Reuters - Sony Are One Point Away From Junk

[Kopkiwi]

Their tv's aren't better than enough brands, and they overprice them... I'm sure that isnt' helping..

It's sad but it's true. Sony TV prices are beyond stupid. I can get cost from Sony here in NZ through a mate and it's STILL more expensive than the other big name brands.

The worst thing that can happen for the gaming industry is for Sony to drop out of it. We all lose in that instance.

[MacP]

Sony make more money from the entertainment division then than they do from all other divisions combined.

[PS3!!!!!]

Sony needs to release those Tvs with the ps3s built in and it will solve everything...Your welcome Sony

With their television division they need to improve their panels and keep the same cost. People do realize that Sony is a good luxury brand and will pay extra for it. But it only works when your panels are at par with everyone elses.

Most areas of Sony need to follow Playstation, forward thinking. Most areas are coasting in the flow of other products coat tails. They have done an awesome job with the S tablets they just need to push harder

[Lasombra]

Sony is Sony. It's the Japanese Juggernaut, and even a juggernaut slows down at times only to make you think you're safe and then crush you like a bug. I think once Japan gets back to 100% from the tsunami from last year, it'll start chugging along like it always did before.

I doubt it'll hurt the PS4, whenever that will be released. I think Sony has invested too much time and money to not launch it when it is time to come out.

[Soldier 95B]

Their tv's aren't better than enough brands, and they overprice them... I'm sure that isnt' helping..

Agreed. There are better on the market, for less....much less in some instances.

[TGO]

Actually I was looking into buying a new TV only to find currys no longer stock them
I did ask about it and they said that Sony are only releasing a few models and have become a premium brand only sold in large stores or from Sony specialist because Sony won't send them out
I guess its pointless sending stock to places where the average customer can't afford them
But I can't imagine its good for sales
Though I believe its different in America
Though here Sony TV stock seem store & area dependent

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[F34R]

Most places have Sony tv's, but they also have much better, and lower priced, brands too.

[Nitey]

Sony TVs are still of a high quality, but they are just unable to price them competitively. Especially compared to the Korean companies. I think it makes sense for them to focus on high end TVs for people looking to spend several thousand pounds. Lower end TVs are dominated by the wonderfully priced and decent panels that Samsung, LG, etc can offer.

With Kaz in charge and the fact that it's is probably someway into development now I don't think any of this will effect the PS4 much, if at all. But they certainly can't afford to enter next gen like they did this current gen

[Yungstar 2006]

LG TV's are feature rich but lack the quality of the other sets

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quite wrong...

[Yungstar 2006]

I guess its pointless sending stock to places where the average customer can't afford them

i'd see it as... not a lot of point in sending your TV's to Currys if the average customer can buy as good for a lot less from another manufacturer.

[Bigdoggy]

I blame this pecker...



if you research Sony products, prices, and how the company works. believe it or not, it was going down the shitter once Howard stringer ran the damn company. Before this dickhead ran anything, Sony products were actually cost affordable and they weren't constantly pushing technology to the point of dominant greed. I have yet to see such sabotage in a company and quite honestly I think he purposely sabotaged Sony because no business man can possibly be as stupid as how Stringer ran sony, even more so actually tried running Sony into the ground. ugh

In order to flip a corporation like Sony to where it is now, you actually have to try to sabotage such a corporation, which is obvious that is what Stringer was doing the entire time.

Now Kaz is laying people off because he has to, he also has to close down departments that were made under Howard "dickless" Stringer. however, this article doesn't cover certain aspect as of recently. so far last months I believe sony went from a few billion dollar loss right down to 300 million dollar loss. By next year I wouldn't doubt to see Kaz and a few others at sony solve the entire problem.


I give major props to Kaz, he is definitely someone that gets things done and it's obvious that Kaz doesn't fuck around.

[TGO]

quite wrong...

