Sony Tries To Get Mobile Traction

Smarting from criticism that its parent company’s string of huge losses is due to its failure to concentrate on mobile technology, Sony in Sydney yesterday unveiled new consumer gear that includes a new hinged tablet with two screens, and its first Sony-branded (rather than Sony-Ericsson) smartphone, the Xperia S.Also shown in its Sony Sessions briefing for the Aussie media at Sydney’s Establishment downtown watering hole, were items including:

• The Walkman “Z” series of Android-powered music players, said to feature a digital amplifier which greatly reduces distortion, along with a 4.3-inch colour display. The Z can be loaded up with music via Sony’s Music Unlimited service, costing $4.99-12.99 a month. It will be available in April for $269.

• A “personal 3D viewer” which you clap on your head to view theatre-style movies or play 3D games while lolling on the living-room sofa. March delivery for $899.

• New “balanced armature” ear-bud headphones claimed to deliver stunning stereo sound, simulating 5.1 loudspeaker formats, thanks to a series of miniature drivers. Prices start at $100 – a model with noise cancellation is $550.

The dual-screen Sony Tablet P is small and light enough to slip into a coat pocket – each screen is 5.5-in, or about the size of a playing card lying on its side.

You can run a game on the top screen and have controls on the lower display; put an app on the top and a virtual keyboard below; or turn it vertically and read e-ebooks with two slender pages side by side. Prices start at $729.