If you've been keeping up with the news, then you probably already know that the PSP Portable Copy will only be arriving late this year. If you can't wait that long you might want to check out Sony's BDZ-A70 Blu-Ray recorder which allows users to transfer video content from their televisions to their PSPs. Head on over to the full article for more details.

Looks like Sony's upping up the ante in the music industry, right after Blu-ray's victory too. The entertainment bigwig has just announced the latest in its Walkman product line: the NWZ-A820, which doesn't just play MP3s and videos, but has Bluetooth functionality as well. More details in the full article.

We've been blown away with Sony's press conference about their new HDNA products, and they still have a lot of ammo to feed the waiting presses. Sony presents the newer additions to their plethora of mobile gadgets, such as the cute Rolly and the new Sony mylo. More details in the full article.

In a move reminiscent of Apple's campaign to help fight AIDS, Sony has shown support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by releasing limited-edition pink versions of some of its products.

Proceeds from sales of eligible Sony products will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Here's a list of eligible products as well as how much of their cost will be donated:

• US$ 75 from the sale of each VGN-CR290EAP VAIO CR Series notebook
• US$ 10 from the sale of each NWZ-A816PNK Walkman Video MP3 Player
• US$ 10 from the sale of each DVP-FX810/P Portable DVD Player

Breast Cancer Awareness Month lasts all October. If you're looking to purchase a notebook, a Walkman or a portable DVD player, check out the items listed above. You could end up saving lives.

If you're tired of the overly complicated, ultra high-end portable musical devices of today, the new Sony Walkman NWD-B100 may just be the thing for you. Ease of use and functionality gave been the primary considerations here and it's showing in this model.

Even if you aren't much of a techie, the drag and drop file transfer makes it easy even for the most novice of users. It can also be set to automatically copy media files from your PC, making it very effortless to load up on all your favorite tunes.

Another nice feature is that it has a colored 3-line display which gives you a user-friendly interface that enables you to browse through all your files with ease. Voice recording is available if you think your voice sounds cool and an FM tuner built into the device can also be channeled to the recorder to allow you to listen to all the radio programs you love again and again.

And don't worry about the sound quality. Sony assures you that its mini hi-fi technology is there and delivering the goods for the best cacophonous experience possible on a portable device.

Many have tried, but no challenger has so far even dented the dominance of the Apple iPod in the MP3 player arena. This time, it's Sony's turn to step into the ring with the uber-popular gadget with its Walkman video player called the A800. Does it have the mettle to stack up to the champ? Let's have a look:

The A800 plays music with the patented Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) which makes listening a richer experience by restoring the little nuances that get lost when MP3 files are created and compressed. This makes for a more CD-quality experience. On the video side, MPEG 4 is supported along with the codec of AVC Baseline formats.

The screen measures two inches and the display can be viewed either horizontally or vertically. The lithium-ion rechargeable battery is said to last 30 hours with music playback and some 8 hours with video. It comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities with four color schemes-pink, violet, black, and white. Projected retail price ranges from US$ 299 to US$ 499, depending on storage capacity.

Sony, the company that introduced the Walkman to the world in 1984, has introduced yet another addition to their line of portable and wearable music players: the Sony S2 Sports Walkman.

Aimed at an audience of sports-minded consumers who like their music at the gym, the track, or their yoga mat, the S2 Sports Walkman Series makes use of Sony's G-Sensor technology coupled with the Music Pacer feature. Because your Walkman can sense the speed of your movements, it will then try to keep up with you by automatically switching to your personal walking or running playlist that matches your pace.

Besides being an MP3 player, the S2 Sports Walkman also comes with an FM tuner that takes note of your most-visited stations so that you can easily find them.

Another nifty feature would be the fact that it also allows you to tune in to not only FM and AM radio stations, but to TV stations as well. True, you can't watch your favorite soap while running a lap since the S2 only comes with a one-line OEL display, but you can listen to your show and you'll never wonder what the heck happened the next time that you do manage to catch the show on the tube. On top of that, it's also beneficial to people who want to get healthy but can't get out of the house for fear of missing the next espisode of CSI, as there is now no excuse not to go to the gym.

