CES 2008

Sony Ericsson W760

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

As we told you on Sunday, Sony Ericsson launched three new handsets at CES. The new models range from high-end (the W760) to the entry-level (the W350) with one in between (the Z555a). I got the chance to handle them at a press event at Caesar's Palace and on the show floor. The W760, which was one of our Best of CES nominees in the cell phones and smartphones category, was the most appealing of the bunch. The slider design is uncomplicated, but attractive, and it had a sturdy feeling in the hand. The slider mechanism also seemed pretty sturdy, and Sony Ericsson appears to have avoided one of its usual downfalls by making a solid keyboard. I did have fun with the motion control for playing games that I originally played with on the W910. Yes, it may be a bit gimmicky, but I like it.

Sony Ericsson W350

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

On the other hand, I wasn't quite impressed with the W350. The plastic construction felt pretty cheap and the flap covering the keyboard was flimsy. A couple times I felt it would snap right off. The display looked a little washed out, but as this is a low-end Walkman phone, that's to be expected. I'll wait until a review model arrives to give my full assessment, but at this point I'm a little wary. Fans of thin phones, however, probably will be drawn to the W350's slim profile.

Sony Ericsson Z555a

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

I also examined the Z555a. While its design is certainly unique, I'm not sure it's for me. As I said in my earlier post, I'm not a fan of the hidden display, and the plastic skin wasn't quite appealing. Unfortunately, I didn't try the much-hyped "gesture control" that allows you to silence the phone's ringer with a wave of your hand. A Sony Ericsson rep said the motion must be methodical (understandable) but I'll have to wait for a review model to see it for myself. And hopefully, that will be soon.

The Sony CDX-GT820IP

(Credit: Sony)

Sony refreshed its car stereo lineup for 2008 here at CES with the debut of six new models in Xplod lineup including two with as-standard iPod connectivity, and two new Bluetooth-equipped head units. At the top of the range, the CDX-GT820IP comes with a 30-pin iPod connector enabling drivers to control their music libraries directly via the stereo itself. The system features Sony's Quick BrowZer technology and "Jump mode", which make it easier for drivers to navigate large digital audio libraries on connected players. The CDX-GT820IP also features a multi-line fluorescent display, a front-panel aux-input jack, 4-volt front, rear and sub preamp outputs, and is compatible with Sony's add-on HD Radio tuner. It comes with a price tag of $230.

Next down the lineup, the CDX-GT720 ($200) features the same faceplate and display design as the GT820IP, but without the as-standard iPod connector. It is also HD- and satellite-radio ready and can be hooked up to an iPod via an add-on cable. Those who want iPod connectivity and can live without a fluorescent display can consider the CDX-GT620IP, which comes without the Jump mode feature and has two fewer preouts than the CDX-GT820IP, but retails at $160. Propping up the new releases, the CDX-GT420U ($130) comes without iPod compatibility, but does feature an as-standard USB port for playing audio tracks from flash drives and other generic digital sources.

Two new Bluetooth-enabled stereos--the iPod compatible MEX-BT5100 ($330) and the entry-level MEX-BT2600 ($170)--are refreshed versions of the current MEX-BT5000 and MEX-BT2500 respectively. All of the new systems are available now.

New low: a $200 Blu-ray drive.

(Credit: Sony Electronics Inc.)

Funai announced a standalone Blu-ray player that will dip below the $300 mark when it's released next quarter, but if you've got a PC that's up to the challenge, Sony's got an internal Serial ATA Blu-ray drive that will do the trick for even less. The BDU-X10S drive will cost $199.99 when Sony starts shipping it next month (preorder it here). This BD-ROM (that's read, not write) drive comes bundled with CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition for playing Blu-ray discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format. It'll also play DVDs and CDs and will work with XP and Vista PCs.

This stereo, from a European Ford, uses the Sony look and feel, which will come to U.S. Fords.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

This year, Ford cars will come with Sony-branded audio systems. Car makers have been scrambling to get name-brand audio systems in their cars for a number of years now, but Ford scored a real coup by getting one of the biggest names in consumer electronics on board. Initially, Sony will supply amps and speakers to Ford. At 2008 CES, Sony had one of its OEM amps on display that will go into Ford cars, a 10-channel amp with 8 35 watt powered channels and the capability to do 5.1 surround sound. This amp uses flash memory to store acoustic profiles, designed by Sony, for each specific Ford model. Further down the road, Ford will incorporate the Sony entertainment electronics look and feel in its stereos, using such features as Sony's black-out display. Ford and Sony have been working together for some time. In 2001 and 2005, Ford released special edition versions of the Focus equipped with Sony audio components. Ford of Europe already uses Sony stereos, amps, and speakers.

