[August 31, 2011] Sony vows fresh start after Play Station data leaks Tweet BERLIN, Aug 31, 2011 (dpa - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Sony has rebuilt its Play Station network to make it hack-proof, the Japanese company said Wednesday at the IFA consumer-electronics expo in Berlin, where it announced two new tablet computers. Chief executive Howard Stringer admitted Sony had been overwhelmed and "flattened" by hackers who helped themselves in April to data on an estimated 100 million users of the Play Station system and Sony's Qriocity film and music network. "That was yesterday," Stringer told a roomful of reporters. He said Sony had come up with a big portfolio of new products to put the April break-in and the security gaps it revealed in the past. The Play Station Network was now extremely secure and "better than ever," he said. Sony would now unite its various online services providing music, movies and other types of content into the Sony Entertainment Network. Sony's long-awaited entry into tablet computers throws down a gauntlet to Apple, which has sold millions of its iPad computers with very little effective competition. Stringer said the winner would not be the one which was first on the market, but the one that was best. He spoke of raising the "tablet world" to a higher level. The lower-priced model, the Sony Tablet S, goes on sale in September at 479 euros (690 dollars) in Europe. It has a 9.4-inch screen, somewhat smaller than the iPad's. Since it has an infra-red interface, it can double as a remote control for appliances. In mid-November, the Sony Tablet P will go one sale. It is a fold-out device with two 5.5-inch screens. Costing 599 euros, it can be used to read e-books, presenters at the Berlin fairgrounds said. The expo, which opens on Friday and runs until September 7, features televisions, home entertainment products and other devices from a record 1,441 exhibitors, organizers said. "Never before has the industry invested in so much display space here," said the fairgrounds chief executive, Christian Goeke. ___ (c)2011 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]