Sony seems to be keeping rather busy because it’s been reported that they could unveil at least two handsets at an event to be held in July. One is said to be the rumored Sony Xperia i1 Honami, which for some reason has been mistaken for the Nexus 5 by some, and also the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which is said to go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, once released that is.

A recent leak has shown what is believed to be the new Xperia handset, and the source said the reason they believe this is actually for the i1 Honami is because the filename sent to them was honamiteaser, which kind of makes sense really. However, it’s easy to see why some people had believed up until now that this was in fact the Nexus 5 instead.

One reason why some people assumed this to be the Nexus 5 was because they did not feel that a handset with flagship hardware would become part of the Xperia range, as Sony already has that covered. There are already several handsets in this range, so why would they need another one?

The new handset cannot be a Nexus handset, as these are not known for having the most powerful hardware, that and the fact that brands like Sony will keep all the best tech for their flagship models, and so the i1 Honami could become the next Xperia flagship model.

Speaking of those specs, we should expect the so-called Sony Xperia i1 Honami to come with a 5-inch display, 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a 3,000 mAh battery, which kind of proves we are not looking at the Nexus 5.

Having said that, maybe Sony and Google could use this as the basis as the Nexus 5, considering LG will not be part of the next project with Google? Having said that, to add a little confusion to this, LG may already have a Nexus 5 prototype, so they could either be trying to take us off the scent, or as always, we should take such rumors for what they are?

You have seen Sony’s press conference live and the overwhelming positive feedback over used-game policies and a surprising $399 price point, which is cheaper than Microsoft’s $499 Xbox One. Now, we have an HD gallery of pictures for you to drool over, letting you see the sheer beauty of the new console up close and personal.

Sony had kept fans waiting since February to show the actual console in the flesh, and we’re actually pretty amazed that the company managed to keep the design a secret up until now – considering the infamous leaks in the past prior to E3 events. Now that the wedged box-like design has been unveiled, we have to say that the console is looking very slick indeed.

Like the Xbox One, Sony is using a black theme for their first design. However, the PS4 will differ by combining two boxes together whilst separating each one with a distinctive ridge in between. When the system is powered on, you’ll also notice a rather lovely blue neon light, which we’re assuming will look amazing when playing certain titles in the dark.

Sony has unveiled a HD gallery on the official blog, showing off the PS4 in a variety of angles for a detailed look at the console in the flesh. We’re also glad to see a photo of the PS4 back as well – just look how many vents there are this time, hopefully no chance of overheating and the YLOD which we saw on original PS3 launch models.

If you zoom into each individual image, you’ll be taken to the official PlayStation Flickr page, where you can download the images in various sizes and set them as wallpapers if you prefer. Have a look at the beautiful gallery for yourself and let us know what you think of the design.

Will you wait for a PS4 slim, or are you definitely buying this version at launch for $399? Are you a fan of the design or not – some feedback we’ve seen suggests that there is a lot of similarity with the PS2.

It has been a few hours since Sony’s monumental E3 press conference in Los Angeles. Now that the dust has somewhat settled, we can reflect on the event and pick out some of the key aspects. Aside from setting the record straight on used-game policies and a confirmed price for everyone, we notice that Sony are still unwilling to reveal the actual release date for when the Sony will be available to buy at retail.

At the company’s initial February PS4 reveal, Sony told the world that the PS4 would be available to buy sometime during the 2013 Holiday season in the US. Many consumers were expecting to hear an exact release date during Sony’s E3 2013 keynote a few hours ago, but it didn’t happen sadly.

It means that we are still left with the same 2013 Holiday bracket, but at least it looks like the Sony PS4 is definitely launching in this period in Europe as well – as it remained unclear before. Being holiday season, it also suggests that the PS4 will be available either over the Thanksgiving period, or within the first few weeks of December.

Luckily we still have the 2013 Tokyo Game Show to look forward to in September, where Sony will definitely be attendance. We now have a feeling that the release date will be revealed at this event, hopefully along with new IP announcements joining the very impressive looking The Order 1886.

We didn’t see too much of the brand new PS4 eye accessory as well which we are seeing a lot of in PS4 press photos. The Tokyo Game Show and the Eurogamer Expo could be locations where we will see live demonstrations on how it will specifically link with the new DualShock4 controller.

No release date for the PS4, but does it matter at this moment? We notice that most consumers are still in a state of shock upon hearing a $399 price point for the console, as well as no used-game restrictions unlike the Xbox One.

Sony has just wrapped up their hugely anticipated E3 2013 press conference, finally unveiling to the world what the console design will look like. There are a vast list of positives to come out of Sony’s event which we’ll focus on soon, but now we discuss the only negative aspect of Sony’s press conference – online multiplayer on PS4 will require a subscription to PS Plus.

Online gaming on the PS3 has remained free for many years, while Microsoft have always required Xbox 360 gamers to have a Gold subscription to play online. Now, with the transition over to PS4, it looks like Sony have finally made the decision to charge for online gaming.

