Sony chief executive Sir Howard Stringer on Thursday unveiled prototypes of video bifocals and bendable televisions as he kicked off a gadget-rich Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Stringer, with help from film celebrity Tom Hanks, unveiled the future products after Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) chief Gary Shapiro called on president-elect Barack Obama to support the industry.<\/p>\n
"Obama is the first digital president," Shapiro said while outlining the association’s political agenda.<\/p>\n
"We don’t seek a hand-out. We say embrace us. Let us innovate. Let us create. Our economy will flourish. Innovation is the best medicine to end economic stagnation."<\/p>\n
The CEA expects the market for televisions and gadgets to rebound in 2010 after a rocky 2009.<\/p>\n
Obama should get more visas issued so US technology firms can import much-needed talent and champion free trade pacts to clear paths for exporting creations, according to Shapiro.<\/p>\n
"The need to protect and promote innovation has never been greater," he said. "In short, do the consumer electronics industry no harm."<\/p>\n
The CES opening presentation veered from political to comic as movie-star Hanks strode on stage and poked fun at Shapiro and Sony before introducing the main act, Stringer.<\/p>\n
"Sir Howard Stringer is an old buddy," Hanks said after joking that the only reason he was there is because Sony studios keeps mandating CES appearances in his movie contracts.<\/p>\n
"If Blu-ray works out, he will be known as Lord Howard Stringer," said Hanks.<\/p>\n
Sony Blu-ray technology has been riding high after it won a format war with Toshiba-backed HD-DVD systems a year ago.<\/p>\n
Stringer enlisted Hanks to demonstrate video bifocals being developed by Sony.<\/p>\n
The glasses enable wearers to observe the world around them while video is streamed on mini-screens crafted into bottom corners of the lenses.<\/p>\n
"When wearing these glasses you can actually watch a movie and watch Tom Hanks at the same time," Stringer said while doing just that.<\/p>\n
Hanks tried on a pair and remarked they would benefit from some fine tuning to prevent real-world scenes from blurring as one’s head moves.<\/p>\n
"Generally thinking, a plus," Stringer said after Hanks backed off stage firing quips as he went. "This is the third time I’ve done this, and it may be the last."<\/p>\n
Stringer showed off new Sony gadgets including a Cybershot camera with built-in wireless capabilities that let users upload images to the Internet using "hot spots."<\/p>\n
He also unveiled a picture-frame size "alarm clock" that wakes users with images, music or video of their choosing and then serves up news, weather, sports or other day-starting data from the Internet.<\/p>\n
A video replica of London’s famed Big Ben clock tower chimed from the new generation digital alarm clock Stringer had on stage.<\/p>\n
"Wouldn’t you like to wake up to Big Ben?" Stringer asked rhetorically before finishing with a quip. "The clock, I mean."<\/p>\n
He treated his audience to a peek at a Flex OLED television so thin and malleable that he was able to bend one while it played a video of singer Beyonce’ performing.<\/p>\n
"How many people get the chance to squeeze Beyonce’?" Stringer queried playfully.<\/p>\n
Stringer wrapped his presentation with a clip of a 3-D animated movie being made with new Sony cinematic equipment.<\/p>\n
"I love this technology," famed film producer John Lasseter of Pixar said in a cameo appearance on stage with Stringer. "The future of this technology is pretty amazing.<\/p>\n
Lasseter added that all Pixar’s future films will be in 3-D.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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