Hasta La Gadget!

Alright, we admittedly don’t know a great deal about the provenance of the slide above. It was first picked up on Chinese social networking site Weibo, but the original post seems to have been deleted. What we do know, however, is that Sony’s forthcoming flagship phone, codenamed Honami, has already been rumored to possess a 4K-ready processor (the Snapdragon 800), and that Sony is wildly enthusiastic about 4K as something that can unite its expanding hardware ecosystem. The slide’s title therefore has a ring of truth to it, because it’s accompanied by Bravia branding and sounds like realistic marketing babble from a TV-focused presentation:

“How do you get 4K content? By shooting videos with a 4K cellphone.”

The slide also details a 20-megapixel Exmor R rear camera sensor for Honami, which tallies with earlier reports, as well as a meaty 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The only issue we have is with the quoted 4K video resolution of 4,000 x 2,000 — it’s unusual and doesn’t match the Ultra HD resolution Sony has settled on for its 4K TVs (3,840 x 2,160). In any case, resolution is only half the story. This is all speculative, of course, but if other bottlenecks in this phone forced Sony to compress the heck out of captured 4K video, there’s every chance it’d end up looking worse than 1080p.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Sony

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Source: Vgooo

We got our first taste of NFL Sunday Ticket on the PS3 back in 2011, but now Sony has confirmed it’s not available for the 2013 – 2014 season. IGN asked PlayStation reps why the app would not be active this season and they wouldn’t confirm any specific reasons. For its part, DirecTV told us it’s working on enhancing the experience for new and existing satellite customers, although those who can’t get satellite TV can still sign up for the mobile / web streaming package. That league commissioner Roger Goodell recently made a cameo in Microsoft’s Xbox One launch event probably isn’t a total coincidence, but the package won’t be available there either, at least not for this season.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: Kotaku, Joystiq

Source: IGN, DirecTV

Bang & Olufsen is all about elegant design, and it’s not about to let a home theater receiver spoil those clean looks — see its newly unveiled BeoVision 12-65 New Generation TV as an example. This refresh of last year’s BeoVision 12-65 includes its own 7.1-channel audio module, letting viewers plug surround speakers into the 65-inch plasma without a go-between box. The upgrade also brings TrueImage, which mixes the sound to fit all available speakers, and lets owners customize audio presets. Bang & Olufsen hasn’t disclosed pricing for the New Generation, but the set should reach company stores in early September.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Bang & Olufsen

It looks like the Xbox One won’t be as widely available at launch as originally planned. Citing a need to meet demand, Microsoft said today that its new console will be available in 13 countries at launch, instead of the 21 initially promised. Instead, the remaining eight markets will get it sometime in 2014. All told, those 13 lucky countries include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. The other eight — Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland — will still sell it eventually, but for now Microsoft isn’t committing to a firm launch date. For now, all we know is that it’s promised to arrive “as soon as possible next year.” As a “show of appreciation for your patience,” to use Microsoft’s words, people who placed pre-orders in those eight cut-off countries will receive a free game. Feeling consoled, guys?

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Microsoft

Samsung’s been so busy getting its flexible displays (aka “Youm”) consumer-ready, it’s now got no clue what to actually do with them. As such, it’s decided to pay others to be idea-men, launching the “Flexible Future Business Plan Competition” in the US. Starting August 29th and running to October 6th, the contest is calling for nifty gadget concepts that use one to 20 inches of flexible display at up to full HD resolution. They’ll be judged on how important a flexible display is to the device, as well as design, practicality of hardware and business plan. The winner will receive $10k, with second and third place taking $5k and $2.5k, respectively. Samsung hopes you’ll head to the source link for the full lowdown, because there are only so many bendy smartwatches one can sell before you need other gear to put wobbly panels in.

Filed under: Displays, HD, Samsung

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Via: Phone Arena, Sammy Hub

Source: Samsung (contest page)