Molyneux Hosts Sony Show & Tell

Spotlight on 4K TVs, tablets, cameras, headphones due for Spring debut

February 28, 2013 By Nancy Klosek

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Sony Electronics president and COO Phil Molyneux presented Sony’s key category introductions for 2013 to the U.S. press, on the heels of the company’s Xperia Z tablet global debut earlier this week at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress exhibition. He said his purpose was to invite “side-by-side comparisons” between Sony and products from its competitors, just as the Sony SKUs are on the verge of release to American dealers during the spring.
    
The presentation gave Sony a chance to re-train focus on the two newest Ultra HD 4K screen sizes it showed at the 2013 International CES last month as the models move closer to introduction. Part of the XBR-X900A series, the 55- and 65-inch models, pricing still undetermined, should reach retail shelves in the April-May timeframe, according to Ray Stanley, TV product planning manager.

Sony is planning with key regionals and selected national accounts “how we can tell our story [for 4K] on the shop front. That’s being finalized now.  We’ll be selective on who we partner with, because the story needs to be told very carefully to the consumer,” Molyneux said.

“We have to have the best product and experience on the market,” Molyneux said. “We will have it with our color gamut technology, our upscaling capability, our remarkable color performance and unbelievable audio capability. The second key component is content. Today, there are 7,000 Blu-ray titles in the market and we do outstanding upscaling. The third component is native 4K content, and our delivery service will be out in the summer.”
 
The new 4K sets are primed for the 40 4K software titles being released this year, said Stanley. He also enumerated the sets’ various features, including the 4K X-Reality PRO picture engine upscaling chip designed to enhance 2K content display. TRILUMINOS LED backlighting technology expands the green and red palettes and improves skin-tone rendering. New side-mounted front-facing speakers that use magnetic fluid and digital signal processing, and are placed in a way that does not compromise the sets’ thin profile, allows increased output wattage without compromising sound, said Molyneux.

Other products highlighted were:

The 10.1-inch Android-system Xperia Z tablet, claimed to be the world’s thinnest and lightest (6.9mm and 495 grams, or just under a pound). It incorporates Sony’s NFC (Near Field Communication) One-Touch functionality, which lets users move audio, video and images and content among any of the 35 NFC-compatible Sony devices being released this year by touching the devices together. The 16GB version is available in April at $499 and there will be a 32GB version to follow at $599.

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