CES: Sony CEO demos power of carrier partnerships

LAS VEGAS – Although admitting he is not recession-proof, Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sir Howard Stringer told Consumer Electronics Show attendees the key imperatives for creating the ultimate user experience to come out ahead of the recession. Much of his advice centered around forging new relationships with service providers, an imperative he said was exemplified Sony’s new WiFi digital camera, built through collaboration with AT&T, a prototype WiFi-enabled alarm clock, a flexible OLED screen and innovations in 3D technologies.

The Sony Cyber-shot WiFi digital camera includes a built-in browser that can be connected to any WiFi hotspot for users to send photos to their photo-sharing site of choice. Sony is using AT&T’s network to provide access to its nationwide hot spots. While the camera is available today at select Sony stores, Sony also has other WiFi products in the pipeline. Stringer demoed a prototype alarm clock with the feel of a digital picture frame. The next-generation alarm clock, built with Chumby Industries, also displays weather, news, traffic and music videos or a Big Ben style alarm in lieu of normal alarm tones. Using a service like Pandora that already knows the user’s tastes, the music – as well as the news and headlines – can be customized to the consumer’s interests.

“The device uses an open platform, so professional developers and new users can create applications to have an ever-growing set of new services,” Stringer said. “It is always on and connected to the net.”

While boasting of Sony’s having commercialized an OLED TV last year, Stringer said the next step is to launch a model that is even thinner than those on the market today – perhaps even so thin it could be bendable. Showing a disk the size of a CD playing a Beyonce music video, Stringer demonstrated an organic, bendable OLED screen prototype.

To date, Sony has sold more than 10 million Blu-Ray disc players in the US, making it the number-one Blu-Ray disc player since July 2007, accounting for more than half of the players sold. John Lassetar, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, joined Stringer on stage to praise the benefits of Blu-Ray.

“You can’t go back when you have this,” he said. “Finally to get a Blu-Ray disk and see the quality of what we do. We sweat over every tiny detail at Pixar, and finally consumers will be able to see this.”

Pixar is developing applications for Blu-Ray, including games and virtual worlds where users can, for example, set the weather at Snow White’s castle to the weather in their home town or across the globe in Japan. Lassetar also showed a racing game based on the cartoon Cars that lets players customize and learn more about their cars while watching the movies. Pixar’s upcoming movie, Up, will be available in 3D for Blu-Ray.