Perhaps Android not the way to go?

A lot of people have been eagerly anticipating more Android devices from Sony, particularly a tablet and the eagerly awaited rumoured Playstation Phone. With torrents of Android tablets and devices flooding the market though, I'm left wondering whether Android is still the way to go for Sony.

I'm a long time Sony fan and have always respected Sony as an innovator, never letting themselves fall into the spiral of imitation and generic products, it is the innovating spirit that birthed the Trinitron television and brought Sony out of post-war Japan into the international market.

If Sony enters the now crowded tablet market with an Android powered device, there would be almost nothing to differentiate it with its competition especially with more Android tablets expected to come in droves at CES 2011. Of course a Sony Android tablet would carry brand name prowess and superior design and build quality, but in the digital age, like I mentioned in my previous post, it is the software that matters, and all in all, the software would be fundamentally the same with only a custom skin of some description to differentiate.

If I were Sony right now, I would focus more on the OS used on the Playstation Portable or PS3, though I'm sure that they've already developed an Android tablet.

Utilising an optimised version of the Playstation OS (I don’t know the specific name of the operating system used on Playstation systems so that’s what I’m going to call it from now on) on an upcoming PSPhone, Tablet and other portable devices would serve several useful purposes.

What the XMB Interface will look like on a tablet display

Most importantly it would be exclusive, just like Apple devices and means that only Sony products will utilise the OS. This would of course maintain Sony's gradually disintegrating reputation of innovation and uniqueness and increase Sony's brand value. Also given that Sony is the builder of the Playstation OS, it would be easier for them to update and provide services relevant to consumers demands, rather than relying on Google updating their Android Platform in ways that might not match up to what Sony is wanting.

Also, very importantly it would help create a unified experience (XMB Interface) across all of Sony’s products, which like Apple, will keep consumers coming back for more and also establish a certain experience synonymous with the Sony name.

The Playstation platform is extremely popular, with millions of users worldwide, so gaining a loyal consumer base shouldn’t be a problem, particularly if the device is able to connect to Playstation Network and other Playstation devices.

A crucial thing that needs to be done though, is possibly to make the device compatible with Playstation Portable titles, if that isn’t possible then open up the Playstation Platform more widely to developers which I had suggested long ago in one of my earlier posts: http://thesonypony.blogspot.com/2010/11/thinking-what-im-thinking-apps-on.html. Given the popularity of the Playstation, third party developers will be coming in droves and in no time we will see a wealth of Apps and mini-games available on the platform.

Of course it will be quite costly, in optimising a button based OS into an intuitive touch screen interface and obviously opening up an app store and hopefully integrating PSP title compatibility (download only obviously). However this is a solution for the long term and I see incredible potential in it, rather than taking the easy short term solution of adopting Android and just being another ‘me too’ device. If Sony can do this, and nail it, then not only are they taking the right step into unifying and networking all their devices but they’ve found themselves a legitimate and capable iOS and Android competitor. And most importantly, it will be Sony exclusive.

2011, the year of Network Entertainment.

Being the second day of the New Year, it would only be appropriate to state what I'm expecting from Sony this year, and what else could it be, but Sony's entrance into the world of online entertainment.

Sony in recent years, have struggled to keep up with the digital age, it is safe to say that this is what has lead to Sony's downfall in the last decade. 2011 though, is what in my eyes appears to be a turn for the better for Sony, with the PS3 well on track, and a wealth of online services through the Qriocity store, PS3, Bravia Internet Video and more it appears that 2011 is going to be a big year in network entertainment for Sony, something the company has been searching unsuccessfully for years.

This year, it looks as if Sony will be able to finally realise Akio Morita's dream of convergence and unity of both hardware and software/content, which Sony had tried with the acquisition of CBS and Columbia Pictures. Morita knew that hardware is nothing without complementing software and content. Sony seemed to lose that idea when the 21st century came around and it was particularly evident with the PS3's initial release, an expensive and brilliant piece of hardware with a limited and uninspiring software selection at launch. Sony has always valued itself as primarily a hardware company, creating groundbreaking hardware at premium prices, however in the digital age, software provides the experience and expandability and is arguably the more important of the pair. It has been told that during the development stage of the PS3, Sony hardware developers simply made the PS3 and gave it to the software guys and said 'do something with it.'

