Sony booth tour

by Barb Dybwad, posted Jan 12th 2007 at 10:30AM

The word "booth" is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to describing the area filled with Sony gizmos at CES -- let's just say that the square footage occupied by the consumer electronics giant takes up a fairly egregious percentage of the entire Center Hall. But hey, we can hang with that -- you don't have too many chances in life to witness a ginormous tower made out of LCD TVs. Click on for some highlights from the marathon we ran.

Wall o' Blu-ray

We're not gonna lie, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio looks pretty sweet.

The Sony ~~layer-cake~~ VGZ-TP1.

Our living room... almost.

Obligatory fragfest.

The Vaio UX Premium Micro PC -- we're pretty sure we had a programming calculator with this same keypad once.

Wall o' Cybershots.

Of course we saw the Sony Reader last year, but we're pretty sure the stack of fake books is new. We imagine they're included when you order the Reader so you can convince your houseguests that you actually still read.

The curious little Mylo.

The W200i -- makes up for its weak specs by tasting like a creamsicle.

The James Bond Cybershot, to commemorate the international year of the spy.

The ~~PlayStation 2~~ LF-B20 LocationFree.

The P990i, playing your stuff in that LocationFree kind of way.

Lair: you and your Nazgul.

If you're so inclined, browse the shots at higher-res in the gallery:

Sony booth tour

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Digital Cameras, Displays, Gaming, Handhelds, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops, Media PCs, Portable Audio

Tags: CES, features

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Bob @ Jan 12th 2007 1:13PM

It's still early give it time. :)

Neutral

Wonderboy @ Jan 12th 2007 10:44AM

As fun as these "booths" are to see, I think it's way too out of control. Sure it's gets attention, sure it's flashy, but ultimately the goal is to get customer awareness and I just feel that most companies at CES are going a little over the top.

When you compare Apple to Sony, I can't guess how much less money Apple spent on it's Macworld setup compared to Sony's CES setup... and yet it's the Apple product that is gaining all the headlines and oh-so-coveted customer awareness.

No, Sony couldn't exactly duplicate the Apple experience since it has an infinitely larger product base, and not quite the fan following, but Sony could certainly take notes. There's a difference between advertising and smart advertising... both work, but the predictable giant in the room doesn't necessarily gets more bang for it's buck than the entertaining midget.

(Case in point... as cool as a giant tower of LCD TVs is, it's not convincing me to buy Sony, and in 5 minutes I've completely forgetten about it.)

Neutral

Ashley @ Jan 12th 2007 11:36AM

got your attention enough to post this comment. People dont give sony enough credit for being one of the leaders in technology advancements! Yeah there stuff is a lil pricy and it can look "different" but that is what the world is coming to.

Neutral

Matt B @ Jan 12th 2007 11:38AM

Being that most of the big companies sell the same kind of products, glitz and flash may be the only separation.
For me, price is the true winner. What's in a name? Nothing.

Neutral

Wonderboy @ Jan 12th 2007 11:58AM

This is exactly what I'm getting at... I have very little preference on who makes the product I buy as long as I can trust the quality. So yeah, price is a huge separator. So the way I see it is Sony (and other companies, Sony is just an example) should be smarter with their advertising to save money that could be used elsewhere to either lower prices or invest in R&D.

Monster Cable spent 10-15% of it's annual advertising budget at CES. Samsung is spending $875,000 just for the floor space of their booth this year, not to mention set-up, equipment, staffing, insurance, travel, hotels, food, hand-outs, other displays, and more that all goes for a premium during CES week.

That's a lot of money, and at the end of the day there's not a single product at CES that I am more likely to buy than before it all started, if I didn't read about a company's booth at CES it won't affect me at all when I swing into the store to pick up my next gadget.

Sure some people get caught up in the hype and are influenced, but is Monster Cable really going to see in increase of sales proportionate to it's expenditures of CES? I'd guess not... but then, who am I?

Neutral

etype2 @ Jan 12th 2007 11:41AM

Let Sony shine as Sony sees fit. I've been a loyal fan since the late 50's. Thier 27 inch Oled with million to one contrast ratio wowed me.

Neutral

Arbee26 @ Jan 13th 2007 9:31PM

Keep the faith brother! :D

Highly Ranked

Smeagol @ Jan 12th 2007 11:51AM

Well, my KDL40XBR2 bravia is wowing me and my friends all the time. No need for pretentious 'im a mac' ads to tell me what i need to buy.

