sony

Get a one-year Sony Music Unlimited subscription for $59.99

Much as I love services like Pandora and Songza for streaming music, sometimes you want to hear exactly the songs you want to hear -- hence on-demand services like Rdio and Spotify.

Of course, most of those services cost around $10 per month. If you like the idea but not the price, Sony has a deal worth considering: a one-year Music Unlimited subscription for $59.99. That's 50 percent of the regular price and the equivalent of $5 monthly.

Even better, if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can get the Music Unlimited plan for $41.99.

Sony'… Read more

Super-sharp displays on Android phones take on Apple

HTC, Sony, and Huawei are leading the charge into large, full high-definition phone displays, said DisplayMate Technologies. It's a market Apple has yet to enter.

"With the iPhone 4 Retina display, Apple pioneered the previous generation of smartphone displays in 2010," wrote Raymond Soneira in DisplayMate Technologies' Full HD Flagship Smartphone Display Technology Shoot-Out released on Tuesday.

"This time the pioneers are all Android devices, with the iPhone still not even at the basic HD resolution of 1,280x720," he said.

Apple has some catching up to do to achieve "true Retina," as … Read more

Sony pulls buggy PS3 update after user complaints

Sony has put the kibosh on a new update for the PS3 after that update created bootup problems for many users.

A host of PS3 owners who installed update 4.45 on their consoles have been reporting the trouble on Sony's PlayStation forum since Tuesday. The update, which was designed to let people turn trophy notifications on or off, essentially renders the console unusable. Users are complaining that the PS3 freezes at some point during the bootup process.

Ironically, Sony had touted the update as offering improved system stability, but it seems to have done the exact opposite.

In … Read more

PS4's lead architect disses Xbox One on Fallon show

Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One received a not-so-subtle dig courtesy of a spot on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

Continuing video-game week on his show, Fallon invited Mark Cerny, chief system architect of the Sony PS4, to appear Tuesday to discuss and demo Sony's upcoming game console. Before diving into playing an actual game, the two chit-chatted about the PS4's various features.

At one point, Fallon chimed in: "The big story that everyone's talking about is that this system [the PS4] is the only one where you can still play used games." To … Read more

The 404 1286: Where we're tired of zombies (podcast)

On today's show we're welcoming Dan Chiappini from GameSpot Australia along with 404 veteran Scott Stein. We'll briefly recap Scott's time down at WWDC but then get right into some more E3 talk where we make Scott feel jealous about missing what was probably the biggest E3 in something like seven years. Dan think he knows why Nintendo refuses to open its "vault" of games and we all wonder how the company can rebound from a bleak E3 showing.

We're also chatting about the mundane abundance of shooters at E3, the lack of innovation, and which games actually piqued our interest.

And be sure to enter CNET's awesome "From Old School to Tech Cool" contest that's currently underway on our Facebook page!

- Follow our new buddy Dan Chiappini on Twitter.

- Make sure to do the same for 404 veteran Scott Stein.

- Catch up on Scott's and the rest of CNET's WWDC coverage.

- Give CNET's E3 2013 page one last skim.… Read more

Sony under pressure to spin off entertainment unit

Sony is once again being squeezed by one of its biggest investors to split itself up by spinning off its entertainment division.

Third Point hedge fund founder Daniel Loeb sent a letter on Tuesday to Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai urging him to set up a semi-independent board to run a spun-off and public entertainment company, Reuters reported. Loeb recently upped his fund's investment in Sony to 70 million shares, or almost 7 percent of the company, a stake worth around $1.4 billion.

Loeb has argued that Sony has been unable to successfully run its entertainment division, which includes … Read more

Sony Xperia Z makes its way to T-Mobile

T-Mobile confirmed on Tuesday that it would be getting the Sony Xperia Z in the coming weeks.

The company didn't include a price, but like all other T-Mobile phones, the Xperia Z will be eligible for a low down payment and monthly installments under T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan. The Xperia Z will be exclusive to T-Mobile.

For Sony, getting the Xperia Z on another big carrier is a step in the right direction. The company has been steadily improving its product lineup and getting more U.S. support for its devices in the last several months. It previously … Read more

Sony reportedly readies first phablet

A French press invite from Sony Mobile touts a "big surprise" at an upcoming July 4 event in Paris, but a slew of leaked images and specs may have spoiled the secret of Sony's first phablet before its big reveal.

The invitation features a mysterious image of a tall and slim device with a profile that resembles the Xperia Z smartphone and tablet. The new device -- expected to be named the Xperia Z Ultra -- is rumored to have a 6.4-inch screen and a 1080p HD resolution (That's a pixel density of 342 ppi … Read more

The 404 1285: Where E3 is no place for fanboys (podcast)

I don't get it. I'm gone an entire week and there's not one show. I get back, Justin's gone, but I still have to do one. What's up with that? Luckily it's a non-issue. Today we've got CNET HDTV editor Ty Pendlebury on the program to help me wrap up the chaos that was E3 2013 and filter out some of the new-found disgust I have for videogame fanboys. You know, the worst kind of fanboy.

- Check out Jeff's slideshow showing the most exciting games of E3.

- Play catch-up by looking back at the rest of CNET's E3 2013 coverage.

- Follow Ty on Twitter.

- ESPN drops 3D, four years after the rest of world has already given up on it. … Read more

The 12 most exciting games of E3 2013

Where last year's show felt empty, E3 2013 was anything but. Show-goers were treated to a barrage of new software to gawk over, a lot of which are brand-new franchises. Taking into consideration criticism from my past lists, I'll be highlighting only games that featured gameplay of some kind. As long as someone played it at E3, it's fair game. Sorry, trailers and teasers won't cut it this year!