Light, sleek and tough, the S2 is about the size of a lipstick tube and is water resistant. It has an aluminum body and can operate for hours on a single AAA battery. Other goodies in the package include a stop watch, split and pitch timer that lets you record your times, as well as an armband and a belt clip to keep your hands free. This little darling can be ordered directly from the Sony website, and currently retails for $120 to $150.

Useful and fun - who said that jocks can't be smart? They obviously haven't seen the S2 Sports Walkman yet.

Japan gave the world the benefit of years of experience in being innovative and wacky. They brought us things like the Walkman, the Super Nintendo, extremely cute (and underaged) bikini models, a miniature prince rolling around a ball of condensed gravity to suck up the whole galaxy, and teams of teens in spandex costumes fighting monsters in their giant robot. Just when you thought they couldn't offer anything stranger, it looks as if we have something else to thank them for.

The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is researching on ways to make their train stations more environment-friendly. To do that, they're trying to turn human power into electricity for the station.

How?

They're testing a system that produces electricity every time someone passes through a station's ticket gates. If the system works, it should take care of part of the station's electrical needs, lessening the overall consumption of electricity through power plants.

The gate system works through a process known as piezoelectricity, where voltage is created as a result of mechanical stresses such as pressing or squeezing. In this case, piezo elements are installed into the floor at ticket gates, generating electricity as people step on the piezo elements.

While the technology is still in it's development stages, there are a variety of ways it can be used in the future. With a proper means for storing the generated power, it can serve as a good backup generator unit for the train station during blackouts. At the same time, it can also be used to measure the number of commuters going through the station at any time.

It seems like the system is far from being completed, but it's definitely a worthwhile system to develop for public use. Just imagine how much electricity you can harness, for instance, in one day of operation on all of New York's subway system, and it almost feels like an inexhaustible power source. Let's hope it turns out well.

Who wouldn't forget the good old Walkman you used to tote around with when you were younger? Back then, it seemed as if it was THE gadget. Since its release in 1979, Sony has been riding the waves of success.

Now that Sony has turned 60 this year, writer Yuri Kageyama poses this question: Is Sony losing its magic touch? According to Kageyama, Sony seems focused on producing ultra-luxurious products that are conforming less and less to consumers' wants and needs.

One such example was the Qualia line of luxury products released three years ago, which included a "$3,300 digital camera and a $13,000 audio console that automatically centered a compact disc regardless of how carelessly it was tossed into the player." Kageyama says that products such as those widen the gap between Sony and consumers. It seems that consumers are more after practicality than luxury, even if the said products were made by an established name in the business.

However, if you go by the numbers, Sony hasn't entirely lost the plot. In fact, this year, things are looking up for the Japanese company - they earned $276 million for its first fiscal quarter, not a spectacular figure but still a turnaround from their $65.2 million loss last year. Also, Sony President Ryoji Chubachi believes that their TV sets and portable music players are still number one. To ensure this, revamps were made, such as bringing Apple's Tim Schaff to develop its software, and cooperating with Samsung Electronics to work on light crystal displays for TV sets.

Moreover, Sony is now lending an ear to its consumers (which resulted to pulling out the Qualia line) and maintains a "full scope of its business."  With its motto, "Sony United," the company strives for more inter-connectivity with its other departments, a lesson learned after a mishap with the production of its digital music player (which initially supported ATRAC3 files instead of the MP3 format, which doesn't have protection against illicit copying) which could have been prevented if the software designers maintained strong communication lines with the product designers.

So is Sony still the king in the biz? We really can't tell just yet. How about you, what do you think?

If your old Walkman is just gathering dust in one corner of your room, then you might consider turning it into a more useful device, say a guitar distortion pedal? If you're a guitar player, I'm pretty sure I've gotten your attention. So grab that walkman and do the following steps:

Step 1: Resurrect your walkman. Get new guitar jacks.


Step 2: Remove buttons and the motor

The rest of the steps await after the jump!