Time: 16.30pm.
Location: Sony Europe headquarters, Weybridge, Surrey.
The weather outside is bitterly chilly, and there’s a sigh of relief from each of the 30 bloggers and journalists that make their way into the warmth of the welcome area. They slowly shake off the cold, pick up their name badges, and then sneak off to an undisclosed area to begin their mission.
The mission? Get a first look at the brand new Sony products.
These lucky 30 - whose expertise ranges from technology and lifestyle to fashion and food - are here for the #SonyPreview event, a showcase of all our 2015 products several months before they start appearing in shops. Think of it like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with gadgets instead of confectionery.
Over the next couple of hours spent at our headquarters, the group were given the opportunity to check out and play with all our new products that were first announced at CES in Las Vegas.
First-up was the TV area, which kicked things off with a demonstration of the powerful new X1 4K processor that’s built into all of the 2015 4K BRAVIA models. When placed side-by-side with one of our fantastic 2014 4K models, the X1 somehow manages to improve the clarity and colour yet further, and the ultra-slim design seemed to blow everyone away, leading one person to ask: “Where do the wires go!?”
From here, the group was led to the digital imaging room, which was covered in artificial grass and had its very own duck-pond to recreate the feeling of a park. This is where Sony product specialists demonstrated the capabilities of our latest cameras including the a7II, the a7S and our AX33 Handycam and X1000V Action Cam, two compact video-cameras capable of recording in 4K Ultra HD quality.
Last but by no means least was the audio room, home to an array of new Sony headphones, wireless speakers and the much talked-about ZX2 Hi-Res Audio Walkman.
It wasn’t just the bigger products that impressed, though. The tiny and inexpensive SRS-X1 spherical speaker packed a hugely impressive sound for its size, and there was plenty of interest surrounding the new Android TV platform that’s included on selected TV models.
We didn’t want anyone to miss out on the evening, and so we sent a secret agent armed with a video-camera to infiltrate the headquarters and see what they could find behind closed doors. Take a look at the results below.
Mission complete.
