sony

Coinciding with many other announcements during its presser today at the IFA 2012 confab in Berlin, Sony quietly launched the HMZ-T2 personal 3D head-mounted display.

The headset -- vastly similar to its predecessor (the HMZ-T1) -- contains two small 0.7-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays placed in front of the wearer's eyes that simulate a big screen and can display 2D/3D content from any HDMI source. Crave sent Sony an e-mail to see if the HMZ-T2 offers the same 720-pixel resolution and picture quality as before, which seems likely, as T2's marketing babble reads very much like that of the HMZ-T1. We'll let you know. … Read more

Sony has unveiled two of its biggest TV innovations of the year, and they're both inside the new XBR-84X900: it's the company's largest screen to date, and it's one of the first to feature 4K resolution.

The XBR-84X900 is the company's first 4K screen, and comes in the single 84-inch size. It's an edge-lit LED-based LCD TV that features passive 3D (another first for Sony) and comes with a 10-driver stereo speaker system.

For more information, check out our first take of the Sony XBR-84X900.

Sony bulked up its Vaio lineup with two new entries today: one a large table-top product and the other a convertible device that can toggle between a tablet and a laptop.

The hybrid is the Vaio Duo 11, which has a keyboard, but can slide between a laptop design and a tablet-like slate.

The second is the Vaio Tap 20, a 20-inch table-top PC that can be used by individuals or as a multimedia center for groups. … Read more

The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (better known as IFA) is Europe's answer to the Consumer Electronics Show. And like that Vegas extravaganza, the consumer electronics world kicks off the Berlin tech fest with back to back press conferences that stretch over several days.

Among the first up is Sony. CNET will be blogging the event live on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT, with reporters on the ground in Berlin (and others stateside, monitoring via the event's live video stream). Among the rumored product announcements: an 84-inch 4K TV and possibly as many as two … Read more

A second suspected member of the LulzSec hacker group has been arrested for his alleged role in a 2011 network security breach at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Raynaldo Rivera, 20, of Tempe, Ariz., surrendered to authorities today in Phoenix, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. An indictment unsealed today charged Rivera with conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. He faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

Cody Kretsinger, of Phoenix, was indicted last September in connection with the attack and has pleaded guilty, the FBI said.

Rivera, who is allegedly known by the monikers "neuron&… Read more

Keep your seat belt fastened for Tuesday's tech news roundup:

Sony will exit the business of making optical drives for PCs, another sign that traditional PC design is fading.

Japan-based Sony is getting out of the optical disk business as part of its restructuring effort, according to a Japanese-language report in the Asahi Shimbun.

A similar report appeared in Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun.

About 400 people, both domestic and overseas, will be offered early retirement, the reports said, adding that the move is coming in the wake of a $312 million net loss posted earlier this month.

Sony is aiming to close its Sony Opitarc optical disk division by March … Read more

Sony plans to debut a convertible Windows 8 tablet as soon as this week, a source tells CNET.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the same device that made an appearance today on the mobile news Web site Pocketnow, which published a series of images showing off a convertible tablet called the "Vaio Duo 11." … Read more

Not too long ago, a budget laptop was, by default, a big, ugly plastic box. It may have gotten the job done in terms of school or office work, but it wasn't going to turn any heads at the coffee shop, or fit comfortably onto an airline tray (with the exception of too-small Netbooks, which had their own list of problems).

We'll look back on 2012 as the first year when budget laptops really got a fair shake, with many models looking and acting much more like their expensive cousins than ever before.

Even at the very low end of budget -- laptops that are $600 or under -- you can get a slick-looking HP Envy Sleekbook, or a powerful Acer Aspire V5.

Here are a handful of recent favorites, from 11-inch ultraportables to 17-inch desktop replacements, each of which costs about half as much as a 13-inch MacBook Air.… Read more