LAS VEGAS--Why do the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs from Sony measure only 11 inches across? Because large OLEDs are really tough to make.

While praising the OLED format during a press conference here with a few reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday morning, Sony executives acknowledged that producing large OLED screens in large quantities remains a work in progress. OLEDs now are mostly used in cell phones, which have small screens.

"The difficult challenge with the larger screen sizes is improving the yields. There are a lot of complications, many more than with LCD," said Katsumi Ihara, executive deputy president and head of Sony's Consumer Products Group. "The yields tend to be low. That is the biggest challenge."

(Credit: Michael Kanellos )

The company declined to provide dates for when it might provide larger versions of the TV for sale. Sony is showing off a 25-inch diameter OLED prototype at the show this year, but it's the same size as a prototype the company showed last year. (We questioned whether yields were an issue in a post on Sunday, and here's your answer.)

Ihara added that Sony may seek collaborators in expanding OLED. Sony and Samsung have a joint venture in LCD TVs, and Sony worked with Toshiba and IBM to develop the Cell processor.

"It is too early to tell, but it is probably one of the options that we will have to consider," he said.

Despite the difficulties, Sony wanted to be first in OLED TVs, added Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's CEO. Sony was late to LCD, he said, and was subsequently forced to catch up.

"I was amused to see analysts say it is not good to be first and that it is better to be last," Stringer said.

Sony has shored up the problems in its electronics, and will concentrate in 2008 on bringing more video content to its devices and improving its software, said CEO Sir Howard Stringer.

"We will see if we can enter the battle against the software companies. This is probably the year we need to demonstrate that," Stringer said during a meeting with reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Monday morning.

One of the first examples of this strategy will be an expansion of the PlayStation Network. The network now is mostly used by gamers. Sony wants to turn it into a platform to deliver video, too. Sony will hold a press conference in two months to discuss changes to the PlayStation 3.

The world, of course, will wait and see. Consumers and analysts for the past several years have complained about the functionality of the software in Sony devices. The company, along with nearly everyone in the electronics industry, has also been trying to bridge the gap between the PC and the TV for years. But progress seems to be occurring across the industry. Microsoft says it has put nearly a million intelligent set-top boxes into homes, and Sharp and Samsung announced new TVs that serve up headlines and weather from Web sites.

Overall, Stringer seemed to be in an upbeat mood. A year ago at the same press conference, he had recently launched into a reorganization of the company and was in the midst of a notebook battery recall. Stringer and others noted that the software divisions didn't talk with the hardware divisions, and neither had much contact with the movie unit.

Now, all of Sony's divisions work more cohesively together, he said. Sales in many key areas are also up. Blu-ray players outsold HD DVD players during the holiday season, Sony asserted. Blu-ray accounted for 70 percent of the standalone high-def video players during the holidays, according to the company.

"Three years ago, we were not profitable in electronics. Now we are seriously profitable," he said. Observers will "also probably be pleasantly surprised" with results for Sony's third fiscal quarter, which come soon. Recent economic trends could put a damper on sales "but it's too early to be pessimistic," he said.

The reorganization has also allowed Sony to start coming out with more innovative products, such as the robotic Rolly device.

"We are now getting into the rhythm of innovation," Stringer said.

Stringer and other executives touted Sony's OLED TVs. The company, however, admitted that making large OLED TVs (the version on the market measures only 11 inches in diameter) is difficult.

Other notes:

--Stringer wouldn't directly comment on whether the Blu-ray consortium paid money to Warner to put its movies exclusively on Blu-ray. Stringer said Warner saw the value of the format but dodged discussing financial terms. "I think you are going to have to take that announcement at face value," he said.

The HD DVD group paid Paramount to commit to publishing its movies on the HD DVD format for a specified period of time in 2007. It was seen as a victory by the HD DVD group, but Blu-ray backers called the deal a form of a bribe.

--Sony Ericsson is going to concentrate more heavily in gaining market share in North America. Worldwide, Sony Ericsson has seen its market share rise to around 10 percent, but the weak place is the U.S., admitted Dick Komiyama, who heads up the group.

--Sony is also looking at incorporating its Cell processor, which currently sits inside of the PlayStation3, in other products. Cell is particularly good at manipulating video streams. The company even held a contest among engineers to design new applications. However, Sony didn't put a firm date on when some of these devices might come out or what they might be.

--The PlayStation 2 will become the device that Sony will use to take on the Nintendo Wii. Titles like Guitar Hero have sold well with PlayStation 2 and consumers can expect to see more casual games and non-core gamer games coming out, said Kaz Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, which oversees video consoles.

