PS3 movie lovers have been waiting a long time for Video On Demand (VOD) content to be available, and now Sony have rewarded their patience with the announcement that VOD services will be available from November this year.

Speaking at the GamesCom in Cologne, the newly appointed President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Andrew House, informed the packed conference yesterday that “PlayStation is becoming the home of entertainment from games to music channels, from creative platforms to virtual pets. The addition of the PlayStation Network video delivery service for PS3 and PSP provides a simple way for PlayStation owners to access movie content and enjoy the latest blockbuster whenever and wherever they choose.”

Although the service will only offer movies initially, it is expected to expand to include local content over time.

Sony also put the all the rumours regarding a slimmer and cheaper design to bed by making it official. Available from September at £249.50, the new 120 GB PS3 is about two-thirds the size of the original console, with a reduced power consumption of two-thirds.

For those eagerly awaiting the launch of a larger OLED TV by Sony, it seems that a level of patience will be required as this will not happen now until at least 2010.

According to a recent leak to the Wall Street Journal, Sony will instead refocus their attention to producing more LCD TVs, particularly the budget entry level market.

Sony was the first company to launch a commercial OLED TV with the $2,500(!) 11 inch XEL-1 in 2007, instigating the popularity of OLED prototypes at electronic trade shows.

The Wall Street Journal speculated that this move may give rivals Samsung and LG more time to release their own lower priced OLED HDTVs. In fact, LG have already announced that they have a 15 inch OLED TV in production which is due for release in December this year, with 32 inch OLED TVs available by 2012.

Recently, there has been increasingly growing speculation that a new streamlined and cheaper PlayStation 3 will soon be available.

Sony, who are due to make an announcement at this years Gamescom conference in Cologne tomorrow, have so far dismissed talks of a reduction in price as just rumours and speculation.

However, one wonders if the fact that retailers have been struggling to replenish their stocks of the current PlayStation 3 console is an indication that a slimline version is on its way.

Rumours are also surrounding the Xbox too, US technology sites recently revealed a shake up of the company’s pricing structure and Microsoft may lower the price of the Xbox 360 – it is thought the Elite console with 120GB hard drive will be reduced by £60 to £170.

Whether these are only rumours or true will be revealed very soon!

What are your thoughts on the current costs for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? 

Ever had an occasion where something funny or moving has happened and you wish you caught it on camera? Well, wish no more as Sony have yet again have come up trumps with their forward thinking technology.

The Sony Party-shot IPT-DS1 is digital camera dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees, automatically adjusts composition and takes photos for you!

Sony refer to this as a “personal photographer” and its easy to see why. You can control the pan angle range, movement speed, shooting frequency and flash mode, the Intelligent Scene Recognition, Face Detection and Smile Shutter ensures your pictures are of smiley happy people.

The Party-shot digital camera dock is currently compatible with Sony’s new Cybershot cameras – the DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1. Pricing information is not yet available for the UK, but this innovative conversational party piece is available for around $150 in the US.

Does this sound like a great idea to you? Or, do you prefer to decide for yourself the moments you wish to capture?

Yet again, Sony have upped their technological game and have added two extremely impressive HD Camcorders to their range. In fact, Sony seem very pleased with themselves and are quite happy to claim that the ‘best ever’ picture quality can be achieved.

The CX520VE and CX505VE HD Camcorders do pack an impressive punch, the Exmor R CMOS sensor reduces image noise for clearer images and works well in conjunction with the BIONZ processor technology – great results can now be achieved no matter what the lighting conditions.

The SteadyShot Active Mode is great for eliminating those notorious shaky camcorder moments, the audio is taken care of nicely with Dolby Digital 5.1 included and the GPS geo-tagging is a nice little touch.

Both cameras can be connected to an HD LCD TV and have an editing system included for you to create a ‘best bits’ reel. The two HD camcorders are very similar with the only difference being the size of the memory – the CX520VE has 64GB while the CX505VE has 32GB.

No news yet of pricing or availability but we will keep you informed!

In an attempt to show the versatility of Blu-ray, Sony Picture Home Entertainment announced last week a new application called MovieIQ which is part of their BD Live feature.

This handy feature has been described as “wikipedia for movies” and is a database that provides on demand information regarding anything in the movie being watched from actors to background music. This is guaranteed to appeal to all movie lovers.

In order to access this information, an internet connection and a BD Live enabled blu-ray disc are required to enjoy continuously updated information such as trivia and more. Upcoming blu-ray disc titles released in September including Angels & Demons, Easy Rider, The Quick and the Dead will feature the MovieIQ technology.

Lexine Wong, Senior Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment said "….We know many people interrupt their movie-watching experience to look up the filmography of an actor or to find out more about a song playing in the background. Now through MovieIQ, movie lovers can dive into constantly-updated information about the movie they are watching without leaving their sofa, further enhancing the experience of watching movies in this always-connected age."

Source & Picture: Engadget

Sony Ericsson has launched the outdoor MS500 wireless speaker.

The company says the ‘superior sound quality and cool design of the MS500 will impress all your friends’.

And I’m inclined to agree, the speaker looks very sleek and would look great during the summer at the beach or a barbecue.

The MS500 speaker is available in orange, black, white and pink, and is designed for the outdoors with a durable splashproof shell and a strap, for attaching to a bag or the like.

But does the sound quality of this gadget match up to the look??

The Sony Ericsson speaker is powered by two AA batteries, which they claim allows for 5 hours of playback.

Measuring at 113 x 83 x 45mm, the speaker weighs 155 grams and can pump out 2 Watts worth of sound.

So that would be a yes I suppose, but I would like to try the speaker out for myself to ensure sound quality.

With Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, users can stream music from their phone as well as control the playback and volume.

What do you think, will you be rushing out to buy this trendy little speaker??