To confirm, online multiplayer on the PS4 will cost you $4.99 a month as part of your PS Plus subscription. As many happy PS Plus subscribers on PS3 already know though, that price includes significant value for your money – notably from cloud game saves and access to the instant game collection.

“PS4 gamers who aren’t Plus members can still enjoy single-player games for free…and access to media services won’t require Plus”

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 11, 2013

We’re happy to confirm that Sony are also rolling over PS Plus subscriptions to the PS4, meaning that one subscription at $4.99 at month will give you access to PS Plus across PS3 and PS Vita. As a bonus, Sony revealed at E3 that the first game to be included as part of the PS4 instant game collection, will be Drive Club – free as part of your subscription and obviously worth a lot more than $5.

Worried consumers should also take into consideration that the PS4 at $399 will be $100 cheaper in the US than the Xbox One, which we’ll talk about in a lot more detail soon. With this in mind, does this make the $5 fee per month on top a formality? It will be $10 cheaper to buy a 1 year subscription to PS Plus at $50, so that is still $450 in total with online multiplayer included and 12 month’s access to a vast list of games for free.

As we provide you with the big stories coming out of E3 this week, tell us if you think the $5 price per month to play PS4 multiplayer is a big problem for you or not. Who can honestly say that the Sony PS4 is not value for money, despite the online fee?

With just days to go until Microsoft’s big E3 2013 press conference, the company has finally decided to own up and clarify some hard truths on the big confusion regarding DRM and used-game policies on the Xbox One. It was suggested that the next-gen system needed an internet check every 24 hours – now it has been confirmed as a done deal.

Microsoft has released a series of press releases, confirming that offline gaming on the Xbox One will not be possible unless you have an internet connection. You will be able to play offline for up to 24 hours, but after that Microsoft has now confirmed in black and white that gaming won’t be possible – only live TV and movie watching.

Another issue clarified is when you come to signing into your Xbox Live profile on a different console. Microsoft has confirmed that you’ll be able to do this, but you can only access your information for one hour, before the system will need an internet check before continuing. If you have no connection after one hour on a different console – you won’t be able to continue.

We’re also relieved to see that Microsoft has also taken the time to clear up the mess regarding used game policies on the Xbox One as well. It’s not good news though, as while Microsoft confirms that used-game fees will not be employed by them, they will be leaving it up to the publishers on a game-by-game basis to decide themselves whether they want to adopt fees, or indeed allow used-games to work on the Xbox One.

How about this though – you will be able to sell your used Xbox One game, but only at ‘participating retailers’, so no more trading games in at your favorite, but lesser known private game store. Even then, it will be up to the publisher of the game in question, as to whether you can trade the game in at all. While Microsoft appears to shift the problem away – which publishers are actually going to allow used-games to be in heavy circulation when most publishers are largely against used games anyway?

It is not particularly good reading, but at least Microsoft has finally clarified the situation which they needed to do. To recap, you definitely need an internet connection to play Xbox One and publishers will be in charge as to whether you’ll need to pay an activation fee on top and in charge of whether you can trade in their game or not. Give us your reaction to this.

After hearing this information, does it cast a potential doubt in your mind that Sony may actually be thinking of the same plans with regards to used-game licenses? We already know that the PS4 will not need an internet connection at all times for offline gaming, but the used-game PS4 debate is still very uncertain at this point.

Are you still planning to buy the Xbox One, or does this make your decision to go with PS4 much more justified now?

We are just days away from Sony’s highly anticipated press conference at E3 2013. The new PS4 console is going to obviously be the highlight of the show, and now we have some detailed information to give you relating to how you will be able to watch it via live streams, as well as the official Sony press conference start time.

Aside from all of the exclusive game reveals that will be coming, Sony’s E3 2013 press conference is also taking on added significance, due to the fact that nobody has seen what the PS4 console looks like yet. The company famously decided not to show it at their initial reveal in February, but that all ends in just a few days time.

As a reminder, you can tune into Sony’s press conference live on Monday June 11, at 5.30pm Pacific Time. That means 8.30pm for those on Eastern Time, 1.30am for everyone in UK planning to watch during the early hours and finally, the following morning for those planning to tune in from Hong Kong and Japan.

We’re pleased to say that there will be no need for a live blog this year. Sony will be live streaming everything as it happens, beaming their press conference to a whole host of different platforms. Aside from being able to watch via the usual PlayStation site and official Ustream page, Sony has also revealed that PS3 users can tune in live from their XMB homescreen.

This is in addition to being able to watch from inside the PlayStation Home application remember. Sony will also be giving users the option to tune in from Facebook and Google Plus as well – so there’s no danger of not being able to find a live stream this year. During last year’s event, we found that the stream quality over at GameTrailers was very good and much more stable than the stream on the official PlayStation website.

So there we have it – have you decided where you are going to watch Sony’s live E3 press conference from? Watching from the PS3 XMB home screen with a cold beer sounds like a great option.

