In Pictures: Sony’s New Digital SLR and a Round PC

The DSLR-200 will ship at the end of January and cost $699 with an 18-70mm lens. According to Sony, the 10-megapixel A200 has a CCD sensor, can shoot at up to 3 frames per second, and has improved auto-focus speed (up to 1.7 times faster than on the A100). The 2.7-inch LCD screen is larger than its predecessor, as well. One more technology addition: The A200 incorporates Sony’s D-Range Optimizer technology, which Sony says provides better image exposures and better detail when you’re shooting high-contrast or backlit scenes.

The Z555 incorporates Sony Ericsson’s Gesture Control, letting you mute the phone or snooze its alarm without having to interrupt what you’re doing. When a call comes in, a movement of your hand back and forth over the phone mutes the ringtone. The colors and designs that appear within the phone’s themes can update automatically as the year goes by. Linked to the phone’s calendar, the Z555 knows when it’s time for summer to become fall. The phone will be available in the first quarter.

Sony’s newly announced XEL-1 Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) is the first OLED television to ship in North America. The impressively thin, 11-inch TV delivers has an angled, articulating arm that’s attached to a base. The unit’s depth is just 3mm deep. It also has a wide viewing angle, too.

The company says the TV’s OLED technology delivers deep blacks, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, accurate colors and details, and a bright picture–all with no backlight and lower-than-typical power consumption.

The VAIO HTPC comes in both a standard and a premium configuration. Both versions feature a Blu-ray Disc optical drive for high-definition movies. The premium model comes with two external CableCARD compatible TV tuners so you can view and record two HD television programs simultaneously. With built-in DVR functionality, each unit can record up to 50 hours of HD television programming and pause and rewind live TV for on-demand playback.

The HDR-SR12 ($1400) is one of two new Sony camcorders that can take 10-megapixel photos, a remarkably still image resolution for a camcorder. The camcorder features a 120GB hard drive, and includes face detection technology that automatically identifies up to eight faces and corrects focus, exposure, and color controls for both video and still photos. A second camcorder, the HDR-SR11 ($1,200) which has a 60GB hard drive, also can take 10-megapixel photos and has the face detection technology.

Upgrade nearly any desktop with this Blu-Ray/DVD/CD player. Sony’s new “BD ROM” (which the company says will cost less than $200) features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for installation into PCs running Vista or XP.

The small XBR6 models offer full HD 1080p resolution in new 32-inch and 37-inch screen sizes. The TVs have a new industrial design and deliver such advanced features as the new 3D graphic interface and DMeX compatibility.

The innovative Rolly is a music player that meshes robotics and audio into one. It has built-in speakers and 2GB of flash memory for storing music. Notably, it has a self-motion function so the Rolly can dance to its own beat; the unit even includes software so you can program motion data.

The gimmicky device can also stream music from any Bluetooth-enabled device. Sony plans to introduce a limited edition Rolly at Sony Style stores and select outlets later this year.