Leaked just prior to CES 2016, the Sony h.ear go is the company’s newest stylish Bluetooth speaker. Its very small form factor allows the h.ear go to be extremely portable while still offering a host of unique features like Hi-Res Audio support and pairing via Sony’s SonyPal app.
Sony has been investing a lot of money in their Action Cam series cameras in order to take on current industry leader, GoPro. Thanks to the rise of the “must record everything lifestyle” and more recently drones, small cameras like the Action Cam are becoming more and more popular. At CES 2016, Sony unveiled their entry model Action Cam AS50 and AS50R bundle with some unique features. Those include SteadyShot, something that its 2015 line carries as well.
Sony hopes that their built-in image stabilization system becomes a big differentiator as its something GoPro units lack.
It almost seemed like a sure thing. After having 4K TVs on the market for over two years and announcing the impressive new 4K HDR X930D Android TV, surely Sony would also unveil a 4K UDK Blu-ray player. In fact just two months ago, Sony Pictures announced six 4K HDR Blu-ray titles for 2016 which require the new UHD players for playback.
Alas, it’s not meant to be as no 4K UHD Sony Blu-ray players were announced at CES 2016. More on this after the jump.
A product nobody was expecting but a core group of owners are cheering for is the Sony Hi-Res Turntable. Also known as the PS-HX500, this new turntable from Sony can, in its simplest form, play back any vinyls you have laying around. However, the magic of this device is shown when you connect it to your Mac or PC via a provided app and digitize all your old vinyls into lossless files.
The Sony HUIS Remote (pronounced house) is another project that’s coming out of the company’s crowdfunded internal projects. The idea here is that, unlike more complicated devices like the Logitech Harmony that can control all sorts of devices, the HUIS Remote is designed to do one thing, and do it well. That is to control devices around the house with IR and thanks to its e-Ink display, charging is the last thing you’ll have to worry about.
There might not have been a SmartWatch 4 announcement from Sony at CES 2016 but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any new watches on display. Arising from Sony’s crowdfunded projects, the Sony Wena Wrist watch is designed to fill the gap between smart and mechanical watches. Not fully mechanical – in the sense that there are health sensors and payment chips built in – but also not smart in that there is no LCD display with interactive content. Here’s a brief look.
Earlier in the week, I went a bit more in depth with the newly announced 4K Sony AX53 Handycam. In short, the camera takes everything you’ve liked about the AX33 and improves upon it while keeping the same $999 price tag. Here is a quick glimpse.
Later this year, Sony will be releasing the Action Cam AS50 and the Action Cam AS50R bundle which includes their brand new Live Monitor among other things. While the latest entry from Sony isn’t meant to be a flagship product, there is quite a bit to like and several improvements upon its predecessor that are worth noting. Best yet, the new AS50 is priced at $199 and includes an all new underwater housing.
I had the opportunity to talk with Van Nguyen from Sony Electronics about their newest model.
Out of left field (literally in that we were walking throughout the Sony booth and ran into this on our left side), Sony has decided to get into the ever growing home automation field. The move shouldn’t be much of a surprise, seeing how the company is working on its own smart lock solution with the Qrio. But at CES, Sony was ready to take a more compelling route
by integrating existing solutions in their 4K HDR X930D TVs.
In short, instead of needing to release their own bridge, blinds, lights, and whatever else that you might want, Sony is incorporating Logitech Harmony support in their latest TVs. Once connected, you can port scenes created on your Harmony unit and activate them with just a few clicks, right on your TV. Here’s a preview of a setup in action:
A few months back, the Sony MP-CL1, also known as the PlayStation 4 Mobile Projector, seemingly popped up out of nowhere. Its promise then was to allow you to take a projector anywhere by creating a form factor so small that it could fit in your pocket.
Now at CES 2016, I got to go hands on with the small projector which even offers around 2 hours of battery life for the ultimate wireless experience. I’m not sure how practical this device would be but for those who are cramped for space or travel, it might be a great solution.
Sony is no stranger to headphones and quality ones at that but at CES, the company’s newly-announced h.ear on headphones were not only able to stand out from the glut of headphones that manufacturers release each year, but from Sony’s own past lineup as well.
It’s obvious from the minute you see the h.ear on headphones (and yes, it’s all lower case) that Sony is going after a youthful demographic. While premium in every aspect, the h.ear on series opts out of the traditional dark tones and instead is offered in vibrant colors which can be seen after the jump. But besides a fun coat of paint, the h.ear on headphones pack a lot of powerful features that could make them your next headphones.
Those details after the jump.
By now, you’re all likely quite familiar with Sony’s Xperia Z5 family which consists of the Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium. However depending on where you live, like those of us in the US, you might not be getting the Z5 series for some time, if ever.
Having had a chance to finally see Sony’s flagship family in person, I decided to film a quick overview.
Just yesterday, we detailed the newly announced 4K HDR Sony X930D. Designated as the company’s 2016 flagship TV, the X930D packs in the latest Android TV software in a beautifully slim design. Here is a brief look at it.
Two years ago on stage, Sony announced their first 4K Handycam which they dubbed 4K for 2K (a play on its price) and a year ago, they revealed a newer generation, yet, this time 4K for 1K. Now Sony is back at it again with the FDR-AX53 which retains its predecessor’s $999 price tag.
With that move, the AX33 is receiving a $200 price drop but for the price difference, the Sony FDR-AX53 is gaining a whole lot of features. Those details after the jump.
The highlight from the Sony CES 2016 press conference was their latest 4K HDR X930D. Available in 55-, 65-, and 75-inch (X940D) variants, the newest TV from Sony is the only model being shown on the floor and talked about. While Kaz Hirai did hint that other models could arrive in 2016, clearly Sony wants to focus and only talk about the X930D which they call their flagship unit.
However, on Sony’s own press portal, there is information about another 4K HDR TV, the XBR-X850D. When I asked about it on the show floor, nobody knew anything about the model and after talking with a few Sony reps, curiously their press portal is down. Not to worry though since I have all the revealed information after the jump.
