Sony CES Keynote in a Nutshell

Well, Sony just finished entertaining us with all manner of celebrities and visions of the future. Let's cut right to the chase and see what was behind all the blue backgrounds and comedic banter.

First, here's the lineup of the bigshots who made it on stage (in order of appearance):

• Gary Shapiro, CEO of CEA (Consumer Electronics Association)


• Tom Hanks (from such hit films as The ‘Burbs, A League of Their Own, and The Bonfire of the Vanities)


• Sir Howard Stringer, Sony CEO


• Beyonce (but not really)


• John Lasseter, Pixar chief


• Kaz Hirai, Sony Chairman


• Dr. Mehmet Oz, Oprah's newest Dr. Phil


• Reggie Jackson, baseball/candy bar icon


• Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation CEO


• Usher, Usher Raymond IV, father of two

Basically they all made mention of their love, dedication, and financial interest in Sony. We saw some major plugs for new movies Angels and Demons, Up, Toy Story 3, and Monsters vs. Aliens.

The new products:

• 3D glasses that let you watch a movie and still see through them


• WiFi cybershot DSC-G3 camera (built in browser and photo/video uploading)


• Touchscreen bedside assistant (audio/video player, alarm clock, digital picture frame)


• Flexible OLED screen


• New MMO Free Realm (emphasis on the free)


• EA on PlayStation Home, and 2,000 MTV hours at the PlayStation Store


• Sony equipped Yankee Stadium (large TVs and PlayStations in each suite)


• Greenheart bio-plastics


• 3D video (still requires polarized glasses)


• Gracenote TrackID on Sony Ericsson Phone


• Vaio P Notebook

The big news:

• 3D is coming, and it might catch on with help from Pixar and Dreamworks. Dreamworks intends to produce ALL of their films in 3D.


• Sony is bringing the internet to everything from cameras to alarm clocks.


• PlayStation isn't dying, but they could still use our money.


• Toy Story and Toy Story 2 will be coming in 3D versions (not to mention a Toy Story 3).

Well, there were some pretty impressive products revealed, and some fun Sony hype. With recession on the mind, Sony still managed an exciting show. We're guessing that they had to pay Tom, Reggie, and Usher. Sony Probably split the bill with Pixar and Dreamworks, but we're hoping they charged Dr. Oz for his time.

Quite a bit of news and noteworthy products mixed in there. You can expect to see some more blog postings and even reviews coming in the future. Until then, here's some more CES action:

Microsoft CES Keynote Coverage

RCA and Sony Jumping on the Flip Mino Bandwagon

Samsung CES Press Conference Gives Us Hope for 2009

Panasonic CES Press Conference Coverage

Sharp Press Conference Highlights Value TVs, LCD TVs with Blu-ray built-in