X

Inside Sony's Secret Garden

In the cavernous depths of inner-Sydney yesterday, Sony held its annual showcase of products from mobile phones, televisions, MP3 players and gaming devices that will be released in the lead-up to Christmas.

Lexy Savvides
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
Lexy Savvides
Sony_1.jpg
1 of 9 CBSi

In the cavernous depths of inner-Sydney yesterday, Sony held its annual showcase of products from mobile phones, televisions, MP3 players and gaming devices that will be released in the lead-up to Christmas.

Oddly dubbed "The Secret Garden", we were led through a horticulturist's dream. Gerberas sat between gaming consoles, and botanicals played with Bravias. Click through to see the products that Sony thinks you want under your tree.

The first room featured a host of new Bravia televisions including the Z5500 series and the garden-friendly WE5 series.

Sony_2.jpg
2 of 9 CBSi

So this is the S-series walkman (or the NWZS540 if we're being pedantic) which is set to go head-to-head with the iPod Nano. It's available in four colours and has an external speaker to blast out tunes on the nearest bus, train or public transport of choice to annoy fellow commuters.

Sony_3.jpg
3 of 9 CBSi

The most exciting thing on show was the X-series Vaio, which at just 14mm thick and weighing in at a feather-light 700g, was small enough to lose down one's pants, should you be into that sort of thing. Just don't ask Sony what's inside as the official word is that the specs aren't ready to be released yet.

Sony_4.jpg
4 of 9 CBSi

And this is what it looks like when pulled apart. We didn't do it, honest.

Sony_5.jpg
5 of 9 CBSi

Next stop is the camera booth. This is the Cyber-shot WX1 attached to the Party-shot dock which moves the camera around the room automatically, zooming in and out to detect a smile amongst the crowd. Once it finds a happy camper it takes a shot automatically.

Sony_6.jpg
6 of 9 CBSi

For bass-heads, the MDRXB700 will be right up your alley. They come in three sizes depending on how big your head is, or how immersive you prefer your audio experience to be.

Sony_7.jpg
7 of 9 CBSi

Quite possibly the cutest thing we saw in the garden, the EyePet is like the Tamagotchi for the PS3 generation. Using augmented reality, it reacts to what's happening around it. Here, it's having a shower.

Sony_8.jpg
8 of 9 CBSi

Now it's playing some sort of ball game.

Sony_9.jpg
9 of 9 CBSi

And for making it to the end of the garden, here's a bunch of flowers. As far as we know there's no tech embedded in them.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos