Sony Starts Music Service in U.K., Ireland

Sony Corp. opened an online streaming-music service in the U.K. and Ireland and said it will roll out the platform to other major markets next year, as it looks to try to catch up with rivals such as Apple Inc. in linking electronics to digital content.

The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said that its Music Unlimited service, which opened in the U.K. and Ireland on Tuesday, will be available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other European countries next year, though the company didn't offer details.

The Tokyo-based company will offer subscriptions to a library of six million songs. Unlike Apple's iTunes service, which sells copies of music and movies that are stored on hard drives or device memory, Sony's service will deliver the songs over the Internet to PlayStation 3 consoles, Bravia television sets, Vaio computers and other Sony products.

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Sony selling HDTV with built-in PlayStation 2

U.K. electronics retailer Richer Sounds is now selling a 22-inch Sony HDTV with a PlayStation 2 built in. According to its Twitter feed, the retailer started offering the product to its customers last week. It sells for 200 pounds, or about $300.

Dubbed the Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300, the set sits atop the built-in PlayStation 2. The HDTV boasts 4 HDMI ports, 3 USB ports (although two of them are USB 1.1), and two Ethernet connections. The set itself features a 1,366x768 resolution, meaning no 1080p for full HD fans.

But it's the PlayStation 2 integration that makes this product so interesting. Not only can gamers play PS2 titles on the device, but since the PlayStation 2 was backward-compatible with original PlayStation titles, users can also play the oldies on the television.

Although the KDL-22PX300 isn't the first set to feature a built-in console--a device called the Divers 2000 featured a built-in Sega Dreamcast--it's certainly on a short list. And Sony's decision to offer the PlayStation 2 in a set speaks to the longevity of the console.

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