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News

• Sony e-reader users gain free access to classics via Google

  Sony Electronics Inc. said users of its two e-book readers can now access more than 500,000 free public domain classic books from Google Inc. through the Sony eBook Store.

• Cameras and phones kick off March

  We're already a quarter of the way into 2009 and the gadgets are coming thick and fast despite the recession that is gripping many countries. This month it was time for new digital cameras with the PMA show in the U.S. and a couple of follow-ups from Panasonic and Sony in their CES announcements from back in January.

• PlayStation 3 Has to Suffer, Signals Sony Boss

  Sony Europe's David Reeves is almost refreshing at a time when refreshing's in short supply. In an intriguing shift from the standard "everything's coming up roses" mantra, Reeves reflects on the company's third quarter losses of US$204m by telling The Guardian the company "simply [has] to suffer a little.

• Sony sees Q3 sales drop, but reports a small profit

  Sony's sales during the last three months of 2008 dropped by 25 percent due to the slowing world economy and strengthening Japanese yen, but the company still managed to keep its head above water thanks to an exceptional gain from foreign exchange.

• Sharp, Sony postpone LCD joint venture plans

  Sharp and Sony have decided to delay the targeted start of a joint-venture LCD (liquid crystal display) production and sales venture.

• Sony sees Q3 sales drop, but reports a small profit

  Sony's sales during the last three months of 2008 dropped by 25 percent due to the slowing world economy and strengthening Japanese yen, but the company still managed to keep its head above water thanks to an exceptional gain from foreign exchange.

• Sony stock slides 7 percent on loss forecast

  The morning after Sony said it expects to report its first net loss in 14 years, shares in the consumer electronics company slid 7 percent.

• Sony eyes innovative mobile products to beat slump

  Sony CEO Howard Stringer hinted on Thursday that the company has a number of new mobile devices in the pipeline.

• Sony slashes forecasts as global downturn hits home

  Sony revealed on Thursday the extent to which the global economic downturn is hurting its business, as it slashed its annual sales forecast by US$15 billion, reversed a forecast profit to a loss and readied its domestic workforce for job cuts.

• Report: Sony to shut Japan TV plant, cut financial forecast

  Sony will disclose on Thursday how a restructuring plan announced in December will hit its domestic operations in Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported Thursday morning.

• Sony Refreshes Bravia HDTV Line

  Sony Electronics showed off its latest high-definition televisions Wednesday. The new HDTV models reflect the company's emphasis on improved color reproduction, fast 240Hz refresh rates, and Internet connectivity.

• Sony's latest Cybershot packs Wi-Fi for picture uploads

  Sony unveiled the latest addition to its Cybershot digital still camera on Thursday. The DSC-G3 "Wi-Fi Cybershot" camera has a built-in browser, and through it users can upload pictures and video right after they are taken.

• Report: Sony to report operating loss this year

  Sony is set to report an operating loss for the current fiscal year, only the second since it listed on the Tokyo stock market in 1958, according to a report in the Tuesday morning edition of The Nikkei business daily.

• Sony Vaio P: A First Look

  Sony's new Vaio P netbook made its debut in Las Vegas at CES. It's a diminutive 1.4-pound miniturized laptop with an 8-inch 1600-by-768 resolution screen. I was among the lucky few to get my hands on a pre-production evaluation unit from Sony. In the short time that I've used it so far, here's what I like and dislike about the P.

• Toshiba shows its first TransferJet prototypes

  The first prototypes from Toshiba based on TransferJet, a short-range, high-speed wireless data transmission system intended as a replacement for cables, are on show at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.