Sony introduces six devices that are all Google Cast for Audio ready
On Monday, Google launched Cast for Audio. It allows users to mirror audio content to speakers and other multimedia devices. As a launch partner, Sony has introduced six devices that are all Cast for Audio ready.
Hit the break for a description of each. Click here for our full CES 2015 coverage.
Sony Premium Hi-Res Bluetooth Speaker (SRX99)
- Sophisticated sound with 154 Watts digital amplification
- Seven speakers for immersive sound (45 Hz to 40 kHz)
- Dual passive radiators and Magnetic Fluid Speaker for incredible sound
- DSEE HX and ClearAudio+ technology deliver rich sound
- Bluetooth audio streaming with AAC and aptX support
Sony Premium Hi-Res Bluetooth Speaker (SRSX88)
- Sophisticated sound with 90 Watts digital amplification
- Expand your listening with powerful multi-room capability
- Enjoy endless music entertainment with Google Cast for audio
- Stream music wirelessly w/Bluetooth & NFC connections
- Wi-Fi audio streaming with DLNA and AirPlay support
Sony Hi-Res 7.1 Sound Bar w/Wireless Subwoofer (HT-ST9)
- 7.1 channel sound bar w/wireless subwoofer
- Expand your listening with powerful multi-room capability
- Coaxial left, right, and center speakers for Hi-Res sound
- HDMI with HDCP 2.2 for copyright protected content
- Easy set up with 3 HDMI in/1 out and ARC support
Sony Hi-Res 2.1 Sound Bar w/Wireless Subwoofer (HT-NT3)
- 170W 2.1ch TV sound system w/integrated dual subwoofer
- Stream content wirelessly with Bluetooth & NFC connections
- Single HDMI TV Connection with inputs for 3 HDMI devices
- Elevated chassis designed for strong bass performance
- Elegant glass finish supports up to 66 lbs & 55″ TVs
- Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats
Sony 7.2 Ch Hi-Res Wi-Fi Network A/V Receiver (STR-DN1060)
- 7.2 Ch. 1155W A/V Receiver (165 W x 7 @ 6 ohms, 1 kHz, THD 0.9%)
- Optimized chassis and internal circuitry for incredible audio performance
- Built-in Wi-Fi with DLNA and AirPlay capability
- Enhanced usability via rich GUI and streamlined remote
- Supports high-resolution file playback via LAN, HDMI, and USB
Sony 7.2 Ch Hi-Res Wi-Fi Network A/V Receiver (STR-DN860)
- 7.2 Channel 1050W A/V Receiver (150W x 7 @ 6 ohms, 1 kHz, THD 0.9%)
- Optimized components and circuitry for fine-tuned audio response
- Built-in Wi-Fi with DLNA and AirPlay capability
- Enhanced usability via rich GUI and streamlined remote
- Supports high-resolution file playback via HDMI
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Sony announces the Walkman-ZX2 for audiophiles
Sony announced the Walkman-ZX2, and yes it will be expensive. The price is expected to be $1200 dollars when it is released this Spring. Most of you who read this will automatically think that price is crazy, but that is because you’re probably not an audiophile. This Walkman is clearly not for the general consumer, it is for the person who loves music in it’s truest form, the audiophile.
2014 was a great year for vinyl sales, as vinyl saw a 52% jump in sales from 2013. Vinyl records are known to have excellent sound reproduction, which is something we lose and don’t appreciate when we compress music for streaming over WiFi or cellular.
It’s not out of the question for many people to drop $300 dollars on a set of Beats headphones or Bose Quiet Comforts, but audiophiles have little issue spending $500-1500 on headphones alone, and that’s just for one set of headphones. Many audiophiles have droves of headphones all for different listening experiences. What good are expensive headphones if your source is mediocre? And that’s why Sony released the Walkman-ZX2. Cell phones and streaming devices aren’t good enough for audiophiles and there are only a small handful of ‘premium’ audio devices which are also expensive but lack a good user interface.
The Walkman-ZX2 will run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which we already know is a couple years old, but we also to know it to be stable with a pleasant interface. Android is a huge bonus over the software developed for those other high-end audio devices. It will also have a digital amplifier, as premium headphones usually require more power to drive the drivers, 128GB of built-in memory for those large uncompressed files, as well as a micro-sd card slot. The ZX2 will also have WiFi and a large battery that provides up to 60-hours of playback.
The NW- ZX2 supports digital music files up to 192 kHz/24 bit and compatible file formats are MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV and ALAC including DSD.