Sony doesn't sell as many laptops as, say, Dell or HP, instead focusing on high-end systems that are among the slickest-looking out there. While they offer pretty much the same parts as the competition (usually for somewhat inflated prices), we rarely get as many comments or stares from onlookers as when we're carrying around a Vaio laptop.

Sony isn't starting off this year with any radical new designs (in fact these system look identical to the current versions), but is instead offering up some well-timed updates to its current line, adding the latest Intel Penryn processors and even more SSD hard drives.

Sony Vaio TZ298N/X

The 17-inch Vaio VGN-AR790U has a 1,920x1,200 resolution, a high-end 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 CPU, Blu-ray, and an external TV tuner for $3,300. Sony is taking online preorders starting January 7.

The 15-inch Vaio VGN-FZ485U/B has another of the new Intel CPUs, the 2.1GHz T8100, 4GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive (and an HDMI output for sending that hi-def signal to a bigger screen), and Nvidia's GeForce 8400. It's going to be available for preorder January 7 for $2,200.

The ultraportable 11-inch Vaio VGN-TZ298N/X has a thin LED backlit display and an ultralow power non-Penryn U7700 CPU. It combines a 250GB hard drive with a 64GB solid state drive, plus wireless broadband and a carbon fiber chassis that weighs just 2.65lbs. It's a whopping $3,600, and available for preorder on January 7.

Finally, the 13-inch Vaio VGN-SZ791N/X takes on the popular 13-inch MacBook with an LED backlit display and T9300 Intel Penryn CPU, plus wireless broadband and Nvidia's GeForce 8400 GPU. It's $2,500, and available for preorder January 7.

We're pleased to see Sony jumping on the Penryn bandwagon right away, and nobody makes better boutique laptops, especially in the ultraportable category. Hopefully these "preorders" will turn into actual shipping systems sooner rather than later, and we'll keep you updated on street dates for these.

Sony Ericsson W350a

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

Most Sony Ericssons tend to be on the pricey side, but every now and then the company gives us a more affordable model for the masses. Last year it rolled out the W200a, and at CES today, the company announced the W350a. At 0.41 inch wide, it sports a design we haven't seen for a while. The keypad is covered by a flap that folds down when you're on a call. The flap not only protects the keypad when it's not in use but it also allows you to get the feel of a flip phone. So in essence, it's a candy-bar handset with flip-phone elements.

But the W350a's design offers another quirk as well. When closed you can access convenient Walkman controls to play your music and shuffle tracks. You also get a choice of four colors: electric black, ice blue, hypnotic black, and graphic white. Beyond the music player, the feature set is pretty average. There's a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, messaging and e-mail, an FM radio, a 262,144-color display, a speakerphone, and personal organizer applications. The triband (GSM 850/1800/1900) W350a should be available in the fourth quarter of this year.

Sony Ericsson Z7555

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

Sony Ericsson is no stranger to unique cell phone design so we weren't surprised when we saw the new Sony Ericsson Z555a, introduced today at CES. The Z555a is a flip phone with a style-conscious diamond design in two color schemes: black or dusted rose. The external display is "hidden," meaning that it only shows when activated. I'm not a big fan of such displays--I like to see my screens at all times--but students of minimalism should be pleased.

Fortunately, the Z555a isn't all about design. It also offers a new "gesture control" feature that apparently will allow you to control the phone with a "wave of your hand." According to Sony Ericsson you'll be able to mute a ringtone during a call by simple moving your hand back and forth over the phone. Also, if you're using the alarm clock, you can put the alarm in snooze mode by sweeping your hand in a similar manner. Sony Ericsson promises that it "works like magic," though I think that might be a bit of a stretch. But I have to admit it sounds a bit more practical than the shake control on the W580.

Other features include stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, e-mail and messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a media player, and personal organizer applications. The Z555a is triband (GSM 850/1800/1900) and it supports EDGE networks.

Sony Ericsson W760

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

Sit back and enjoy the ride, 3G fans, as Sony Ericsson has a new cell phone for you. The company's W760, which it announced today at CES, is one of the first handsets to support wireless broadband networks around the globe. It offers support for three UMTS/HSDPA networks (850/900/2100), and as a quad-band world phone (GSM 850/900/1800/1900), it will make calls in most countries. The tri-band 3G support is especially welcome in the United States and Canada; the W760 is only Sony Ericsson's second 3G handset specifically for North America after the Sony Ericsson Z750.

Watch the Sony Ericsson W760 video on CNET TV.

Other features include a Walkman music player with the shake control from the W580, stereo Bluetooth, e-mail and messaging, a speakerphone, USB mass storage, a Memory Stick Micro slot, personal organizer applications, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The slider handset is available in three colors: rocky silver, fiery red, and intense black.