Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer bristles every time he gets the question: Why can't the Japanese electronics giant be more like Apple?
The maker of the iPod, iPhone, and Mac computers consistently delivers supercool gadgets that are easy to use, while Sony sells music players, TVs, and cameras that get mixed reviews and often don't even work well with other Sony (SNE) products.
"Sony is a very big company," Stringer says by way of explanation. "Our toughest competitors are niche organizations."
Stringer is quick to admit, though, that Sony may face a troubled future if it can't rival Apple (AAPL) in creating simple software that makes its gadgets fun and in giving consumers easy access to music and videos.
Apple's iTunes store has long made filling iPods a cinch, but Sony's consumer electronics and PlayStation divisions have only recently started to integrate their offerings with those of the company's movie studio and... More »
Sony CEO Howard Stringer has revealed that consumers are purchasing PS3 systems faster than Sony can possibly produce them.
Obviously this contributes to what is known as a production bottleneck for the PS3. He also added that Sony continue to make a loss on every PS3 console sold.
To quote: He was, however, bullish in terms of consumer uptake of the PS3, saying that, "Consumers are purchasing our PlayStation 3 video game consoles faster than we can produce them."
"We currently have a production bottleneck with the PlayStation 3", he continued.
He also confirmed that even with hardware bottlenecking due to demand, "You also know, however, that our business model is not perfect, and that we make a loss on every console we sell. "
Reports indicate that Sony, Samsung, Hitachi, Motrola and more specialists have teamed up to form a joint industry development body to bring out a Wireless Home Digital Interface.
What this will allow is secure encrypted HD video delivery through multiple rooms and then some with less than one millisecond latency.
One member commented “If you have a TV in the home, that TV will be able to access any source in the home, whether it's a set-top box in the living room, or the PlayStation in the bedroom, or a DVD player in another bedroom.”
To quote: What the flip is WHDI? Well, according to the Israel-based Amimon company on whose technology the standard is to be based, "A key ingredient of WHDI technology is a revolutionary video-modem that operates in the 5GHz unlicensed band to enable robust wireless delivery of uncompressed HD video (including 1080p).
Sony CEO Howard Stringer has expressed the company's desire to turn around the losses of its games and television divisions this year.
Stringer said at a recent shareholder meeting that restoring profitability in its TV and game businesses is now the top priority, after the company posted losses of $3.4 billion in two years in the PlayStation division, and it revealed in May that the Bravia division had losses of $678 million last fiscal year (ending March 31).
Sony, however, forecasts PS3 to sell 10 million units this year, along with nine million PS2s, and expects the games unit to post its first annual profit in three years.
Stringer says the company is striving for innovation. "Three years ago, we were criticized for the lack of innovation. Three days ago, in a UK brand poll, Sony was ranked No.1 this year," he said, referring to a poll we reported on previously.
"But, we are not No.1 in my mind yet," he noted, according to... More »
The current PlayStation Store is a bit of a clunker. It's functionally sound, but a bit rough around the edges from a usability standpoint. Compared to the rest of the PlayStation 3's visual design, it's certainly lacking—but that's reportedly going to change come Springtime, as the Store is said to get a new coat of paint.
One aspect of the Store that's been hinted about by reliable publications, like the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, is Sony's download service, one that president Howard Stringer may be talking about when he refers to the "expansion" of the PlayStation Network.
It may be Sony's best bet in fending off Apple's iTunes for movie and television distribution. And it may be closer than we thought.
Sure, it's been a long time coming, with first reports of the digital download venture hitting in December of 2006, but Sony's been awfully quiet about when it's coming.
According to sources who attended the ret... More »
The chief executive of Sony Corporation, Sir Howard Stringer, has revealed that he believes the company is performing well, but has expressed concern about the impact a strengthening yen could have on the business.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, he admitted: "There is always an impact on exports. The yen is volatile...We watch it with some anxiety," reports Reuters.
Because a significant proportion of the company's goods are exported for sale overseas, a rise in the strength of the native currency automatically makes its goods more expensive for other countries to import.
But despite that, he said, the consumer electronics arm is holding up well so far, buoyed by a better performance in the last month or so by the PlayStation division.
"PlayStation 3 has now gone past Xbox on the Christmas market. It's moving into its own as it gets into higher bandwidth...PS3 is out of the woods and beginning to hold its own," he said.
... More »
Sony has shored up the problems in its electronics, and will concentrate in 2008 on bringing more video content to its devices and improving its software, said CEO Sir Howard Stringer.
"We will see if we can enter the battle against the software companies. This is probably the year we need to demonstrate that," Stringer said during a meeting with reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Monday morning.
One of the first examples of this strategy will be an expansion of the PlayStation Network. The network now is mostly used by gamers. Sony wants to turn it into a platform to deliver video, too. Sony will hold a press conference in two months to discuss changes to the PlayStation 3.
The world, of course, will wait and see. Consumers and analysts for the past several years have complained about the functionality of the software in Sony devices. The company, along with nearly everyone in the electronics industry, has also been trying ... More »
Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD-DVD following Warner Brothers' recent backing of Sony's Blu-ray technology, in a move that could sound the death knell of HD-DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.
Paramount and DreamWorks Animation, which makes the Shrek films, came out in support of HD-DVD last summer, joining General Electric's Universal Studios as the main backers of the Toshiba format.
However, Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD-DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.
Paramount is set to have a bumper 2008 with several likely blockbusters, including the latest instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise, slated for release.
Paramount joining the Blu-ray camp would leave HD-DVD likely to suffer the same fate as Sony's now obsolete Betamax ... More »
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