Sony London optical disc warehouse destroyed in fire

Sony's main optical disc distribution warehouse for the U.K. was hit by a large fire on Tuesday morning that has apparently destroyed most or all of the building.

By Martyn Williams | 09 August, 2011 15:02

Tags: storage, sony, consumer electronics, business issues

Nissan eyes powering your house from your car

In a twist on conventional charging for electric cars, Nissan has developed a system that allows a vehicle to supply electricity to power a house.

By Martyn Williams | 02 August, 2011 19:14

Tags: Automotive, industry verticals, popular science, nissan

Nissan eyes powering your house from your car

In a twist on conventional charging for electric cars, Nissan has developed a system that allows a vehicle to supply electricity to power a house.

By Martyn Williams | 02 August, 2011 19:14

Tags: Automotive, industry verticals, popular science, nissan

Nintendo slashing price of 3DS

Nintendo will slash the price of its 3DS handheld gaming device in Japan from mid August.

By Martyn Williams | 28 July, 2011 17:20

Tags: wii, Game platforms, nintendo ds, Handhelds, games, financial results, business issues, Nintendo

Sony reports Q1 loss, cuts full-year outlook

Sony reported a net loss for the three month period from April to June as the company dealt with unfavorable exchange rates, cut-throat competition in the consumer electronics business, and a hacking attack on its online gaming network.

By Martyn Williams | 28 July, 2011 16:34

Tags: consumer electronics, financial results, business issues, sony

First Windows "Mango" Phone unveiled

The first smartphone based on the new "Mango" edition of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform was unveiled on Wednesday in Tokyo.

By Martyn Williams | 27 July, 2011 16:28

Tags: Mango, WP7 Mango, Windows Phone Mango, smartphones, Microsoft, KDDI, Fujitsu, consumer electronics

Toyota system can sense pedestrians, avoid accidents

Toyota has developed a safety system that can automatically stop a car in the moments before a collision with a pedestrian.

By Martyn Williams | 22 July, 2011 19:17

Tags: Toyota Motor, industry verticals, Automotive

World Tech Update, July 22, 2011

World Tech Update

DDoS attack in March likely North Korean work, says McAfee

The cyber attacks that paralyzed a handful of major South Korean websites earlier this year were almost certainly carried out by North Korea or parties allied with the country, computer security company McAfee said in a report.

By Martyn Williams | 06 July, 2011 15:53

Tags: security, mcafee, intrusion, Exploits / vulnerabilities

Sony to complete global resumption of PlayStation Network

Sony will fully restore PlayStation Network service to users in Japan this week, ending a two-and-a-half month suspension of service, and bringing to a close an embarrassing incident that began with the largest known loss of customer information by a company.

By Martyn Williams | 04 July, 2011 17:02

Tags: sony, security, psp, PS3, online services, intrusion, Handhelds, games, Game platforms, data breach

Ricoh to acquire Pentax, set sights on digital SLR market

Japan's Ricoh plans to acquire Pentax as part of a push to get into the digital single-lens reflex camera market, it said Friday.

By Martyn Williams | 01 July, 2011 18:10

Tags: pentax, digital cameras, consumer electronics, business issues, Hoya, ricoh

Japan's gaming market sinks 16 per cent in first half

Japan's console and portable gaming market sank 16 per cent in the first six months of the year as new software failed to make a splash and sales of hardware fell, according to data released on Thursday.

By Martyn Williams | 30 June, 2011 12:56

Tags: Xbox360, wii, square enix, Sony Computer Entertainment, psp, PS3, nintendo ds, Nintendo, Microsoft, Handhelds, game software, games, Game platforms, Enterbrain, capcom

Sony's Qriocity back everywhere except Japan

Sony began restoring full service on its Qriocity entertainment network to users in most countries on Thursday, a month and a half after the service was forced offline by a hack of its servers.

By Martyn Williams | 09 June, 2011 12:40

Tags: Sony Computer Entertainment, sony, security, intrusion, entertainment, data breach, consumer electronics

Google establishes Chrome OS center in Taipei

Google has established a software engineering center in Taipei to work with Asian laptop makers on computers running its Chrome OS, a Google executive said Tuesday.

By Martyn Williams | 31 May, 2011 19:21

Tags: Linux, non-Windows, operating systems, Google, computex

Sandisk updates SSD line with SATA III models

Sandisk has updated its line of solid-state drives (SSDs) for tablet and portable computers with models that feature higher performance.

By Martyn Williams | 31 May, 2011 11:04

Tags: storage, SSD, sandisk, Drives, computex