All Things Technology and Green – with views on the metaverse, environment, and privacy
It was announced today that Sony Corporation will launch nearly 75 recycling centers throughout the US. Individuals can recycle Sony products for free and other branded electronics for a fee. Certainly a good sign that corporate America is becoming more environmentally responsible as consumer electronics and computers have become a significant waste problem.
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Sony announced yesterday that it is going to launch TVs with a new organic electroluminescent screen by year’s end. The screens have self-luminscent properties because of its organic nature, this require less power the traditional LCD because they don’t use a backlight. Also the screen is thinner as well (3 millimeters), thus less overall materials used. Good sign by large corporations making innovative enhancements that are environmentally friendly, economically smart (as more consumers will likely be interested if the product is equivalent to traditional LCDs) and socially acceptable.
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Sony will be launching a new Wi-Fi personal communication device this September targeted at the youth market.
It will provide IM, email, music/video and Internet access via Wi-Fi. The Mylo’s easy ‘out of the box’ experience (preloaded with Google Talk, Skype and Yahoo Messenger) and no initial monthly service contract will likely be very appropriate for the youth market.
How will the DVD format war play out between Sony’s Blue-ray technology and Toshiba’s HD-DVD? While Sony has put together some powerful partners, such as Samsung and Panasonic, it’s costs are nearly twice as much. Let’s hope Sony does not have a repeat Betamax performance..
With the news that the Sony PS3 will be out in November, this should give Sony, once again, the edge in the video world. With integrated Blue-ray, new controller, WiFi, Bluetooth, CD/DVD player, Dolby sound functionality and support for USB, Memory stick, SD and CompactFlash – I can’t wait til the product comes out. Lets hope it does.
The big concern for Sony, I believe, will be the pricing. $599 for a 60GB hard drive seems pretty steep for the average consumer. Time will tell.
