Sony CEO accidentally tells us that the iPhone 5 will have 8MP camera from Sony!

Sony CEO Howard Stringer just made a huge slip-up by telling us that the iPhone 5 will probably have an 8MP camera from Sony! When being interviewed by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, he said

"Shipments of camera lenses to Apple have been delayed by the Japan earthquake."

Sony shipping camera lenses to Apple? OmniVision Technologies has been the sole supplier for cameras on Apple's iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches. So, this shipment must be for an upcoming product, most likely the iPhone 5. Or maybe they're thinking about getting a camera on the iPad 2 with better resoloution than 1.3MP... I hope! This does, however, coincide with a report made in April 2010 that the 2011 iPhone would have an 8MP camera. Also note that Apple filed a patent for a 3D camera on the iPhone... see post "Later iPhones to have 3D camera?"

Sony to make a Chrome OS laptop and a Hybrid PC laptop!

Looks like Sony has two PCs in the making- a Chrome OS laptop and a Hybrid PC laptop! The Chrome OS notebook will be modeled after the CR-48. It will have a 11.6" screen, a Tegra 2 GPU, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of flash storage. Sony is aiming for 8 hrs of battery and a feather-light 2.2 lbs.

As for the Hybrid PC, this will be very thin and light. It will even get 8-16 hrs of battery, despite using a Core i7 processor! The computer will also have a Thunderbolt port and an SSD.

Sony to make a dual-screen Android Clamshell!

We have another Sony rumor... they will be making a dual-screen Android clamshell. The designing slightly reminds me of the BiPhone I invented, and also of a dual-screen tablet idea that I didn't release (that'll come soon!). It will have a pair of 5.5" displays. When closed, it will look like an oval cylinder. This clamshell will run on Android (though not Honeycomb), will have a Tegra 2 processor, Wi-Fi, and 3G. An unknown source reports seeing a prototype running Gmail. The list of messages was on one screen and the selected message was on the other. Apparently, Google Maps will have the map on one screen, and either the directions or street view on the other screen. The price will be $700.

Sony to make a PlayStation certified tablet!

Wow! Yet more Sony rumors! Sony is making a PlayStation certified tablet! They are one of the few consumer electronics companies without a tablet. This tablet will feature a 9.4" screen and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). It will be focused on Qrocity, music, games, ebooks, and a video on demand service. It will even have a Tegra 2 processor and 1-2 USB ports! No word on the price yet...

The Sony PSP2, a 4-core, 5" OLED touchscreen, SIXAXIS controls, 3G connecting powerhouse is here.

The Sony PSP2 has arrived under the code name NGP (Next Generation Portable). In my opinion, it will be better than the Nintendo 3DS. It features a 5" OLED touchscreen (comparison: an iPod Touch only has a 3.5" screen, and the biggest smartphone screen is 4.3"). The specs are truly remarkable: a quad-core Cortex A9 processor paired with a quad-core PowerUR SGX534MP4+ GPU. Sony claims it will be as powerful as the PS3! I wonder how long the battery can last, powering such a big screen and such powerful processors. Probably not too long. It also has 3G internet connection, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi. That allows you to login, see who's playing what games around you, view the highscores in a certain area, and even connect with other gamers. You can also browse the web using its beautiful 5" screen. That screen has 1080p resoloution, 4x higher than on previous PSPs. Another new thing on this PSP will be a rear touch panel. This takes up as much space as the screen, and can respond to multiple fingers at once. If you touch a spot on the rear touch panel, it will register on the same spot on the screen. In a demo, the rear touchpad was used to fling beach balls in the air. The PSP2 even adds SIXAXIS controls, allowing for motion gaming found only in iPod Touches and some smartphones. For those who like the regular gaming style, there's still a D-Pad, a 4-button cross layout as well as left and right shoulder triggers. When the PSP2 arrives by Christmas 2011, it certainly shall be a HUGE hit. But, how about the price tag?

The Sony PSP2!

Nintendo, your 3DS is getting some competition! (see post "The Nintendo 3DS!") On January 27th, Sony should reveal the PSP2. This will offer a larger OLED touchscreen. That touchscreen should appeal to phone/iPod Touch gamers. It will also support 3G data supplied by NTT DoCoMo. My opinion, however, is that as of now, the iPod Touch remains the best portable gaming system. This is because the games are ridiculously cheap ($5 vs. $40), and it has other fun features like HD video recording, a 5MP camera, FaceTime video chatting, and Game Center. Sony and Nintendo are both trying to take over the iPod Touch. Will they? That will solely depend on the PSP2 and Nintendo 3DS.