We have some great news for those of you who picked up a copy of God of War Ascension. The bonus The Last of Us demo is now available to download on PS3 and should be a problem-free experience after some users reported initial error codes when trying to install the minute everything went live.

The Last of Us isn’t launching until June 14, but Sony and developers Naughty Dog have provided a great treat for those who opted to pick up God of War Ascension. A single-player demo for Naughty Dog’s new title is now available, simply by inserting your Ascension disc and proceeding to the “Launch The Last of Us Demo” menu.

From there, you’ll be taken straight to the relevant section on the PlayStation Store and you should be able to start downloading. If you tried to attempt this a few days ago, you may have been met with endless error codes, which we’re guessing were due to the sheer volume of traffic and interest in the demo.

A Tweet by Sony Santa Monica confirms that the problems were being looked into though, so all should be fine right now. The demo itself will give players a sneak peek into the Outskirts level and a general insight into how the partnership gameplay will work with the AI controlling Ellie, who will often come to your aid at various points.

If you haven’t pre-ordered the game yet, this demo should give you plenty of reasons why the full game is worth a purchase. Just how many of you decided to buy God Of War Ascensions, just for an early look at The Last of Us we wonder? If you have already played the demo, let us know if you experienced any issues involving error codes and also your general thoughts on the demo.

If you consider yourself to be a boxing fan and happen to own a PS Vita, it looks like one game that is on the way soon is going to be very appealing to you. Unfortunately it isn’t the Fight Night Champion PS Vita game that so many of you are craving, but it is a pretty good boxing game that has made its name on iOS.

Can you guess what it is yet? It has just been confirmed that a PS Vita version of Real Boxing is on the way, a game that a lot of you may have already downloaded on your iPhone. The game developed by Vivid Games is coming to the 5-inch Vita in August, with the combination of both touch screen and button controls.

The game has gathered a considerable following thanks to its excellent graphics on iOS and Android, graphics which will no doubt look even better on the PS Vita’s OLED screen. In addition to a full campaign mode, training and customization mode, the developers have also confirmed that Real Boxing on the PS Vita will include both local and online multiplayer.

For those that are not aware, the game is powered by Unreal Engine 3, which gives you a little explanation as to why the game looks great on iOS. There’s no word on price yet, but hopefully it will be very reasonable and in line with the £0.69 price tag on the Apple App Store.

Are you a fan of Real Boxing, or would you prefer to taste boxing on the PS Vita with a Fight Night game only? We’re very surprised that EA hasn’t brought Fight Night Champion over to the Vita, as it would probably sell very well considering the positive reception to the console versions.

Will you be buying this in August on your PS Vita or not?

When the Sony Xperia S first launched it came with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, although we were promised an update to Jelly Bean several months after launch. It’s now been more than a year and the aging handset still has the same mobile OS, until now that is.

The Sony Xperia S Jelly Bean update has now started to become available, although in a staggered download. We say this because not all Xperia S smartphone holders have been able to download and install Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, although this is nothing new.

It seems as though the update is being implemented throughout different countries, with France being one of the first. The new Sony Xperia S Jelly Bean download rollout has certainly been a long time coming, and will give the handset a much needed boost in terms of features and performance.

We already know that there are many Sony Xperia S smartphone holders in the US who are claiming to have already downloaded and installed the latest Android update, although it seems as though many owners in the UK are still having to wait.

Have you been able to download this update yet?

Thanks to the Xperia Blog.

A few weeks ago, we told you about the possibility of Sony making PS4 Remote Play with the PS Vita, a mandatory feature across all PS4 software, not just a select lineup as we’ve seen with the PS3. It was just mere rumors two weeks ago, but now it looks like Sony are planning to make this a reality, giving the PS Vita much more mass appeal than ever before.

To put it simply: how amazing is it going to be, to be able to pick up any PS4 game from a shop knowing that you can then carry on with gameplay away from the TV on your 5-inch PS Vita. We knew that Sony were keen to make this a feature across some PS4 third-party titles, but now it looks like it has become a mandatory feature for developers.

This means, that developers are going to have to include this functionality on all games they make for the PS4, without fail. The news was initially revealed by a report over at Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry department, but has now been clarified by eager Twitter user, Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida – as you’ll see in his message below.

Just imagine the types of games you’ll be able to take away to the PS Vita in the future – GTA V, Final Fantasy PS4, Gran Turismo 6, Watch Dogs and so on – who wouldn’t want a piece of that? It also means that the PS Vita becomes an entirely different beast than what consumers initially had thought.

It would now make sense for Sony to step up plans to offer a PS4 + PS Vita bundle, or indeed issue a small price cut to the PS Vita to really get the sales flowing. Remote Play as a mandatory feature on all PS4 titles changes everything in our books, so we can’t wait to go hands on at the first opportunity.

Does this change everything for you as well? It’s time to start giving some love back to the PS Vita.