Technical Specifications
| NW-ZX2 | |
| Memory capacity | 128 GB |
| External memory | microSD (card not included) |
| Key features | High-Resolution Audio playback, S-Master HX Digital Amplifier, DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), ClearAudio+, Clear Bass, Equaliser, VPT, one-touch listening via NFC and Bluetooth® connectivity |
| Compatible audio formats | MP3, WMA1, FLAC (192KHz/24bit), Linear PCM (192KHz/24bit), WAV (192KHz/24bit), AAC-LC2, HE-AAC, Apple Lossless (192KHz/24bit), AIFF (192KHz/24bit), DSD (2.8MHz, 5.6MHz)*1: Copyright protected WMA files cannot be played back.*2: Copyright protected AAC-LC files cannot be played back |
| Battery life | MP3 up to 60 hours**(MP3 128kbps) |
| Hi-Res Audio 33 hrs**(FLAC 192kHz/24bit) | |
| Charging time | Approximately 4.5 hours |
| Operating platform | Android™ 4.2 |
| Display | 4.0 inch FWVGA (854×480) TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile |
| Communication mode | Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11b/g/n/a) |
| Bluetooth® | Bluetooth® (A2DP/AVRCP/OPP/HID/SPP)Supported Codec: SBC/LDAC |
| NFC | Yes |
| Included applications | Media Go (for Windows), Content Transfer for Mac (for Mac OS) |
| Dimensions | 65.1×131.2×18.5 mm (WxHxD, excluding max. protruding section) |
| Mass | Weight: Approx. 235 g |
| Accessories | USB cable, leather carrying case, spacer (headphones not included) |
The post Sony announces the Walkman-ZX2 for audiophiles appeared first on AndroidGuys.
MediaTek processor at heart of world’s first Ultra HD Android TV
MediaTek has been working with Google to port Android TV onto its MT5595 processor. The result is Sony’s latest generation of Bravia TVs, the world’s first Ultra HD TV platform running Android TV.
MediaTek’s MT5595 is a quad-core big.LITTLE SoC which includes two ARM Cortex-A17 cores and two ARM Cortex-A7 cores. The SoC also supports Google’s VP9 codec and the HEVC (H.265) codec, both of which are designed for 4K2K content streaming at 60 frames per second.
Consumers can watch movies from Google Play or cast their favorite entertainment from a mobile device to the Sony Ultra HD TV. The MT5595 also supports up to 4K2K streaming content.
We are very proud to stand alongside Sony in introducing the new Android TV device. The experience of Sony’s Android TV will set the standard for future smart televisions. This is a momentous occasion for MediaTek to be changing the way people watch TV with our strong partner, Sony.
Ching-Jiang Hsieh, President of MediaTek.
The MT5595 is a TV SoC and not only does it support 4K HEVC/VP9 at 60 frames per second, it also supports 4 x 2K HEVC/H.264 60 fps simultaneous decoding, as well as MediaTek’s ClearMotion technology for up-conversion of low-frame-rate videos. In terms of broadcasting it supports a large range of worldwide broadcasting standards including ATSC/DTMB/DVB/ISDB and HbbTV broadband.
Consumers can expect MediaTek-powered Sony Android TV devices to be commercially available by March 2015.
Sony announces lollipop update for Xperia Z3
Sony promised to update the Xperia Z3 to Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and it looks like they will keep their word. In their CES 2015 press conference, Sony announced that the rollout should start sometime in the next month. COO of Sony Electronics Michael Fasulo, didn’t get into specifics about the date or schedule, just promised the rollout would begin in the next month. This is definitely great news for those out there that own the Sony Xperia Z3.
Source CES 2015 and Android Central
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CES 2015: Sony says Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Sony Xperia Z3 is coming next month
Sony‘s CES 2015 campaign was perhaps less fruitful than in previous years, but owners of their current flagship device can breathe a sigh of relief as Sony announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Sony Xperia Z3 would be released next month. The announcement was made by Sony Electronics COO, Michael Fasulo, who punctuated a presentation which included relatively […]
The post CES 2015: Sony says Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Sony Xperia Z3 is coming next month appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Sony goes all in with Android TV for their 2015 Bravia Smart TVs
In what most are considering a huge victory, or at least a monstrous step forward for Android TV, Sony has committed to using the Google built platform for all of its Bravia line smart TVs in 2015.
The press conference packed CES 2015 launch day has been filled with all sorts of announcements from a large handful of the largest players in technology. Among these press events has been a lot of talk of the television set, and Sony was no exception.
Samsung had more than one TV on their stage, talking about the size, design and display quality, while they kept somewhat quiet about the fact that they were pushing forward with their own in-house operating system, Tizen, for their smart TVs. Sony went the opposite route, utilizing the Android based open option, built by Google.
Android TV is not Google’s first foray into smart TVs, and this is not the first time that Sony has committed to a Google TV platform, but this is the and largest commitment to the platform at this scale. Android TV was introduced at Google I/O back in June 2014. It has been slowly making its way forward from there, more recently launching the Nexus Player, an Android TV based set-top box.
Sony’s commitment with Android TV brings a bunch of awesome features to users as well. Including the power of the Google Play Store. Sony Bravia TV owners will be able to install their favorite Android games and so much more. Perhaps one of the best features will be the ability for Sony TVs to leverage built-in Google Cast functionality.
