Sony CES Press Conference Coverage

Sony must have wanted to look flashy and hip because they really poured on the atmosphere. It looked less like a press conference and more like a rave at a club...at least until the actual presentation started. Then things got to be pretty classic Sony. Big products and big products and big price points.



One of the major disappointments of the press conference was the lack of information about the "restructuring" that has been rumored lately. But it makes sense to avoid that here because they wanted to show a lot of positive growth and a wider range of products.

So what did they announce?

The biggest announcement was also the least surprising because Sony has been leaking information about it for weeks. It's the Sony Vaio P, Sony's attempt at entering the netbook market. It's basically exactly as the rumors and hints said it would be: narrow form factor, 1.4 pounds, 3G Broadband connectivity, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, GPS and webcam. It actually looks pretty sleek and appealing, until you hear the price tag. $900 is a lot to pay for a netbook, Sony!

Then they started to talk about OLED (tempt me tempt me!) and then promised to reveal more tomorrow (what!). They also started to tease us with something about prototypes of consumer 3D televisions, but then gave us the same treatment: "we'll tell you more another time." (what's this press conference even for, then?)

One thing they did spend a lot of time on was the Bravia line of TVs. Sony will be debuting the XBR9 BRAVIA in 40", 46" and 52". One of the coolest things about the XBR9 is that it will have the same partnership with Yahoo! Widget that Samsung announced earlier. Basically, it's the first really useful integration of internet content on your TV, allowing you to use apps to access your favorite online content with your remote.

Another innovation that we're excited about is the Webbie HD cameras. They're actually like camcorders (in looks and specs). MPEG-4, 5x zoom, 20x digital zoom, 2.5inch LCD, you get the picture. The newest one will be $200, but in April, they'll be coming out with a smaller, slimmer version (similar to the Flip Mino) for $170.

Sony also has new hard drive and flash memory Handycams, HDR-CX100 (full HD, 8GB), HDR-520V (240GB 12 megapixel stills, GPS), but told us that we'd (yet again) have to wait for more digital imaging news (can someone explain to them what a press conference is?).

For more information on CES, check out the blog homepage. For more coverage of CES press conferences, try these:

Samsung

Panasonic

Cisco

Sharp