If you don’t, take a good look and think it over. I’ll tell you what it is at the end of this entry. :)
If you’ve been following my blog, you probably already know that I went to SMX last December 6 to attend the awarding ceremonies of Nuffnang’s "My First Sony Experience" blogging contest, hoping to get my hands on that handsome Cyber-shot T700. It was an event within an event, by the way… the main one being the Sony Expo.
I arrived at the SMX at around quarter to 11:00 and got myself registered. Since the program was still minutes away, I went around the exhibit grounds and saw some really neat stuff.
I've always dreamed of witnessing the invention and introduction of something totally new... something revolutionary. The 20th century was full of these... the first radio receiver (1901), the air conditioner and the neon light (1902), manned airplane (1903), color photography (1907), cellophane (1908), electronic TV system (1927), penicillin (1928), car radio (1929), stereo records (1933), the photocopier (1937), the ballpoint pen (1938), the helicopter (1939), color television system (1940), the credit card (1950), optic fiber (1955), the microchip (1959), the audio cassette (1962), the automated teller machine (1969), and that's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
Well, this year's Sony Expo was the closest I have ever gotten to having that experience as Sony was introducing eight world's firsts there... well, actually nine, but... just read on and you'll see what I mean.
But before I mention any of those "world's firsts", I have to mention that among the first things that really caught my attention were the two stunning girls at the Xplod booth standing beside two equally-stunning cars set-up with Xplod audio systems… the cars that is, not the girls. :P
Moving on...
There were several Bravia HD sets scattered all over the place. HDTVs have LONG been on the top of my wishlist. If only I could claim ownership to even just one of them... just one! Sigh...
One of them, a really big set and hooked on to a Bluray Disc (BD) player, was showing Casino Royale. I must say, that was my first time to see an HD set showing real HD material, and I was floored by the stunning image quality.
A lot of appliance centers that have HD sets on display do not use HD material in demonstrating the power of those beauties… I really don’t get it! How are they supposed to sell HD TVs if they’re showing videos full of “jpeg-artifacts” and stray pixels on their HD screens?!
Show them pores! Show them fine hairs! Show them film grains!
At first I thought it was a joke when someone told me that with bluray technology and true HD sets, one will be able to see the pores on the actors’ skins… and when I saw that at the Sony Expo, as I’ve said, I was floored! Now, I’m wanting one of those more than I’ve ever had!
As if that weren’t enough, Sony was introducing the world’s first Motionflow 240Hz LCD TV… the Bravia Z450.
What’s that, you ask? Well, if you don’t know it yet, one of the “weak points” of LCD panels/sets when pitted against plasma panels is that LCDs have a tendency to “smear” fast moving objects (like a football flying across a football field). With the Z450, there will be none of that!
Colors a bit dull for you? Black not black enough? Well, there’s Bravia X450… the world’s first RGB LED backlight LCD TV.
Moving on…
There’s the Alpha, Sony’s own line of DSLRs. The main attention-grabber was the Alpha 900, mounted with a white-barreled Zeiss lens. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get intimate with it as there was a crowd around it when I went to the Alpha booth.
There are, however, several large prints hanging above the booth… I was told that those were shots taken from the Alpha 900. Wonderful pictures, I must say.
But, really, at 24.6 MP and being Sony’s flagship DSLR, you shouldn’t expect any less from it. Just have a look at its specs, they’re all pretty much up there.
There’s also the VAIO T-Series, the world’s first noise canceling notebook.
You’ve probably been in a situation where you try your darnedest to concentrate on what you’re doing in front of your computer, only to be repeatedly and annoyingly distracted by the sounds of your surroundings. You then pull out your trusty pair of headphones and crank your media player’s and computer’s volume high enough to drown out whatever sounds that you’re bombarded with. Then you’d end up feeling even more stressed out because of the additional noise you’re introducing to your ear drums which, by the way, could also do permanent damage to your sense of hearing.
Well, if you’ve been in that situation a little too often, you’d surely love this!
No, it doesn’t cancel out noise for the user on its own per se, instead it comes bundled with a pair of noise canceling headphones which provides for a quiet computing/working environment to anyone who desires it.
What if you’re not working? What if you want to just relax and watch a movie or listen to music? Yep, you can do that on the VAIO T-series also but, what if you want to stay away from your VAIO for a while? If you have a home entertainment system, Sony’s got another solution for you… the MDR-NC500D (the world’s first noise canceling headphones) which is capable of canceling out 99% of ambient noise! With one of these babies, you will never have to carry your TV or radio off to a secluded place in your house to be able to hear everything that you want to hear… even if there’s a whole bunch of people around you sharing the juiciest gossips with each other at the top of their lungs.
On the move? No problem! The NWZ-S730 Series, the world’s first noise canceling portable music player, can do what the VAIO T and the MDR-NC500D can even if you’re on the go!
Neat, no?
And, there’s more!
There’s the Cyber-Shot T77… the world’s first and slimmest camera with optical image stabilizer…
And the TG1 Handycam… the world’s first, smallest, lightest, and slimmest full HD Camcorder! That’s full HD, baby! And it’s so small that it can literally fit on the palm of your hand!
Amazing stuff, no kidding!
Anyway, enough with the juicy and drool-worthy “toys”… this is getting rather lengthy…
At the program/awarding ceremony, as I’ve mentioned in my brief entry about the event, we (Nuffnangers and media people) were treated to free lunch, serenaded, and entertained. And yes, KC Concepcion was there… she was the one who awarded the winner of the blogging contest.
Honestly, I’m not really into KC… but after seeing her fool around quite a bit at the event, throwing jokes back and forth with her co-hosts (which, I must say, was my favorite part/segment of the Sony expo 2008), I have come to like her quite a bit.
And for the more than five hours I was there, I got to make a few new acquaintances.
And to top it all off, even if I didn’t win the blogging contest, I went home with my hands full… two bags, a stuffed toy, an audio CD, a beach towel, and a travel pouch.
Can’t wait for next year’s expo… :)
P.S. I almost forgot, the first image on this entry is the world’s thinnest LCD HD TV… the ZX1, I believe that is. Only 9.9mm thick!!! It’s not yet available here, though.
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