Sony Electronics today took the wraps off of several new products, including two new CLIE(TM) handhelds featuring the latest, version 4.0 Palm(TM) operating system, along with its thinnest VAIO(R) notebook PC to date, during a news conference here at Jacob Javits Convention Center on the eve of the annual PC Expo industry confab. (Complete product details can be found at www.sony.com/news.)
The electronics company also served up a new wireless service with the support of GoAmerica(SM) to make navigating the Web a breeze, whether from one of its stylish PCs or portable handheld devices.
New Product Showcases
In the handheld category, Sony extends its family of CLIE personal entertainment organizers with the introduction of the PEG-N610C and PEG-S320 models for the U.S. market. The PEG-N610C handheld features a vivid, high-resolution color display with an equally attractive price of about $400. The super sleek monochrome PEG-S320 model will sell for an even more attractive price in the $200 ballpark.
The new notebooks include the incredibly thin -- about 1" -- VAIO R505TL PC with the Windows ME(TM) operating system, which will be available next month for about $1,500. The clever design eliminates the needs for cables for adding peripherals (like an optional DVD/CD-RW drive combination) that are built right into a docking station that locks snuggly into the bottom of the notebook.
Mark Viken, senior vice president of Sony Electronics' IT Products Division, also announced that the company has cracked the elusive $1,000 notebook price point (after a rebate) with its new VAIO PCG-SR33 model, which is powered by Intel's low-voltage Celeron(R) 600 mhz(1) processor, has a 10GB HDD(2) hard drive, and comes bundled with an external CD-ROM drive.
While companies have been discussing the concept of "tablet PCs," Viken also announced that Sony's second VAIO Slimtop(TM) Pen Tablet PC is making its debut in the VAIO desktop line-up. The new LX910 model has the same, graphic-friendly user interface as Sony's original model in this line based on a stylus that allows the artist in all of us to "draw" directly onto the flat-panel screen. The unit combines power and style with an upgraded 60 GB(2) hard drive and a Pentium(R) III processor, combined with a screen that can be angled over the keyboard to, in Viken's words, "recreate the old, comfortable pen and paper ergonomics."
Another highlight of Sony's desktop line is the new VAIO Digital Studio(TM) PC with Giga Pocket(TM) personal video recorder, which turns a computer into a digital entertainment system. It has a television tuner, along with an 80 GB(2) hard drive that store up to 100 hours of your favorite TV shows. This beauty even has a built-in DVD-RW drive(3).
Teaming with GoAmerica, a leading wireless Internet service provider, Sony unveiled a new wireless service called "MYLO," which is short for "My Life Online." This service for Sony's thin monochrome CLIE handhelds and VAIO notebooks will start at $39.95 a month for e-mail, instant messaging and live chatting with a one-year subscription.
The look of Sony also included the introduction of a 16-inch Multiscan(R) LCD, one of only two of this size on the market. Sony's new SDM-M61 model will be available next month for about $850. It features a high-resolution, active-matrix TFT (Thin Film Transistor) panel. And to save desk space, its Zero Footprint Design(TM) allows it to be mounted either directly on the wall or by using an arm-mounting device.
As for sound, Sony trumpeted a new three-piece, active personal speaker system, which will be available in August for digital music multi-taskers. For around $130, the system includes two satellite speakers and a compact subwoofer for an intense computer gaming or music listening experience.
Sony's diverse product offerings at PC Expo also include a variety of its market-leading Cyber-shot(R) and Digital Mavica(R) digital still cameras All of these digital imaging products offer the ability to connect and create using Memory Stick(R) removable memory media, USB and/or i.LINK(R)(4) (IEEE-1394) digital interfaces that link to other products like VAIO PCs -- which in turn connect to Walkman(R) personal stereos, Handycam(R) D8 and DV camcorders, and other consumer electronics devices.
And if all of this is not enough fun for one press conference, Sony also demonstrated its new application software that allows creative types to include pictures of themselves and other amusing two- and three-dimensional images they shoot into select PlayStation(R) 2 games. This middleware, called Picture Paradise(TM), is being built into new Cyber-shot cameras and Sony digital camcorders that have USB connections.
(1) MHz denotes microprocessor internal clock speed. Other factors may affect application performance.
(2) GB means one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary.
(3) Compatible with most standard DVD formats.
(4) All products with an iLink connector may not communicate with each other.
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