Just say you have a LG man
They are good TV's with features you expect from highend models, Every box is ticked,
I'd buy one
And when I say quality I mean cosmetically, Samsung's & Sony's are really nice looking TV's
Though I do prefer Sony's 2010 range in the looks department
Get what I mean?
The difference in TV's these days all about the price
You want better and ti be able to notice a difference you better be prepared to pay over a grand for that Samsung/LG/Sony or Pani

And for the second comment, no I work in retail it does work that way, by all mean things can be ordered in but we don't stock them because we know we won't sell them
So next time you go into ya local store and see they don't sell the latest expensive product yet their smaller store in a different area does, its because that area has been considered poorpack or chav land by that company
Though not all companies think that way, supermarkets don't care, but they do offer better deals

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[admartian]

SO everyone came out in this thread as expected. If only I was as successful at my NFL.com weekly pick'em!

Sell your PS3s everyone. May be the only chance you get....

[Bligmerk]

Japan is slipping back into recession. It's going to be tough times for a lot of Japanese companies. Sanyo and Panasonic are having multi-billion dollar losses. Sharp is on the verge of disappearing or getting a massive government bailout. The Japanese economic system is not the same as the US or European systems and they will subsidize large industries considered of national importance. Europe is going to start feeling the slide back into recession by spring and it will be downhill all year. There is going to be massive restructuring in a lot of areas. Sony isn't doing great but they aren't doing anywhere as bad as some of the other companies. Getting a lowering of credit rating just limits the amount of borrowing, or sometimes doesn't limit it but just makes it more expensive. Kaz has to do a lot of trimming and cleaning up and the whole TV side is upside down. Sony isn't doing too bad with their mobile unit so they aren't totally left in the dust as far as the switch from stationary electronic devices. Lot's of change going on.

[Dave-The-Rave]

One of the reasons I have held of on a VITA and I will probably hold off on the PS4 as well until a killer AAA title comes out for it. I'm worried about Sony's current position, and the last thing I want is another Dreamcast on my hands..worst birthday ever, got it and the games stopped selling months later !!

[D3seeker]

I'm not too concerned. I too believe in Kaz, As well as stand FIRMLY behind the Walkman and PlayStation brands.

[Bigdoggy]

Kaz has already been scalping a lot of the bad shit in Sony and he is still doing it today as we speak. the main losses from Sony were 3 things, their tech funding department, HDTV's, phones (yes, even their mobile is doing crappy) again overpriced phones, overpriced TV's and overpriced technology in general period. it's not an issue of "well, their mobile phones are fine", far from it, in fact it's no different than their TV's.

once that little shit (Howard) started running sony, Sony inflated their prices by 300% from what they should cost. everything has to do with their over inflated prices.

point is, Kaz already made mention of this and is clearly working on it. look at the billions of dollar losses from Sony a few months ago, now look at the losses currently. Because of Kaz, Sony went from a 2.6 billion dollar loss down to a 300 million dollar loss. that is chopping the corners and I wouldn't doubt if the company will be balanced by next year, actually making a profit.

[Bligmerk]

^ Agree. The other thing that is happening is Android demolishing iOS and Windows Surface. There was a big jump from smartphones to tablets. Now, there is going to be a jump to the stationary entertainment box. Sony missed the 'droid train in the beginning, to lose a lot of the smartphone share, but they always stayed in all the way. Samsung is obliterating Apple today, and it's estimated that 76% of the smartphone and tablet market is now 'droid. Kaz has a lot of restructuring to do in tough economic times but the cleaning up is starting to look good.

[admartian]

^ Agree. The other thing that is happening is Android demolishing iOS and Windows Surface. There was a big jump from smartphones to tablets. Now, there is going to be a jump to the stationary entertainment box. Sony missed the 'droid train in the beginning, to lose a lot of the smartphone share, but they always stayed in all the way. Samsung is obliterating Apple today, and it's estimated that 76% of the smartphone and tablet market is now 'droid. Kaz has a lot of restructuring to do in tough economic times but the cleaning up is starting to look good.

Slightly off topic- but Sony just got awarded best OEM for 2012 on XDA. Which speaks volumes on their flexibility and how far they have come - when they first released the first Xperia X10; it wasn't very friendly to mod and it was fairly buggy.

But they have now streamlined their overlay on Google's AOSP and have become more open to developers, and users alike with a clean but sleek interface.

I think this translates well (or should) in their other businesses. I really do think Kaz has had a positive effect on the company as a whole, so far.

He has his work cut out for him though after the mess Stringer left.

