DUBAI, 15 June 2004 — It’s not a great time to be working at Sony. The electronics and media giant is in the midst of major restructuring during which at least 20,000 jobs will be lost. In 2003, Sony saw earnings decline in nearly all the company’s operating sectors.
The company is predicting that 2004 will be a bit more profitable, although many analysts have been less than impressed. They see a lack of innovation in Sony’s upcoming product lines holding the company back, at least in the near future.
Sony has long had a strong name in the Saudi market. But in recent years local consumers have been willing to look at other brands. Once certain Sony products were found on the Kingdom’s shelves without the “Made in Japan” label, people began to question whether they should pay a premium price for products that rightly or wrongly had lost their high-quality image. The growth of the Kingdom’s youth market too meant that there were a huge number of young people that were both brand and price conscious. Vendors must be extremely agile to serve this group and too often Sony didn’t have the coolest gadgets to put out on the shelves.
While many of Sony’s traditional product lines have been struggling, the company’s VAIO notebooks have achieved some measure of success. Sony claims that due to continuing innovations in its VAIO computers, the company has been able to hold the line on pricing at a time when other vendors have been forced into deep cuts. That premium pricing policy has meant that VAIO notebooks have not found favor in the Kingdom’s corporate sector.
Enterprise IT managers are not ignorant. VAIO computers use basically the same components as any Asian brand. The processors come from Intel and the software from Microsoft. The same sources that supply memory and hard disks to Sony, supply others. Sony claims that its design sets it apart, but not many firms will pay a premium for appearance. Some enterprise customers in Saudi Arabia have ordered a few dozen VAIO notebooks for specific uses, but Sony’s niche will continue to be the well-heeled consumer with money to burn. To catch more of those consumers, Sony recently signed Jarir Bookstores to promote VAIO. This compliments other channels such as the Modern Electronics Showrooms, CompuMe and Extra (Riyadh only).
Last week Sony launched its global VAIO Vision 2004 Strategy in the region. This is an initiative aimed at furthering the brand’s position within the premium notebook segment. Sony plans to merge its expertise in audio visual (AV) technologies with the power of the personal computer (PC) to reshape the concept of the PC and evolve the VAIO branded products into more enhanced consumer devices.
Kunimasa Suzuki, head of the Global VAIO Department, Sony Corporation, Japan, said that under this new brand direction, the company will introduce products designed to take advantage of the substantial VAIO PC legacy.
“These new entertainment-driven devices offer a glimpse of Sony’s vision of enabling users to enjoy a personal network of high-quality audio and imaging,” Suzuki said. “We believe that through this initiative, not only will Sony be able to consolidate its leadership position in the premium PC segment, but will eventually establish a whole new market by expanding the VAIO brand beyond computing and introducing a new line-up of products that offer consumers a high level of audio and visual experience anywhere, anytime.”
VAIO, which stands for Video Audio Integrated Operation, was designed as an entertainment PC, through which users could enjoy a wide array of entertainment content, such as music and movies. Envisioning the era of a whole new range of network connected devices, Suzuki said: “Over the past seven years the VAIO brand has evolved substantially by inspiring users to use the PC in a manner that they had not yet dreamed of. VAIO has now entered a new phase of dynamic transformation and will focus on three key product strategies: High-quality sound and image, mobility and long battery life and intelligent user interface.”
“Our deep commitments to R&D have ensured the new VAIO line-up will consist of products that are not only equipped with the high capacity, compatibility, connectivity and intelligence of PC products, but also provide high-quality playback and ease of use of AV devices,” he added.
In the rebranding of VAIO products, the color black is fundamental. A striking black color will cover all aspects of VAIO branding including the website, packaging, communications and advertising. The new theme of the brand will be, “no more bounds,” meant to convey the new direction that the VAIO brand is taking, blurring the boundaries between traditional AV and IT products and introducing a new class of smart, compatible, easy-to-use devices that hope to pave the way for true digital convergence.
In addition, key design and functional enhancements will set VAIO apart from the conventional notion of a PC and allow the user to achieve the experience they want. Users will enjoy quality picture and sound, wide connectivity options, compact design, lightweight build and increased stamina to provide an ultra mobile solution that can be enjoyed anywhere.
Some of the new VAIO products have been introduced in Japan, but as of yet they are not available in other markets.
According to Sony, the “VAIO pocket” marks a key point in the evolution of the VAIO concept by combining a top-end audio player with a digital photo album. In order to let users enjoy music, the portable music player VAIO pocket is able to store around 13,000 music titles and has 20 hours playback. The VAIO pocket is meant to compete with Apple’s iPod. It may have a difficult time. If I had already bought an iPod, I wouldn’t abandon it for a VAIO pocket. The pocket’s battery life easily trumps the iPod, but the VAIO pocket is bigger and less chic than the iPod. It also needs a charging dock to recharge. That’s inconvenient at best. Since it’s a premium product it comes with a premium price — about $480.
VAIO U is the world’s smallest and lightest Windows XP PC measuring only 6.6 x 4.3 x 1.0 inches. Excluding the keyboard, VAIO U weighs just about 550g and features a Touch Panel LCD, which allows users to handwrite using the stylus. This may be complemented with the supplied foldable keyboard for easier and faster typing. The VAIO U features an 800 x 600 TFT transflective touchscreen. The transflective screen is easily readable inside or outdoors. There are two different VAIO U models to choose from. The top of the line model comes equipped with a Pentium M 1.0Ghz, 512MB, Windows XP Pro and a price of about $2,700. The Celeron 900Mhz, 256MB with Windows XP Home costs about $2200.
To ensure user-friendly operation of its VAIO consumer products, Sony has developed new user-interface application software to provide an intuitive, comfortable and seamless brand experience. This interface — “Do VAIO”, which has been introduced in Japan, will be the core functionality of all VAIO devices in the future by offering an integration of various AV entertainment experiences such as creating DVD’s, enjoying music or DVD playback, and viewing digital images.
Masaru Tamagawa, managing director, Sony Gulf said that the Middle East is a fast evolving market with a growing community of users that enjoy multimedia content on the PC. He felt that VAIO would be very attractive to such users.
“VAIO is about to enter its next era — an era in which VAIO will evolve beyond the PC into a new class of products. These products will focus on the high quality AV-IT experience and sleek design and innovation. By incorporating the current IT technology with Sony’s advanced AV technology, the new VAIO-branded products will expand the way consumers enjoy, create and share personal entertainment content, thus in-turn enriching their lifestyle.”
(Comments to [email protected].)