Neutral

Matt B @ Jan 12th 2007 1:07PM

Being that I will never buy a 3 foot cable for $100+ pretty much says that Monster will not have any of my money. :)

Neutral

wow. @ Jan 12th 2007 3:46PM

Well, it depends. The educated consumer goes to play with the gadgets, not to make a decision about them, mainly because the decision has already been made, for the most part. This, however, only accounts for a small percentage of the population.

People react to what they can see and hear, so if you can afford to be the Times Square of CES, then you're guaranteeing that you will be seen and heard. People in your situation who are scoffing have already MADE their decisions, and yep, in those cases, you're right, it wouldn't affect anything, unless something you thought was great turned out to be a dud, or vice versa.

Neutral

joshua conti @ Jan 12th 2007 4:26PM

i own pro audio sony products like their mdr 7506 headphones and acid pro but beyond that im done... i love my xbox way of life and id never buy a vaio... that vaio micropc looks like my grandfathers radio shack electronic scheduler... a wall of tvs? LG had that covered with pretty much a huge display of tvs... sony couldve done a wall of ps3s using all the ones they didnt sell...

Highly Ranked

Coil @ Jan 12th 2007 4:54PM

I do have to say that Sony make some of the best LCD TVs on the market.

Neutral

Aaron @ Jan 12th 2007 5:55PM

The Square button on the little picture of the PS2 controller on the cell phone screen is yellow instead of pink. That's seriously going to bug me. Like all day. All the other buttons are right!

Other than that... cool stuff. Some of those TVs are beautiful. Unfortunately, I'm just not in a position to lay down multiple thousands of dollars for a new TV right now. I just bought a 51" rear-projection CRT, and while it's not as good as some of these things, it gets me some HD for a good price. Still though, I'd love to watch some movies or play some games on one of those.

Neutral

William McGough @ Jan 12th 2007 8:05PM

Is that the screen for the VAIO Type R Master (VAIO RM Digital Editing PC) in the picture of the Sony Reader. (The SDM-P246 display).
I wish there were some pictures of the computer itself.

Neutral

Jason Brown @ Jan 12th 2007 9:07PM

Were you even at the booth? You write your comments below the pics like that is all you saw was pics. I don't care if you have nothing good/bad to say let alone being a sarcastic ass when your writing. You had hands on opportunity to play with toys. You represent those of us who live are lives experiencing through others writings and all you can say is "The curious little mylo". You are the reason "fanboys" exist in the world. Because of you idiots who have an ounce of brain power have to form their opinions based on what you say. Because of you This site and others like it have bred thousands of electronic hatemongers who flood blogs with useless/childlike banter about who they think is the best. I just want to know what it does and how well it does it. Am I alone? I don't think so. Damn now I have just spawned a whole new breed of "fanboys". Wired News Fanboys!

Neutral

dennis @ Jan 12th 2007 11:51PM

I really hate the way Engays is reviewing, i dont know why they think that calling a vertical access point a PS2 or a rounded BR Player a cake is funny... anyway my opinion is that sony is a good electronics brand and yes is more expensive than the rest, thats maybe the reason why some people jumped to this bashing-brand-thing, because they cant afford it.

Neutral

Dave @ Jan 13th 2007 3:42AM

SONY all the way!

Neutral

Adam @ Jan 13th 2007 4:29AM

@Jason Brown and dennis
Quit your bitching and read some other tech news webs if you don't like the way they report. How much do you pay to read the information that these guys work their asses off to provide?? EXACTLY.

To the Engadget staff: Thanks for providing such an informative and enjoyable service.

Neutral

Jay @ Jan 13th 2007 12:25PM

Adam,

You miss the point completely. We like the service Engadget provides but get annoyed when it becomes clearer that there is some bias towards some companies and against others (cf reporting on Apple and Sony). Can't you understand that point? You don't have to agree, but you should learn to recognise the opinions of others.

Neutral

Jay @ Jan 13th 2007 7:32PM

Apple do not have innovation or intelligent advertising on their side, they have "cult". And one day that will disappear. Remember the Walkman brand and the use of the term to describe virtually anything portable and electronic?

For instance, if Apple had released the MYLO, they'd be flying out of the shops at twice the price. Instead, few even know it exists let alone want one - yet it is a terrific product (I hope the people who designed it are given the PSP2 job).