[Bigdoggy]

Slightly off topic- but Sony just got awarded best OEM for 2012 on XDA. Which speaks volumes on their flexibility and how far they have come - when they first released the first Xperia X10; it wasn't very friendly to mod and it was fairly buggy.

But they have now streamlined their overlay on Google's AOSP and have become more open to developers, and users alike with a clean but sleek interface.

I think this translates well (or should) in their other businesses. I really do think Kaz has had a positive effect on the company as a whole, so far.

He has his work cut out for him though after the mess Stringer left.

the Xperia was a good example of how overpriced Sony can get. I remember when the Xperia first came out with a $800 price tag on that sucker.

it's examples like that which is why Kaz stated he wanted more cost affordable products for their consumers.

[silvermanor2]

Wow...ok. Well I have been reading this thread with frustration and though id chime in. It seems most of you really dont understand the fundamentals under which Sony is operating at the moment, its core issues, and its current product status in the markets in which it competes.

First of all, Sony's biggest long term issue is not its quality (it does have product areas in which it needs to improve) but rather the risk associated with the Japanese Yen's several year long rally. It is making it very difficult to compete with the Koreans and achieve profit. This should be self-explanatory for anyone with even rudimentary economics knowledge. This is the primary reason why Japanese players Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, etc are all struggling and the South Koreans like Samsung, LG, etc are all doing well.

Second, is cost of doing business, operational efficiency, etc. Sony is a bit dysfunctional. Its part cultural and part business cycle related. This has been addressed and will be fixed. As said earlier, it dosent happen overnight. Sony may have used to sell products at a serious premium due to ego and brand strength but this is largely no more. Some Samsung products in my opinion are priced as high or higher than Sony without really any quality advantage. When it comes to Korea vs Japan this is a common theme. Sony is essentially unable to price competitively with the Koreans and achieve the same margins, based on the way the organization currently operates and its geography (which creates increased labour cost, currency challenges and other disadvantages).

Sony still does make certain products that dominate the market with quality. Its Vaio Z has been one of the best Windows notebooks on the planet (number 1 in my opinion) for several years. Its camera segment is absolutely on fire. It produces all the sensors in most mobile superphones, has an amazing NEX line and a recently introduced point and shoot that changed the industry.

Lastly, those who seem to want to bash the Bravia line are seriously ignorant. I will agree, at the lower end, there really is not much difference between a Samsung and a Sony and yes the Sony may be priced ~5% higher (although there are countless accounts of Samsung panels failing prematurely as they are well known to use some of the cheapest components available to keep costs down, but to each their own). At the higher end however, the difference is night and day. This is truly an issue of unnecessarily high expenses which is driving margins down, prices higher and sales down, rather than low quality as many of you have incorrectly indicated. If any of you are seriously interested in the TV market, subscribe to something like AVS forum and read. The best non-plasma panel rated in the world right now is a Sony (XBR 929). This TV takes a sledgehammer to anything Samsung or LG makes. Samsung or LG dont even manufacture a unit that competes anywhere near this level. Hell Samsung DOES NOT even produce a TV that features local dimming. This is your top brand, really? The only problem is that this higher market segment has low sales volume.

Overall, if you were to own a Sony Xperia TL smartphone, a mid to high market Bravia LED TV, a Vaio notebook, an NEX camera, and a PS3, i dont think you would be missing out on much and assume you would be very satisfied.

This dosent even get into the stellar year its Music and Movie divisions have had.

I thought id play devils advocate and provide some food for thought.

[TDbank24]

Sony really just needs to focus on gaming and they'll be fine. I don't think i've owned a Sony branded product since a CD walkman from 15 years ago. Besides my Playstations of course. I got a Samsung TV and i'm happy with it. I might have considered a Sony TV if they weren't so expensive.

[KillingSpree0]

Sony really just needs to focus on gaming and they'll be fine. I don't think i've owned a Sony branded product since a CD walkman from 15 years ago. Besides my Playstations of course. I got a Samsung TV and i'm happy with it. I might have considered a Sony TV if they weren't so expensive.

What about their movie departments? Aren't they doing good? Also laptops and Cameras too?

[TGO]

What about their movie departments? Aren't they doing good? Also laptops and Cameras too?

Skyfall

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[squirrelbo1]

What about their movie departments? Aren't they doing good? Also laptops and Cameras too?

Movies are doing pretty well

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