Sony has officially kicked off its Summer Hotspots Expo 2011 with a press event last Thursday, March 10, and we were there to get our grubby hands on some of Sony’s most popular gadgets. On the show were pretty much everything you would want for consumer electronics including portables, consoles, 3D TVs, Move controllers, Gran Turismo race cockpits, Vaio laptops, Alpha DSLRs, Xperia phones, and a lot more. There’s so many things to see we didn’t want to leave! For those of you guys who wants a taste of what’s in the expo, here are some of our highlights.

 

Sony Internet TV

 

 

Sony’s newest product would be its Internet TV technology which brings the old Internet-on-TV concept to the new age with no set-top boxes required and in High Definition. Now you can enjoy the web and watch movies at the same time – in the comfort of your living room couch.

 

3D Capable Cybershots and a Handycam With Built-In Projector

Sony Cybershot TX110

 

Sony also announced a couple of new imaging devices with some interesting features. If you’re familiar with Sony’s Sweep Panorama 3D mode, you’ll be happy to hear that the new Cyber-shot TX110 and WX7 now come with a 3D Still Mode. Continuing with the 3D trend, the new TD10 Handycam has two sensors on its front to record 3D video – and you can view them on the no-glasses 3D LCD screen. Sony’s new PJ50 and PJ10 Handycams also feature built-in projectors so you can project your video onto a maximum of 60” without the need for extra equipment.

 

3D Capable Vaio Laptops

 

 

For fans of portable 3D computing Sony also introduced the Vaio F Series – which includes a 16” 1080p 3D display and active 3D glasses. It runs on an Intel quad-core i7 Processor and supports the latest Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost features from Intel.

 

3D Gaming and Portables

Gran Turismo 5 on a Race Cockpit

 

For fans of video games, there were also a lot of kiosks of PlayStation 3s and PSPs to try and get your hands on. We even tried one of the Gran Turismo cockpits with a Bravia 3D screen. There were Move controllers and games you can try and there was ample space for you to move around and enjoy the motion-based gaming peripheral.

 

We Like Us Some Alpha DSLRs and DSLTs

 

Sony A55 DSLT

 

We’re self confessed imaging fans so we immediately checked out the kiosk for the Alpha DSLR cameras and DSLTs even before they were completely ready for us. Sony’s new translucent DSLT technology utilizes a semi-transparent glass that will reflect 30% of the light upwards onto a phase detection autofocus sensor and the rest onto the image sensor. This eliminates the need for a pentaprism or mirror on the camera which is why most DSLRs are larger. What this means is a lighter, smaller camera with the power of a DSLR but with full-time phase detection auto-focus especially on video recording. This however, eliminates the optical viewfinder in lieu of an electronic one.

 

Sony Xperia Lineup Price Reduction and Xperia Arc

 

Sony Ericson Xperia Arc

 

Finally we saved the best for last. We walked onto the Xperia kiosk and dove straight onto the new Sony Ericson Xperia Arc smartphone. The nice lady even gave us enough time to try the phone out and put it through its paces. If you’re interested in Sony’s newest Android Gingerbread device, you can check out our article and HD video with our unofficial speed tests on the device on our previous article here.

 

If you’re interested in the older Xperia models, Sony has also lowered the price on last-years popular models. You’ll be best served by asking them about your particular model if you’re interested – since it looks like there are deals for cash and installment purchases. If you’re canvassing though, always check online prices for these phones as they may already be pretty low in comparison. (Read: check CMKCellphones.)

 

Summer Hotspots Event Schedule

 

In case you missed the event this weekend, you’ll be pleased to know that Sony is taking the Summer Hotspots Expo to the road. The event dates and venues are as follows:

 

Metro Manila:
Megatrade Hall 1 – March 10 – 13
Festival Mall – March 15 – 21
SM North EDSA – April 28 – May 4
Trinoma Mal – May 12 – 18

Luzon:
CSI Dagupan – March 25 – April 3

Visayas:
SM Cebu – April 29 – May 8

Mindanao:
Gaizano Davao – March 18 – 28
Limketkal CDO – April 2 – 10

 

So mark those calendars now and come out with your friends and/or family to check out what Sony has to offer for you. If you’re a gadget fan you’ll not want to miss it!

 

P.S. We’d like to thank Kesohazard & SpecialK of PXB and Mr. Jay from the Alpha group for letting us join in the event! Thanks guys! =)

 

More photos of the event here: