A modern reinvention of the classic Pen camera from the 1960s and 70s, Olympus’ E-P1 rolls a compact point-and-shoot form factor and full-size DSLR features together in a way that seems to defy categorization. There’s something undeniably appealing about a 12.3-megapixel camera with interchangeable lens system, 720p high definition video, image stabilization and stereo audio recording that you can carry in a classic leather half-case and leather strap.

During the 1960s and 70s, the Olympus Pen series was a popular line of compact film cameras that used a half-frame format. Today’s Pen, the E-P1, uses the Micro Four Thirds format behind some slick retro styling to create a compact yet capable digital camera that is neither a point-and-shoot nor a DSLR. The market between these two categories is typically made up of prosumer cameras like the Canon PowerShot G10 that have fixed lenses but advanced shooting features and full manual control.

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Sony Corp’s Sony Music Entertainment will join the online music video service being developed by Google Inc’s YouTube and Universal Music Group.

The move marks the first major record label besides co-founder Universal to sign on to the service to be called Vevo and expected to launch later this year. Sony and YouTube could not immediately be reached for comment. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it was not immediately clear whether Sony was doing anything more in the partnership than providing its music to the site.

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Google Chrome and  Firefox promotional videos use stop-motion animation . Check it out.

Firefox:

Google Chrome:

Sony has confirmed the rumors and officially announced the updated, slimmed down version of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld gaming console at E3. The new PSP go features a sliding form factor with the ability to play video and music when closed, or transform into a gaming console when the familiar PlayStation controls are revealed.

The PSP go is smaller and lighter than it’s PSP forebears, coming in at 5 x 0.65 x 2.7 inches (w x d x h) and weighing in at 5.6 ounces. To shed those unsightly ounces the PSP go has had to shrink the display down from 4.3-inches to a 3.8-inch 16:9 display and dropped the UMD (Universal Media Disc) drive altogether. Instead Sony has replaced it with 16GB of built-in flash memory, with storage space expandable via a Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot.

The lack of UMD support means that gamers are completely reliant on digital distribution to buy new games, so Sony is working to bulk up the content available through its online PlayStation Store (which the PSP go can now access directly using the built-in Wi-Fi). For those downloading content via a PC Sony is providing a new application called Media Go, which will manage PSP content including games, videos, photos, and music.

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