Sony rebuilds distribution centre

In the London riots of 2011 Sony's Enfield distribution centre was burnt down, but now after a year Sony have rebuilt the centre and enlarged it. The centre is operated by Sony DADC (a wholly owned subsidiary) and can hold 1.2m items and send out 55,000 items per day (which ship to 20,000 retail outlets).

Though the centre opened on Sept 14th, it will be completely working in time for Christmas which is Sony's peak time and accounts for 50% of annual revenues.

25% of all Sony's UK stock (of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays) were destroyed in the fire last summer which was devastating to the local community. All the jobs were maintained.

The new centre is over 326,00 feet and 6ft taller than the old building.

Sony have also opened a new distribution centre in Rathbone Place (central London) on the 12th of September to cope with increased demand.

New Sony Xperia models

Sony have announced the Sony Xperia S, P, U (and Ion and LTE model).

The Xperia S is the thigh end, P middle and U consumer phone.

The S has a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and 3d graphics accelerated GPU with Bravia and 32GB of storage. The display is HD and uses LED/LCD to produce an amazing display which very high contrast and bright colours. It also has the usual features of 3 axis accelerometer, gyroscope etc with WiFi and Bluetooth. When attached via HDMI to a SmartTV, the phone can be controlled through the TV remote, accessing all the phones connectivity functions and for viewing Full HD at 1080p resolution.

The P has a slightly less powerful CPU and less storage though still displays HD content. When connected to a TV it only supports Dh at 720p resolution.

Sony also announced the SmartWatch which connects to Sony's phones. Sony has pre-installed the SmartWatch app as standard, but the SmartWatch can connect to any Android phone by downloading the app from Android Marketplace. It has an OLED touch screen display and a metal surround. Various (coloured) straps are available for the watch, though it can removed and clipped onto a belt (or equivalent).

It has many features

* Find your phone - will cause the phone to ring, even if the phone is in silent mode.

* If the watch loses connection with the phone (i.e. say the phone is being stolen) it will buzz 3 times.

* It support social media streams and these can be viewed and simple actions taken (like retweeting) by touching the relevant part of the screen.

* It shows the time (taken from the phone).

* The Android App support plug-ins allowing mini-apps to be run on the SmartWatch.

Now Sony have lost Ericcson, they've gone back to making very pretty phones and the Xperia S has the potential to be a real contender the iPhone.

The Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative to secure mobile devices

Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, SanDisk, Sony and Toshiba have teamed up to form the The Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative which will put DRM (Digital Rights Management) on to mobile devices and memory.

This should allow content providers to put their content on mobile devices securely, allowing Blu-ray HD films to be copied on to a mobile device and played.

The system uses public key infrastructure to ensure robust copy protection.

If they achieve their aims, then the technology should be available on Flash memory such as SD Cards and on Google's Android, connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

Sony Ericsson drops Ericsson for €1.05

Sony Ericsson is departing ways with Ericsson and Ericsson is being paid €1.05bn for the privilege. Sony will incorporate the phone division into it's networking and connected devices devision and will retain IP rights.

The partnership was formed 10 years ago with Sony and Ericsson owning an equal 50% stake, both had declining phone divisions. In the 10 years the market has progressed to smartphones and Sony has incorporated technologies from other divisions into the phones themselves such as their Cybershot cameras and Playstation Portable.

Ericsson were a world leader in cellular radio systems, but much of the handset radio technology is now available from established chip vendors so Ericsson's value to SE is less.

Sony will now continue to drive the smartphone market but as part of Sony Corporation directly.

AT&T go plastic

Plastic Logic makers of eInk technologies have done a deal with Barnes and Noble to supply their eBook store. AT&T will supply connectivity.

The unnamed Plastic Logic eReader will be in direct competition with Amazon's Kindle which is doing very well.

When will these devices come to Europe? The main eReader available in the UK is still the Sony unit.

SonyEricsson contribute to Sony's revenues

SonyEricsson profits have increased by 47% will revenue has increased by over 100%. This is due to their Walkman and Cybershot range of phones.

Sony must welcome the added revenues.