Google has seen much success with their Chromecast streaming device, and even announced an audio only hardware approach today. Best of all is the recent addition of full screen mirroring to the big screen for most devices.
We are loving what we are seeing so far out of Las Vegas and CES 2015, stay tuned for more coverage.
Does the addition of the Android TV OS make you want to look at a new Sony Bravia TV?
Sony’s new 128GB Hi-Res Walkman offers excellent audio, for a price
CES 2015 is well underway, at least the press releases are, with all the major players introducing great new products all day. Sony has a great selection of new and updated gear to be proud of, and on the personal audio front they have introduced a new 128GB Walkman Hi-Res Digital Music Player NW-ZX2.
The new Walkman is an Android powered device with a 4-inch TRILUMINOS touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC. That 128GB or internal storage is matched by a microSD expansion slot and battery life is projected at 60 hours while playing MP3 titles, down to 33 hours when playing Hi-res audio.
Audio support is an exhaustive list, including the most popular audio formats that are not protected by copyright. MP3 support runs the gamut of the audio type, with this 60 hours of battery expected with MP3 files at 128kbps. Hi-Res audio includes FLAC, Apple Lossless and AIFF running at up to 192Khz at 24bit.
In addition to the list of supported file types, Sony has highlighted a list of key features, including the S-Master HX digital amplifier, DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), ClearAudio+, Clear Bass, VPT, an equalizer and more. You are also open to install your favorite media player from the Google Play Store as well, thanks to it running Android as an OS.
By all accounts, Sony has a killer audiophile device here, but you aren’t going to buy the NW-SX2. Your favorite audiophile is probably not going to buy this unit either. Why, you ask? Let me explain.
In the world of Android, most devices strive to launch or update to the latest release of the OS. While this is usually pretty important for your phone or tablet, Sony has a different perspective when it comes to this Walkman NW-SX2, as the unit will ship with Android 4.2 Jellybean.
OK, Android Jellybean is something you may shake your head at and overlook, it isn’t a phone after all. I figured you might say that, so I saved my best argument for last. You and most people out there are not going to purchase the Sony Walkman NW-SX2 because of its price tag. Take a guess. Nope, higher. Higher. That’s right, the ‘best’ personal audio device that Sony has to offer will run you $1200.
Oh, and it does not come with headphones, you’ll need to buy those separately. Head on over to the Sony website for more details.
What do you say, does the iPod Touch, or your old Android device re-purposed as an MP3 player, have anything to worry about in the Sony Walkman NW-SX2?
CES 2015: The stainless steel Sony SmartWatch 3 has just been announced
One of the complaints of the Sony SmartWatch 3 at its launch was that while it was a nice simple device, it didn’t quite feel like it warranted a big investment like some of the flashier, subjectively better built wearables like the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R. Sony has addressed this complaint by today […]
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Android 5.0 Lollipop set to roll out to Sony Xperia Z3 next month
We already new that Sony would be bringing Android 5.0 Lollipop to the “core” Xperia Z2 and Z3 lines in early 2015, with the first whispers of this timeframe surfacing in October with Sony finally confirming the news in December. Up until now, the Japanese smartphone maker hasn’t been too specific on exactly when the Lollipop rollout will happen. Sony still hasn’t given us an exact date, but they have revealed the update will begin rolling out to the Xperia Z3 next month.
It’s unclear how much longer it will take for the update to reach other members of the Z3 and Z2 family, though it’s still nice to hear that Sony is committed to bringing Lollipop sooner rather than later. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we learn more specifics of their plans.
How do you feel about how Sony has handled its plans for Lollipop so far — about as expected, moving faster than you expected or somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments.
Sony Walkman brand lives on with the ZX2
The Walkman brand has existed for more than thirty-five years. And while it is not nearly as successful as it once was, Walkman still exists today. Tonight at its CES 2015 press conference, Sony introduced the Walkman ZX2. The device is bound to make audiophiles salivate. The Walkman ZX2 supports DSD, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and Apple Lossless among other types of audio. Aside from connecting to one of the device’s various ports, Sony allows for connecting speakers and headsets with Bluetooth and NFC connections.
For the people that want just a bit more than a music player, the Walkman ZX2 has full access to Google Play. The device is powered by Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Just remember that this is a music player first and foremost; therefore, performance to do anything else is completely up in the air. Set expectations low for playing games and browsing the web.
Sony will release the Walkman ZX2 in the coming months with a retail price exceeding $1,000. The price may be so high due to how much it caters to audio. Or it can be the design of the Walkman ZX2. It has a premium look and feel — the uniquely placed buttons on a curve, the textured rear, the headphone jack with a gold trim. And, unsurprisingly, the Walkman ZX2 has 128GB of internal storage that can be expanded since there is a microSD card slot.
Click here for our full CES 2015 coverage.
Come comment on this article: Sony Walkman brand lives on with the ZX2
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