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I think the article sums up Sony's major mistake very well. They were, and to some extent still are, to tied to a "physical" ecosystem instead of a content driven one. Memory Stick, iLink and other proprietary technologies are no longer a way to keep a customer tied to your brand, they have instead become a way to scare people off from it. (even Apple realized that with "no DRM" music eventually).
It comes down to content, ease of use and design (as well as price of course). I have owned SonyEricsson phones since they exist (SonyEricsson t68i for those who remember) until the K800i. They were really good but I also wondered why on earth there was no legit and easy way to put music on a WALKMAN phone... Moreover... I also had a Vaio notebook with their music system installed. A real pain, I never purchased any song. The system was incompatible with my SonyEricsson phone...
The point is: Sony is a media jaggernaut and yet all of their content failed to materialize on their own phones and devices. They failed to integrate content and devices out of fear (I guess) and corporate culture and now they are paying the price for it. Sony makes wonderful devices, I still own a couple of them (HD handycam) but, in order to get out of this mess they should:
- heavily invest in software. A unified, OPEN (not PROPRIETARY), GUI and OS for all their devices. This would allow them to have the same feeling, design and percieved quality. I think PS3 PSP OS looks interesting in this regard.
- heavily invest in putting content on devices. Make a joint venture with Amazon or something...
- stop branding SonyEricsson. The Walkman series and Cybershot series and then the Bravia series... Every time they dilute the brand.
Just let them be SonyEricsson phones. But please stop using Windows for everything you do...
You have a PS3, PSP, SonyEricsson phones... How long will it take for Sony to realize they better put their resources in developing an OS (not CRIPPLED but open, maybe based on Unix or something).
05/21/09
It comes down to content, ease of use and design (as well as price of course). I have owned SonyEricsson phones since they exist (SonyEricsson t68i for those who remember) until the K800i. They were really good but I also wondered why on earth there was no legit and easy way to put music on a WALKMAN phone... Moreover... I also had a Vaio notebook with their music system installed. A real pain, I never purchased any song. The system was incompatible with my SonyEricsson phone...
The point is: Sony is a media jaggernaut and yet all of their content failed to materialize on their own phones and devices. They failed to integrate content and devices out of fear (I guess) and corporate culture and now they are paying the price for it. Sony makes wonderful devices, I still own a couple of them (HD handycam) but, in order to get out of this mess they should:
- heavily invest in software. A unified, OPEN (not PROPRIETARY), GUI and OS for all their devices. This would allow them to have the same feeling, design and percieved quality. I think PS3 PSP OS looks interesting in this regard.
- heavily invest in putting content on devices. Make a joint venture with Amazon or something...
- stop branding SonyEricsson. The Walkman series and Cybershot series and then the Bravia series... Every time they dilute the brand.
Just let them be SonyEricsson phones. But please stop using Windows for everything you do...
You have a PS3, PSP, SonyEricsson phones... How long will it take for Sony to realize they better put their resources in developing an OS (not CRIPPLED but open, maybe based on Unix or something).
05/21/09