Sony Chief Executive Office Sir Howard Stringer delivered the Day One keynote address at the Consumer Electronic Show Thursday in Las Vegas, highlighting a number of key innovations including a bendable video screen and WiFi camera.
Stringer struck a defiant note throughout his speech, insisting that consumer electronics retailers must continue to develop new and exciting products despite the global recession.
Sony has maintained a large presence at the CES, even after announcing last month that it plans to cut about 8,000 jobs in the electronics business worldwide.
Sony Corp.'s sales of liquid-crystal-display televisions and Blu-ray players in the U.S. for the month of December exceeded expectations. The company said it has seen strong demand continue through the holiday season and plans to spur consumer demand in 2009 by releasing a number of fresh products. It was Stringer's third keynote address at the CES, and was introduced by actor Tom Hanks, who has starred in some of Sony's Pictures biggest hits. Hanks and Stringer palled around and stage, making fun of one another and cracking jokes to the delight of the three-quarters full Venetian Ballroom.
Stringer, along with Hanks, introduced a prototype version of glasses equipped with the ability to play back video in the line of vision.
The Sony head stressed that in order to stay relevant, new products must be multi-functional and affordable for customers. He introduced flexible OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen and the Cyber-shot GCS-G3 WiFi camera, which will retail for $499. Sony has unveiled a series of new products at the show, including a 1.4-pound laptop computer, energy-saving Bravia slim televisions, digital photo frames and $200 Webby camcorders.
On Wednesday, Sony took the wraps off the world's lightest 8-inch notebook -- the new VAIO(R) P Series Lifestyle PC.
About the size of a business envelope and roughly as thin as a cell phone, the VAIO Lifestyle PC is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket or handbag while integrating full-PC features.
"The VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC is your portal to the world, delivering entertainment and computing in a head-turning device that's small enough to put in your pocket," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "Designed for the fashionista in all of us, it's the ideal companion."
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.