Every year, we’re hit by yet another wave of new gadgets. Some of them are good, a lot of them are bad, but a very select few manage to be important. Here are the gadgets that had the biggest impact on the technological landscape in 2013.
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Sony is a company that has several different units under the corporate umbrella. One of those business units is the company’s battery unit. Sony had been preparing to sell of … Continue reading
VidZone has been around on the PlayStation platform for quite some time now. It made its debut with the PS3 back in 2009 and quickly gained over a million downloads. Soon after that, the app was expanded into other markets as well. Its certainly popular with those who want to stream music videos for free. The VidZone app for PlayStation 4 has now been released, allowing gamers on Sony’s latest console to stream music videos whenever they want.
Those who have already used this app on the PlayStation 3 will notice a number of chances. The new app has been completely optimized for PS4, it offers quick navigation and faster start up times. This definitely improves user experience as users don’t have to wait to access their music videos and playlists. VidZone also taps into PS4′s social integration features, allowing users to share their VidZone activity with friends through the “What’s New” feed. Screenshots of music videos can also be shared to Facebook and Twitter through the Share button on PS4′s DualShock 4 controller. The app offers “thousands” of music videos which can be streamed in HD, “hundreds” of VidZone TV channels filled with music videos and the ability to create unlimited playlists. The app is available right now through the TV & Video section of the PS4′s home screen.
PS4 Gets VidZone Free Music Video Streaming App original content from Ubergizmo. 
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When Sony first launched the portable console called the PS Vita it didn’t exactly burn up the gaming market. The console wasn’t that popular early on due in part to … Continue reading
The Sony PlayStation 4 is a machine on which you can depend to deliver one whole heck of a lot of entertainment right out of the box, even if you’ve … Continue reading
With the PlayStation 4 having been released, we can only assume that Sony’s efforts will now be focused more on their brand new console, rather than their older console, the PlayStation 3. With that being said, it seems that online support for a handful of Sony’s first-party PS3 games are expected to be coming to an end in the first half of 2014. For those who are still regularly playing their PS3 games, Sony’s website will be able to provide you with additional details regarding the upcoming end of support, so hit up the website for more info.
Some of the games involved in this shutdown process includes Sony’s Resistance series, such as Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, and Resistance 3, all of which will no longer be playable online as of March 28 2014. Gran Turismo 5 will also be having its online features disabled in May 2014, which we guess isn’t too surprising given that Gran Turismo 6 was announced not too long ago. For the most part, these games will still be playable offline and in single player mode, which we guess isn’t too big of a deal, except for those who are still enjoying titles such as MAG and SOCOM: Confrontation, both of which do not offer offline support.
While the disabling of online support is inevitable, we’re sure there are many gamers out there who might still be a bit disappointed and sad by this news.
Sony To End Online Support For Some Of Their First-Party PS3 Titles original content from Ubergizmo. 
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It has almost been a couple of months since Google finally released Android 4.4 KitKat to the public, however it will take quite some time before distribution stats show KitKat taking the lead. A number of major devices, ones that dominated the market in 2013, are yet to be updated to Android 4.4. So one can imagine how long it would take for low-end devices to receive the update. Most low end devices might not be compatible with the new update at all, but those who own a Sony Xperia Tipo are in luck. An unofficial CyanogenMod 11 custom ROM with KitKat goodness baked in has been released for this smartphone.
The Sony Xperia Tipo is a bonafide low end device. Announced in mid-2012, it has a 3.2 inch display and an 800 MHz Cortex A5 processor. Even with its relatively modest specifications, its able to run this unofficial Android 4.4 KitKat custom ROM. It should be kept in mind though that not everything in functional in this ROM. The camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even GSM don’t work so forget about using it as your daily driver for now. Though it shouldn’t take long though for the developer to iron out these issues and make this ROM fully stable. Those interested in flashing this custom ROM on their Sony Xperia Tipo can follow the instructions given by the developer here.
Sony Xperia Tipo Android 4.4 Unofficial Custom ROM Released original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sony released its second generation smartwatch earlier this year, and despite the fact that wearable devices were significantly “in” this year, it didn’t exactly turn out to be a hit. It appears that the company isn’t giving on its wearable efforts any time soon. Recent FCC filing hints towards the possibility of Sony releasing another smartwatch early next year. The device mentioned in the filing is called a “BT Wrist Notifier” bearing model number SWR10, no images are included so its not known right now exactly what this gadget looks like.
The FCC has already approved Sony’s mystery SWR10 device, documents reveal that it has NFC and Bluetooth built-in, which will play a vital part in hooking up the smartwatch with a compatible device. Sony’s existing wearable gadget, the SmartWatch 2, was released earlier this year. It touts a waterproof design had a 1.6 inch 220×176 pixel resolution display. It is powered by Sony’s custom Android firmware. The next generation smartwatch from Sony is likely to build on these characteristics, but its obviously too soon to say right now if it will have better success in the market than its predecessor. Rumors suggest that the new smartwatch might be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 next month, but Sony itself is yet to confirm the existence of this wearable device.
Sony Expected To Release New Smartwatch In Early 2014 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sony Xperia smartphone owners have been patiently waiting for the company to release the much awaited Android 4.3 update. It has indeed started the roll out process, with the update already having been released for the Xperia Z1 and the Z Ultra. Merely a couple of days back, The Xperia Z, ZR, ZL and the Xperia Tablet Z all received their Android 4.3 updates. Sony Xperia Sp owners shouldn’t worry about being left out, it appears that the update they have been waiting for might just be around the corner.
A member on the XDA developers forum, who appears to be an official beta tester for Sony, has posted a picture of his Xperia SP running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Moreover, a new firmware build has been certified for this smartphone just a few days back and it is believed that this might be an Android 4.3 build. Going by these developments, it shouldn’t be long before the update is finally rolled out over the air for all Xperia SP variants, C5302, C5303 and C5306. The Xperia SP is also slated to receive the much sought after Android 4.4 KitKat update, though that might not happen until we’re well into 2014. A number of other Xperia smartphones are also yet to be updated to KitKat.
Sony Xperia SP Andorid 4.3 Update Release Expected Soon original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Last year it was consistently rumored that Sony and Panasonic will partner up to work on OLED HDTV technology, and that rumor ended up turning out to be true. Both companies did start working on OLED technology, they decided to utilize the core and printing technologies developed by each company to commercialize their own HDTVs. However, it appears that technological hurdles stood in the way of commercial production which is why both Sony and Panasonic have decided to end this partnership, this according to the latest by Nikkei.
Apparently they have given up on the partnership to individually focus more on 4K instead, the high demand technology is expected to be prominently showcased at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is also believed that uncertainty in the OLED market might have led to the end of this effort, with South Korean rivals LG and Samsung both struggling with sales of their OLED HDTVs, which were released earlier this year. On the other hand, demand for 4K TVs is likely to increase in the coming year, which is why it makes sense that Sony and Panasonic now want to divert as much time and resources as they can towards the next big thing. According to DisplaySearch, 4K TV shipments are expected to top 60 million units per year by 2017.
Sony And Panasonic To End OLED Partnership original content from Ubergizmo. 
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