Sony has a broad product range, and it got a bit broader at the electronics show with the debut of two new Android tablets, an Android phone, and an Android Walkman prototype.
Stephen Shankland
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
BERLIN--The biggest news from Sony was the arrival of the Sony Tablet S and Sony Tablet P. Here, Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony's consumer products and services group, shows them off. The $499 Tablet P folds in two with a dual-screen clamshell design, and the $599 Tablet S has an asymmetric design to try to give it a natural upright feel.
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Sony's Android tablets
Sony shone the spotlight on its two new Android tablets by literally placing them on a pedestal, placed prominently near the press conference entrance.
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Sony Tablet S
The Sony Tablet S is thicker at the top when held in a landscape orientation, and its screen is designed to be read easily at an angle when it's laid on a flat surface. The asymmetry is more noticeable when moving the tablet from one hand to the other in portrait orientation.
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Fujio Nishida
Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, unveiled the company's new Wi-Fi-equipped e-book reader, the $149 Sony Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1, at a press conference at the IFA electronics show in Berlin.
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Sony's Android Walkman
Sony showed an Android-powered Walkman prototype that brings many music-specific features. One of them is this W.Music app, shown here with a scattering of albums that will play when tapped. Swipe gestures bring new albums into view. The device also has a dedicated button to activate music controls.
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Sony laptops
Sony showed off a range of laptops at IFA, including the new Vaio SE 15-inch model. Sony has a thing for bright colors, too, though; at the front here is the Vaio VPCCA2S1E with a backlit keyboard, higher-end graphics, and a high-contrast display.
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Sony keyboards
Even Sony's keyboards are colorful.
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Sony Xperia Arc S
Sony Ericsson's stable of Android phones grew by one with the debut of the Xperia Arc S at the IFA electronics show in Berlin. The quad-band smartphone has an 8.1-megapixel camera with an Exmor R image sensor, 2D and 3D sweep panorama technology, and a 4.2-inch, 854x480-pixel display.
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Howard Stringer
Sony CEO Howard Stringer took a defiant tone at a press conference at IFA.