This is an area where Sony's change is evident, Sony's current online solutions are providing the right services to the right products, rather than just throwing services at products and seeing what will catch on, which inevitably dilutes the brand value.

The only logical way for Sony now is to expand, continue to add more useful services to Sony devices and unite the services into one easy to access store. Imagine switching on your Bravia Television or your Walkman player and having a wealth of content including ebooks, movies, music, games right at your fingertips, this is the kind of experience Sony should be striving for in 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year! I wish you all a prosperous and happy 2011

Music Unlimited powered by QRIOCITY

Completely lame, corny and unnecessarily long name however, from what I've witnessed this new service that Sony has delivered to Qriocity enabled products has got the goods!
Below is Sony's press release:

Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced the launch of “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” a new, cloud-based, digital music service which gives music lovers access at any time to millions of songs from major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music as well as leading independent labels and major publishers worldwide. The “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” catalogue will initially offer about six million songs and will continue to expand over time.

Through “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” users can play music any time on a wide variety of Internet-connected Sony devices including Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc player, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater system, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system as well as VAIO and other personal computers. It will also become available on a wide range of Sony’s portable devices, as well as on Android-based mobile devices and other portable devices.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is initially available in the U.K. and Ireland with service availability in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and U.S. to be announced in due course during 2011.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is the next extension of services ‘powered by Qriocity. Sony debuted “Video On Demand powered by Qriocity,” a premium video streaming service, in the U.S. in April 2010 and expanded the service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. in November 2010. Through “Video on Demand powered by Qriocity” customers can instantly rent from a growing library of thousands of Hollywood blockbuster movies across Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc player and Blu-ray Disc Home Theater system.

“As we continue to expand Qriocity globally, these services ‘powered by Qriocity’ offer a single ID log-in and wallet solution, and empower users to easily consume content including music and video across a growing number of integrated devices,” said Kazuo Hirai, President of Networked Products & Services Group, Sony Corporation. “Seamless accessibility to content through these fresh user experiences will enrich Sony,s network service offerings and continually add value to the unique aspects of Sony’s network-enabled products.”

So, by the look of the things an Australian release is looking most definitely possible. I'm sure that in CES 2011 Sony will announce many more Qriocity compatible products, including Sony Ericsson smartphones, Vaio PC's and Walkman Players. If this service doesn't come to Walkman players next year then I think it's safe to say that Sony has completely lost it. Check out below for a demonstration of the Music Unlimited interface on a PS3:

EA CEO RICCITIELLO: XBOX 360 doesn’t stand a chance of beating the PS3 Brand

Since the launch of the PS3, Sony and Microsoft have been in fierce battle to win the console war and become the most prominent gaming brand in the world.
Previously Sony was the undisputed leader with the Playstation 2, the most successful and best – selling gaming console of all time. However, this time around the PS3 is facing extremely steep competition from Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
 
Despite this, the CEO of Electronic Arts (EA), John Riccitiello, is sticking with Sony and says that the Xbox doesn’t stand much of a chance of beating the PS3 brand. Riccitiello’s statements are supported by Sony’s strong sales of the PS3 outside the US, the PS3 is beating the Xbox 360 in sales in most other areas outside the US especially in Japan, where Sony has a distinct home advantage and the Xbox’s presence in the Asian market is almost irrelevant. Sony’s international dominance is evident with the number of fans on the official Playstation Facebook page, the Playstation has an ever growing 7,500,000 fans whereas the Xbox only has 5,700,000 fans.
Riccitiello said: “Microsoft’s brand, the Xbox, does not really compare to the PlayStation brand outside the US. I believe the international market is very important, so no matter how much Microsoft is able to increase sales in the US, it is still on an impossible mission because Sony’s brand is so strong”.
Had it not been for the PS3’s initial pricing blunders, the PS3, probably would be ahead of the Xbox in the North American market, however the new motion gaming battle could prove beneficial to Microsoft given the Kinect becomes a raging success. Though, the PS3 brand Riccitiello states is too strong to ‘bury’.

Merry Christmas from The Sony Pony!

Merry Christmas to everyone who sees this post (and people who don't see it but they wouldn't get it....).
I wish you all a joyous festive season filled with presents and food that makes you fat. :) 

It's not funny anymore, QRIOCITY is taking too long Sony.

UPDATE: Music Unlimited by Qriocity has just launched in Europe. Though release in America, Canada and other places is set for 2011. I'm still extremely skeptical about an Australian release and we still have no idea when in 2011 this service will launch in the States.