But Apple don't invent new products (though they like you to think they do - computer mouse, Jobs? - and many oblige without question). Instead they introduce things like the Apple Phone that has no new technologies and want to charge you nearly as much as a PS3 - which most people are complaining is too expensive. Consistency, people!

Neutral

bali @ Jan 15th 2007 8:36AM

Sony Grand WEGA SXRD KDS-R60XBR1 60 in Rear-Projection LCoS TV.....$600
Sony Grand WEGA SXRD KDS-R50XBR1 50 in Rear-Projection LCoS TV ... $450
Sony Wega KDF-E50A10 50 in LCD Rear-Projection TV............. $450
Sharp Aquos LC-32DA5U 32 in Flat Panel LCD TV ............ $350
Sony Wega KDL-V40XBR1 40 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........... $400
Sony Wega KD-36FS130 36 in Flat Screen TV ............... $400
Samsung HL-R5067W 50 in Rear-Projection DLP TV ......... $450
Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50 in Flat Panel Plasma TV.............. $500
Samsung HL-R5667W 56 in Rear-Projection DLP TV .............$500
Samsung HL-R4266W 42 in Rear-Projection DLP TV ............ $450
Samsung LN-R408D 40 in Flat Panel LCD TV ............. $400
Samsung HP-R4252 42 in Flat Panel Plasma TV .............. $450
Magnavox 15MF605T 15 in Flat Panel LCD TV ............... $300
Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK 42 in Flat Panel Plasma TV ............ $350
Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-V32XBR1 32 in Flat Panel LCD TV ...... $350
Sony Grand WEGA KDF-E55A20 55 in LCD Rear-Projection TV .......... $550
Sharp Aquos LC-37D7U 37 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........... $400
Samsung LN-R268W 26 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........ $350
Sony Grand WEGA KDF-E60A20 60 in Rear-Projection LCD TV ...... $600
Samsung HL-R4667W 46 in Rear-Projection DLP TV........ $400
Sony Wega KLV-S32A10 32 in Flat Panel LCD TV ......... $300
Sony Grand WEGA KDF-E55A20 55 in LCD Rear-Projection TV .......... $550
Sharp Aquos LC-37D7U 37 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........... $400
Samsung LN-R268W 26 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........ $350
Sony Grand WEGA KDF-E60A20 60 in Rear-Projection LCD TV ...... $600
Samsung HL-R4667W 46 in Rear-Projection DLP TV........ $400
Sony Wega KLV-S32A10 32 in Flat Panel LCD TV ......... $300
Sony BRAVIA KLV-S26A10 26 in Flat Panel LCD TV ........... $300
Sharp Aquos LC-26DA5U 26 in' LCD TV............ $300
Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK 42 in Flat Panel Plasma TV......... $400
Samsung HLR5078W 50 in Rear-Projection DLP TV ............ $500
Sharp Aquos LC-20S4U 20 in Flat Panel LCD TV ............... $250
Panasonic Onyx TH50PX500U 50 in Flat Panel Plasma TV ........ $500
Sharp Aquos LC45GD4U 45 in Flat Panel LCD TV ............... $350
Samsung SlimFit TX-R3079WH 30 in Flat CRT TV ........... $350
Samsung HL-R5688W 56 in Rear-Projection DLP TV ........... $550
plasamstock@hotmail.com

Neutral

bali @ Jan 15th 2007 8:43AM

Neutral

gonzalo loya @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:46PM

hi

I have a SONY KLV-S32A10 with broken lcd display ....I saw this in your web page Sony Wega KLV-S32A10 32 in Flat Panel LCD TV ......... $300
Is this the LCD... how do I can buy it

thank you

gonzalo

Neutral

Franca @ Apr 5th 2008 11:22PM

but NEVER send TT bank transfer or western union to CHINA, you will not be covered

we have ordered a TV 52" sony bravia sbr4, and never received the TV.

we received a faked nokia phone and now they not answeer anymore

they were GOLD supplier and verified by alibaba.com (at least thats what alibaba, explian about their GOLD supllier)

the site is:
Kitty/Sales Manager
Longxiang Shoes CO.,LTD
Website: http://xinxia.en.alibaba.com
http://xinxiacn.com
http://xinxia-gift.com
Tel: 86-594-6605685
MSN: hao.588@hotmail.com
TradeManager ID: cn200012774

watch out, there are +80% of them with too good to be true price and scam from china

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