Sony premieres new Cyber-shots, photo frames

Continuing a bevy of electronics announcements, Sony has debuted three new Cyber-shots, beginning with the W220 and W210. Both are rated at 12.1 megapixels, and equipped with 4x optical zoom. The cameras are also able to reach ISO 3200 sensitivity, and have options for automatic face, smile and scene recognition. The one distinguishing aspect is image stabilization, as only the W220 uses true optical stabilization instead of digital.

The last Cyber-shot, the S950, is also equipped with 4x optical zoom, as well as the 2.7-inch LCD used by its peers. Its sensor has been scaled down to 10.1 megapixels however, and it omits scene and smile detection. Likewise, it uses v4.0 of Sony's Picture Motion Browser, instead of the v4.2 used on the W220 and W210.

Complementing the cameras are X1000, V1000, D92 and D82 photo frames. The top one, the X1000, is a 10-inch model said to have 15 times the contrast of earlier Sony frames, and 13 percent more brightness. It further includes calendar, alarm clock, auto-dimmer and slideshow functions, as well auto-rotation and power conservation settings. The V1000 is virtually identical, but drops from 2GB of internal storage to 1, and has reduced brightness and contrast.

The D92 and D82 are nine-inch frames, limited to 1GB of memory and VGA resolution, but with the same clock and calendar options as the 1000s. The frames similarly transfer photos the same way, whether through a USB cable or CF, SD, xD, MMC, Microdrive or Memory Stick cards.

No prices or release dates are ready for the D92 and D82, but the X1000 and V1000 frames are due in March for $300 and $250. The new Cyber-shots should become available in February, with a price of $190 attached to the W220.