I'm jumping in a bit late on this, but I've got a couple of
comments about my opinion of Sony
> Re Sony, they are a respectable company and noone has any doubt about it.
> But since the overhaul of thier executive structures, it has been a known
> fact that they have been struggling and stumbling in consumer electronic
> market.
Margins too low anymore. They've had to cheapify consumer stuff
for the past 20 years. At least in their home theater stuff (receivers,
amps, DVD players, VCR's), quality is the same or worse as any other
cheepie no-name brand... only more expensive because it's a "Sony." One
of their last great innovations that actually succeeded (IMO) was
Trinitron. They were without question the best available CRTs for dozens
of years. Most other innovations are me-too's, together with a HUGE smack
of arrogance and proprietary stuff (think mini-disc and memory stick).
It became a known patter recently that they search for what they
> perceive to be profitable market, explore them, but if they found they are
> not for them, they are too quick to fold up. It was not like that before.
> Look at Cleo (or whatever is called, a Palm PDA) from which they retreated.
> Their portable audio is overwhelmed by iPod, and much touted Play Station
> stuff is now seem to be in limbo. Theyb are still a king in the
> institutional market. They have been producing great imaging products. But
> they are operating like a fire drill and still seraching for the directions
> and goals in "consumer electronics" area.
> Those are the facts which is substantiated by CFO's uttering.
>
I'm pretty sure that in their professional gear, the quality is
still there. Of course the prices are higher and the margins are fatter.
At least if you buy a professional-grade Sony product though, you get what
you pay for.
> I wish they did not have a propriatary hot shoe.... :-).
>
See above about Sony's love of proprietary sh*t.
-Cory
<\rant_mode>
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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