Las Vegas – Sony’s
Dash tabletop personal Internet viewer is getting company.
Sony will expand the Dash selection to three
models sometime during the summer, adding a portable AC/DC model and a
non-portable model whose price will come in under the current Dash’s $149
suggested retail, said Katie O’Brien, product marketing manager for Sony’s personal
audio group.
All three
models will access the same Internet services, feature 7-inch touchscreen, and
Wi-Fi. Pricing and precise ship dates haven’t been announced.
The portable
model will be available in three colors and features rechargeable battery. The
new opening-price non-portable model will feature one larger speaker compared
to the current Dash’s two smaller speakers.
Dash streams
pushed information services, downloads apps from a store of more than 1,000
free apps, streams Pandora and Slacker Internet radio services, streams the
Netflix and Hulu Plus video streaming services, and connects to Facebook and
YouTube. It also features photo viewer and alarm clock functions.
In a separate
category, the Sony group launched three new iPod/iPhone-docking speaker
systems, including its first with stereo Bluetooth.
The $199-suggested
RDP-X60IP replaces a current $199 model but adds the Bluetooth features. A
second new model is the $79.99 RDP-M5IP, which fills a new price point for the
company, which continues to offer a $49.99 model.
The third new
model is the $149.99 RDP-M15IP, which is the company’s first speaker dock to
enhance its feature set with a downloadable app. The app will add alarm clock
functionality.
The company
continues to offer a $149.99 speaker dock with photo viewer.
