Sony is really recovering from troubled times - having one of the biggest (if not the biggest) writeoff in business history - on the order of USD 5 billion (need ref)

product lines

my own personal opinions (and free form notes)

1. Apple took away their walkman market with the release of the iPod
2. MD players in this day in age?
3. MP3 format took over their ATRAC format which was proprietary
4. Sony Playstation 3 is not gaining the acceptance of gamers. Microsoft is successful with their X box and Nintendo is successful with their Wii
   • http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070920/Play_Station_070920?s_name=&no_ads=
5. Sony TVs don't have the quality they once used to. I heard a rumor that their plasma TVs may even be outsourced. Samsung has taken quite a lead in this market.
6. investment in Columbia was a bad deal (per writeoff comment above) - <insert article about Peter G>
7. Sony laptops aren't as sexy and they once were. they are quite expensive and gadgets like the ASUS Eee take the cake on one end, the MacBook Air on the premium end! I had a friend comment he would never buy another Sony laptop due to finding so much proprietary software, it was a nightmare to get Linux running on it!
8. I'm not clear if the Sony Ericsson deal was a solid one. More news about Nokia phones and especially the iPhone. they really lost hold of the PDA phone market!
9. online music market just about taken away by iTunes
10. I don't think people really buy Sony desktops anymore. iMac is far more sexy...
11. cameras are nice but Canon gets a better rep. Proprietary memory sticks don't help in this age of SDs...
12. online gaming. Linden Lab with Second Life has taken a lot of thunder...

any part of the "world of Sony" i missed?

previous purchases

I was once a happy Sony consumer and as with anything - times change. I had:

1. Sony walkwan
2. Sony discman
3. Sony 17" TV
4. Sony PS/2
5. Sony Z cellphone (via Sprint)

Sony Archives

I visited the Sony Archives (03-5448-4455, requires reservation) on May 28, 2008. It was a great learning experience and a great way to get grounded to Sony's founding vision. I was quite amused at the positioning of Sony back in the 50,60,70,and 80s! Just made me realize how old I am and how the company grew up in a totally different generation!

These are pretty "raw" note for the time being...

Message from the Founders

Ibuka & Morita are the founders of Sony. It reminds me of Intel when they were Fairchild Semiconductors. It's nice to see how "technical" its founding members are!

• "freedom & open mindedness" - nice to hear this as a foundation!
• "not to copy"
• "build own culture" - as in they were not interested in conforming to Japanese culture per se.
• "set an example"
• "video" "global revolution" - they were correct!
• "create future" (not predict or forecast the future) - nice to hear Landmark Education in this :)
• "create a new field" "new world" - Dance Labs comes to mind
• "creative energy" -> "product planning"
• "hardware and software evolve hand in hand" - yeay! :)
• "reliable partners" - with reference to being great partners with Columbia Pictures
• "more (?) you handle in a lifetime"
• "develop capabilities second (?) to none"
• "uniqueness" -> "core company strength" - is Sony unique today?

Products

1. TR-63 - pocketable (1957)
2. P-2 - education
3. TPS-L2 - overcame objection: "without ability to record, it won't sell"
4. SL-6300 - Betamax "time shift machine"
5. IDT-LF1 - wireless display you could "carry to any room of the house"
6. NW-HD1 - 20HDD iPod
   • http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2004/11/23/Sony-Network-Walkman-NW-HD1/p1
7. SDR-3X - bi-pedal robot
8. QRIO - running robot
9. NW-MS70D - iPod shuffle like!
10. NAS-A1 - Apple TV (just music) "net juke"

Quotes

Morita +

• "Knowhow to build on already existing technology"

Ibuka

• "specialist days are over" "project manager"