So what happened to Sony’s 27″ OLED television?
In May 2008, chairman and chief executive Sir Howard Stringer said that, within the next twelve months, Sony would launch a 27″ television based on OLED – organic light emitting diode – technology.
More than twelve months later, with no 27″ version released and Sony showing only 21″ prototypes, it’s time to ask what happened. Read more
So which factories will Sony close?
The restructuring that Sony announced on Tuesday – 8,000 job losses plus another 8,000 temporary workers, with five or six factory closures – has been criticised as light on specifics. The goal is to save Y100bn in the 2010 financial year, but there is no estimate of the cost, and little detail on which factories will close.Until Sony makes its intentions clear, all of its factory employees will feel under threat, but a few more details have now emerged. Read more
Capcom goes to the movies
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHhBQJ4gYE[/youtube]
One Namco Bandai engineer I spoke to had a decided view on this year’s Tokyo Game Show: “Capcom were the winners.” Read more
A great little game at a great big show
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uToBarLr_U[/youtube]
If this was the Tokyo Game Show without the general public then there are going to be crush injuries on Saturday. Read more
Mobile phones that fall apart
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amVqnCw55n4[/youtube]
This week’s CEATEC show in Tokyo showed that, while the Japanese mobile handset market may be in a slump, it is still the world’s most innovative. Read more
The joys of magnetic tape
Obsolete technologies such as film never die, they just go back to the lab to reincarnate in a new application.
Films and tapes are rapidly going the way of the dodo: audio tape was wiped out by compact disc, DVD has all but finished the video cassette, and digital cameras are hunting down the last few surviving models that use film. But the businesses that perfected magnetic tape and photographic film are still around – although sometimes in reduced circumstances – and they are busy thinking of new ways to use the stuff. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
