Hasta La Gadget!

Tim Schaaff came over to Sony from Apple back in 2005 with a mission of aligning its vast consumer electronics and entertainment interests, and today the company has announced he’s retiring from his post as Sony Network Entertainment President at the end of the year. Schaaf’s responsibilities will be taken over by current Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House to start 2013, although Schaaf will retain his seat on Sony Network’s board of directors. In place and SNEI prez since 2010, he was around for the infamous PSN hack and subsequent outage in 2011, calling it a “great experience”… that he would not like to do again, of course. While Sony has made great strides in reorganizing the way its disparate arms work together since ’05 (remember Sony Connect? No one else does either.) his departure comes amidst new company head Kaz Hirai’s “One Sony” turnaround efforts along the same lines. A rebranding of PlayStation Network to Sony Entertainment Network hasn’t pushed the Music and Movie Unlimited properties to the top just yet, nor connected devices like its tablets and phones — we’ll see if this executive shuffling has any effect on the company’s fortunes going forward.

Continue reading Sony Network Entertainment prez Tim Schaaff retires, will remain on board of directors

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Sony

Sony Network Entertainment prez Tim Schaaff retires, will remain on board of directors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While tablet and smartphone manufacturers battled it out over screen sizes, e-reader makers seem to have settled on an industry standard of 6-inch displays. It’s a trend that Kobo, at least, is trying to buck. The company is supplementing its flagship device with a smaller model, the $79 Kobo Mini, which has a more diminutive 5-inch screen, and weighs less, to boot. But how much of a difference does an inch really make? Is smaller necessarily better on an e-reading device? And with so many options for consuming e-books, does the world really need a different, slightly altered form factor? We’ll tackle all of these burning questions and more after the break.

Continue reading Kobo Mini review: does the world need a smaller e-reader?

Kobo Mini review: does the world need a smaller e-reader? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s Reader App for iOS launched way back in the heady days of 2010, long before Kindle’s had set Fire or gone Paperwhite. It was subsequently rejected by Apple, per the company’s longstanding policy of not approving software for iOS that bypassed Apple’s own in-app purchase system for a proprietary one. It’s been more than a few months at this point, but Reader has finally re-launched on the iOS App Store — free of charge, of course — and it’s got a brand new look based around the required Apple payment system. As The Digital Reader points out, Sony’s Reader looks an awful lot like the Bluefire iOS e-reader app, though we’d wager Sony’s store offers more in the way of literary choice.

Filed under: Software, Apple, Sony

Sony’s ‘Reader’ App finally re-launches on iOS, purchases handled through Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Kobo’s leveraging some of that Rakuten-infused love. The e-reader maker announced today that it’ll be bringing its new pair of devoted readers to Japan over the next couple of months, courtesy of its parent company. The e-literati in that country can pre-order the new Kobo Glo now for ¥7,980 ($100) through Rakuten for a projected ship date of November 15th. The 5-inch Kobo Mini, meanwhile, is due to arrive in December for ¥6,980 ($87) — the same price as the recently discounted Kobo Touch.

Continue reading Kobo’s Glo and Mini readers on their way to Japan as the Touch gets a discount

Kobo’s Glo and Mini readers on their way to Japan as the Touch gets a discount originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The pressure of digital transitions can lead traditional media companies to circle the wagons — for better or for worse — and book publishers certainly aren’t immune as e-books take hold. Bertelsmann and Pearson are worried enough to be merging their respective Random House and Penguin publishing wings into a joint venture, not-so-creatively titled Penguin Random House, that they hope will better survive “long-term trends” like the shift away from paper-centric business models. While the two are engaged in the usual corporatespeak of creating “synergies” (read: resource cuts), we’re more interested in talk of the union being a springboard for digital efforts: Penguin Random House wants to be “more adventurous” with e-book models like self-publishing. Whether the merger leads to a renaissance for established publishers or just reduced competition when the deal closes in the back half of 2013, we’re bracing ourselves for the possibility of a Fifty Shades of Jamie Oliver crossover.

Continue reading Penguin and Random House merge, promise a brave new e-book future

Penguin and Random House merge, promise a brave new e-book future originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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