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New PlayStation may debut this month

Friday's CNET Update deciphers the shapes:

Stories from today's tech news roundup:

- Sony expected to unveil a new PlayStation this month -- before E3

- Verizon has new prepaid plans for 3G smartphones

- Nokia is researching a new material called graphene

- HBO Go may be coming to Apple TV

- Amazon beefs up its Prime Instant Video streaming with Downton Abby and is also creating original kids shows

- Netflix premiered the series, "House of Cards," and all 13 episodes are available now

- CNET's Download team highlights free alternatives to the new Office 2013 and Office 365Read more

The 404 1,200: Where we play the crying game (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- "Bang With Friends" sex app claims to help you mix business with pleasure.

- Paying tribute to Holocaust victims...using Grindr?

- Google Street View catches couple doing it in a dressing room.

- Research finds people that fly in virtual reality are more eager to help in real life.

- Sony teases big NYC event for February 20; PS4 debut?… Read more

Sony teases big NYC event for Feb. 20, PS4 debut?

Time to dust off that hype machine. The next generation of video game consoles may debut as early as February 20. That's the date Sony has set aside for an event in New York City, leading some to believe this could be the first-ever announcement of the PlayStation 4, the inevitable successor to the company's current PlayStation 3 game system.… Read more

Grand Theft Auto V delayed until September

Say sayonara to a spring release date: Developer Rockstar Games has announced it pushed back the release date of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V to September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

A Rockstar blog post noted the violent open-world adventure game "needs a little more polish to be of the standard we, and more importantly, you require." … Read more

Rumor Has It: Signs point to PlayStation 4 at E3

We're back from CES, and getting right back into the swing of the rumor mill.

This week, rumors of a 4.8-inch iPhone "Math" (say, what?) have been swirling, but we're blaming it on a bad translation. Also, Microsoft might be desperate to save the PC, YouTube might be eyeing music video site Vevo, and Sony's vice president of home entertainment hints at something that really made Karyne's day. We bet you can guess what it is (hint: read the headline of this post).

Thanks for watching!

Heard a tech rumor you think we should cover? Leave a comment below; ; send us a tweet (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, and @CNETRumorShow); or call and leave us a voice mail at 1-800-750-CNET. … Read more

Sony paints super slim PS3 in red and blue

The world isn't black and white anymore for the super slim PS3.

Sony's Japanese PlayStation division released information today about several new color options -- Azurite Blue and Garnet Red -- coming soon to the CECH-4000 series PlayStation 3. The reveal follows a German Amazon listing for the same variations that appeared last week.… Read more

What to expect in the next BlackBerry

Wednesday's CNET Update gets a glimpse of the future:

Today's tech roundup looks at the leaked specs of the BlackBerry 10 L-Series all-touchscreen smartphone. TechRadar reports it got the specs from official training documents at Research In Motion. It's expected that all will be unveiled by RIM at an event later this month.

There are also rumors out about Nintendo and Sony. Reports say Nintendo is changing its corporate structure to combine its handheld and console teams into one. And Sony's vice president of home entertainment hinted that we may see a PlayStation 4 by the … Read more

Sony files patent for tech to block used games

Sony has researched and filed a patent for new technology that could be implemented to block used games.

As spotted by a NeoGAF user, patent application No. 20130007892 for an "Electronic Content Processing System" and "Use Apparatus" would associate individual game discs with matched user accounts.

Games that are discovered to be tied to another user's account could potentially be rejected. The system works, according to the document, by attaching contactless RF "tags" to each game that can be be read without a network connection.… Read more

Game over for PlayStation 2 in Japan

Sony has discontinued the PlayStation 2 in Japan, says a report, nearly 13 years after the device's introduction.

Famitsu broke the news that Sony halted Japanese production of PlayStation 2 hardware in its home country, but the blog also noted that the company plans to continue developing and selling games for the video game console. We've reached out to Sony Computer Entertainment America for more information about future PS2 plans in the U.S. -- check back later for a response. … Read more

The 25 most anticipated games of 2013

With 2012's best and most disappointing games now behind us, let's look into the future at what 2013 is set to bring. If these titles stay on schedule, this year is already looking to top 2012 in the first four months alone. That's great news for gamers, but terrible news for our wallets.

We're barely more than a month into 2013 but the list continues to grow. Of course it's worth mentioning that some of these games will probably have release date changes and it's more than likely that a number of titles will … Read more