Sony Nex 5R camera

Sony's second wind

Embattled Japanese giant hopes to turn things around with new product line-up 

by Hiranand Sunny Naresh

04:45 AM Sep 07, 2012

 

BERLIN - The year, thus far, has not been kind to Sony.

According to Reuters reports earlier this year, the ailing Japanese giant suffered a S$374-million loss and announced that it may be forced to cut more than 10,000 jobs to help reduce costs.

But the company hopes to reverse its fortunes with its latest line-up, announced at Europe's largest electronic fair IFA, including Windows 8 devices, as well as home entertainment, gaming, mobilephone and digital imaging gadgets.

First revealed was their new VAIO range of touch-based Windows 8 devices - which is slated to be available in most Asian markets from end October this year.

The VAIO Duo 11 is a convertible slider that transforms from tablet-mode to an 11.6-inch ultrabook PC and weighs a mere 1.3kg. The company also launched a new desktop, the VAIO Tap 20, which has a 20-inch touchscreen that can sit flat, tilted or desktop-style.

Also announced was an upgraded version of Sony's Android Tablet S, dubbed the Xperia Tablet S.

The tablet is thinner (11.85mm at thickest point) and lighter (570g) than the previous model, runs Android version 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) - and includes a 9.4-inch display and Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

Sony also revealed its 84-inch "ultra-definition" 4K television, due for release by the end of the year. The monster-TV delivers four times the resolution of high-definition televisions but even Sony executives admit content that can make use of the vast 3840 x 2160 resolution are scant.

Sony is also looking to catch up on its smartphone competitors with its new Xperia T, which will replace the Xperia S as their flagship phone.

Sony Xperia T. PHOTO COURTESY SONY

The handset, which will be featured in the upcoming James Bond movie Skyfall, comes with a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display, near-field communication (NFC) capabilities and runs on Android ICS.

But the phone's main attraction is its 13-megapixel camera, which promises to capture high quality photos and make sharing them a breeze. The Xperia T is also PlayStation certified, so you can play games from the PlayStation Mobile store, which is expected to launch this year.

The Playstation 3 add-on Wonderbook, which made its debut at E3 in June, was also seen at IFA. Media were still barred from getting a hands-on session with it but demonstrations of the Harry Potter-inspired Book of Spells game were impressive.

On the digital imaging front, Sony released a new NEX-5R camera that promises DSLR-quality images from a compact body and includes both Wi-Fi and in-camera apps.

Sony Nex 5R camera. PHOTO COURTESY SONY

The hybrid mirror-less camera, available from November, will support several interchangeable lenses.

Sony's announcements at IFA were certainly impressive and shows the resolve of the tech giant to close the gap on its competitors, but only time will tell if this range of products is enough to keep the company afloat.

 Source: www.todayonline.com