Sony CEO to kickoff CES 2014 with keynote speech

January will be here before too long, and with it will come CES 2014. It was announced on Sunday that the honor of kicking off the festivities with the keynote speech will go to Sony CEO Kaz Hirai. Sony has recently had success showing off new handsets at CES. In 2012, the Sony Xperia Sreceived some attention with its thin translucent strip near the bottom of the device. Last year, we named the Sony Xperia Z the Best Smartphone at the show and the device wowed the crowd by showing off its resistance to water.

Ironically, just as its CEO is about to take center stage to kick off this annual, high-profile event, Sony might not be displaying any more phones like the Xperia S and Xperia Z at CES. Earlier this year, we were told exclusively by a tipster that Sony will no longer present flagship phones at the show. This is apparently all part of the Japanese based manufacturer's campaign to prevent leaks by tightening up the rules on who can handle a prototype device. 

The Sony Xperia Z1 was heavily leaked under the Sony Honami code name. By the time the phone was officially announced by Sony, practically all of the specs and the design of the phone had already been known.

By the way, in case you are the curious type, or need to settle a bet, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs gave the keynote speech for the 2013 CES show. As usual CES 2014 will take place in Las Vegas.

source: SEMC