The amount of time that Sony has taken to get QRIOCITY off the ground is practically unthinkable.

The Qriocity online store launched some time around February this year in America and has only just seen its launch in Europe. If it takes them almost a whole year to bring an online service to a different continent, it kinda makes you wonder how long it will take to go worldwide, considering that is what they are planning, however given previous efforts on certain product releases that is questionable. And also my hope for an Australian release is also being erased quite quickly especially now that when going to Qriocity.com, i am greeted with a 'Qriocity is not available in your country' notice rather than 'coming soon' as shown previously.

I briefly remember when Sony had first attempted an online store, to go against iTunes, that store was called Connect and was a music store fill with a limited variety of tracks all in a proprietary ATRAC format, that incidentally could only played on Sony Walkmans.

Capping Off 2010, Not a Bad Year for Sony

Recently, Sony hasn't been quite as good as they used to be (by recently I mean on a grand scale with regards to Sony's lengthy history). Back in the 70s and 80s during Sony's prime years, Sony was the most unmatched brand in consumer electronics, creating the most innovative products of the highest quality including the beloved Walkman Cassette Player, the legendary Trinitron colour television, and later on the Playstation.

Recently though, the likes of Google, Apple and Microsoft have taken over the innovative throne that Sony had once conquered. However by all means, 2010 has seen a return to form (and profitability) from the Sony Corp. and has provided us a brief look of things to come.

Let's take a look at Sony's product milestones of 2010:

Kinect crushing Move, do sales really matter?

Both Sony and Microsoft (and Nintendo, though Wii's are almost irrelevant now) are both deep into their motion control console BATTLE! And overall Sony has sold more than Kinect but given that Sony had an enormous head start (release date for Playstation Move was September 15), I think it is fair to say that overall, Kinect sales are totally demolishing that of Move's.
Kinect sales since launch: 2.5 million in just under a month.
Move shipments since launch: 4.1 million though we are still unsure as to how many of those 4.1 million have actually sold.

It was anticipated that Kinect would most definitely outsell Move, as new concepts generally do attract a lot of interest, however in the end I'm questioning whether sales actually matter in the long run. Of course the whole point of a business is to sell the most products and to make the most money but in the long run maybe Kinect will come back to hurt Microsoft.

Here's why:
The one area where the Xbox is better than other consoles is the number and quality of the shooters available on the platform. Obviously Kinect, will only bring Kinectimals (shown above) and childish games and no shooters (at least no quality shooters) of any description.

Oh, no! is this really the PSP Phone??

I'm sure you've seen the video of the supposed PSP Phone already, well if not, here it is, nice and clear. Yeah, none of that blurry crap that teaser videos and what not usually are.

The Phone appears obviously to be running Android, the Gingerbread version to be exact. It looks exactly like the pictures that Engadget had leaked about a month or two ago, which is further proof that this thing is indeed real. It doesn't appear to be using Sony Ericsson's proprietary Android skin that is employed on the Xperia line however given this thing is real and that it will be released it will probably come with Sony Ericsson's Android skin with Mediascape and Timescape. There is a Playstation Icon (not the PS logo but a picture of a controller) that isn't touched in the first video but here is a video of the Playstation Icon being pressed revealing the Playstation App with no games installed.

TO ESSI

JUST SO THAT YOU BELIEVE THIS BLOG IS INDEED MINE XD

Rundown of PSP Phone ESSENTIALS

PSP PHONE! Definitely PSP Phone.
Lets face it, we're all wanting a PSP phone and the PSP phone is also one of the most highly anticipated of this year, and we don't even know whether it's going to happen or not.
But all signs point to yes, there will be a PSP phone, the main reason is why not have one? Everyone wants it, it could compete with the iPhone, increase market potential of the Playstation Platform and earlier in the year Sony applied a patent for a touchscreen controller like device most likely to be used on the PSP2 or Playstation Phone.

This is a quick run down of what the PSP Phone NEEDS to have:

• Android
• Dedicated gaming controller (touchpad or physical buttons but hopefully touchpad)
• More stupid games (like iPhone games (Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja etc...) which should be taken care of by the use of the Android OS)
• Playstation Network and QRIOCITY
• PS3 connectivity
• Very good battery life as games are extremely battery intensive