors keep 100% of their net sales revenue, which BookBaby pays out weekly.

“In just six months since our soft launch, BookBaby has established itself as THE destination for authors looking for a simple, comprehensive solution to their digital distribution needs,” said BookBaby president Brian Felsen in a statement. “We make it easy: our sign-up includes a free EPUB conversion to ensure your eBook is distributed to all of the largest retailers.”

Crackle, the streaming-video portal from Sony, can now snap and pop on Android devices, as two apps were released via the Android Market: a free version for viewing clips, and a $4.99 premium app for access to full-length films from studios including Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Classics, paidContent reported.

An iPhone version is in the pipeline as well, paidContent added, via the Los Angeles Times.

Films currently available via the premium version include La Femme Nikita, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Drunken Master, while TV series include Married with Children, Charlie’s Angels, and Spider-Man.

AT&T spent millions in the 1980s imploring us to “reach out and touch someone.” The 1990s saw us reaching down to type on our computer keyboards and phones. And, now, scientists and academics report we’ve come full circle, 21st century style. We still want to reach out, but forget ‘someone,’ we want to touch screens.