Sony -- audio-visual applications are the key to selling PCs......
nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com
Sony Senior VP Says Company is Brimming with PC Biz Ideas
September 17, 1998 (TOKYO) -- With Sony Corp.'s thin notebook
personal computer a big hit on the market, the company managed to
establish an invincible position in the PC industry.
In combination with its audio-visual products, what kind of new device will it
come up with next?
Chief Editor Shunichi Fujita of Nikkei Personal Computing interviewed
Sony's Corporate Senior Vice President Kunitake Ando, who heads the
company's personal computer division.
During the interview, Ando said, "We're full of ideas we want to realize on
the personal computer."
Nikkei Personal
Computing:
When the VAIO
series
AV-oriented
personal
computers hit the
market last
summer, did you
feel apprehensive
about how
consumers would
react?
Ando: It would
have been
meaningless for us
to come into this
market if we were
to produce the
same kinds of
PCs as other
companies. How
to stress Sony's
characteristics in
working on an
open platform
was an important issue for us in entering the market.
Rather than having the personal computer operating on its own, ours were
made to be connected with an AV apparatus as much as possible so that in
total, our products would be worthy of the name Sony. I feel that during the
past year, we proved we were right in that concept.
Our efforts wouldn't have drawn much attention if they were in the days
when the PC market was growing at a rapid pace. But it was when the
growth was at a standstill and the industry as a whole was wondering what
to do that VAIO made its debut.
I assume the users gradually came to understand that it was not just the
color that was different. The world we were heading for was different.
Office products such as word processors and spreadsheet programs are not
bundled.
Ours are entirely different from PCs developed on the business extension
line, but are entertainment-oriented products.
By the time VAIO notebooks began to win high appraisal, we felt confident
about hammering out entertainment-oriented ideas.
The other day, one of the women's magazines had a survey article, "What
do you plan to buy with your next bonus?" Mixed among fashion brand
name goods such as Prada and Gucci, I found VAIO listed around sixth
place.
Hit items are a kind of fashion. Young women who have had nothing to do
with PCs now feel that walking around with a VAIO would be fashionable,
is easy to use and want to buy one if they get a bonus.
I feel very much flattered that our products were evaluated in such a way.
Seeing those types of reactions, I feel encouraged to push ahead along this
line.
Nikkei PC: It's a fast-moving industry, and something very similar will soon
be coming to market. What will Sony's next move be?
Ando: We'll continue along the same line as in the past, but we are also
thinking of a new type of "visual communication."
Just recently, we displayed at a PC exhibition a new concept product
consisting of a portable personal computer with a CCD camera attached
(Note AsiaBizTech). Conventional portable PCs are not made to send
motion pictures or voice freely by e-mail. We want to make that come true.
If we can connect a CCD camera, a display or a speaker to the PC, it will
be possible to take in or send the sensations human eyes and ears can see
and hear. By attaching a digital video camera (camcorder), MD or DVD,
each product will have a new life and the market will grow at a quick pace.
What's wonderful about the PC is that we can come up with so many ideas
in rapid succession. We think it's like a vast spreading wilderness. As long
as we have the engineering power, we are just full of ideas we want to
materialize.
I don't understand why people keep making plain, ordinary PCs when there
are so many exciting things to do.
Whether you like it or not, personal computers are going to come into your
home. I have no doubt about that.
Sony is working on that premise. Ideas are endless, and that's why I think
the PC industry is exciting.
Nikkei PC: Spreading personal computers among ordinary households is
the most difficult part for all PC manufacturers. Will that difficulty be solved
anytime soon?
Ando: As long as PCs are purchased in a way that users must chose a
certain processor or hard disk drive, ordinary families are not going to
accept PCs in the true sense of the term.
The concept of the trial product I mentioned a while ago is to have someone
think, "I'm going on a trip shortly, and I want to share that sensation with
her. So all I have to do is take 'that' along."
One of Sony's hit items is the "passport-size" 8mm video camera. Before it,
video cameras didn't have many opportunities, except children's athletic
meets or student concerts.
But the minute "passport-size" is mentioned, consumers realize it's a must for
traveling abroad with. I think that's what "application" means.
Study CPU and HDD first and buy a PC to learn to use it -- that's going
backward from natural human thinking. When people begin to buy a PC
without being conscious of getting a PC, people will surely use PCs at the
office, use a notebook type at home and personal digital assistants (PDAs)
outside the home. There are already some people doing that, and the time
will come very soon when one person has three or four devices.
Nikkei PC: Some of the makers think a PC at home should be placed in
the living room and shared by everyone. What is your take on this?
Ando: We're trying not to appeal to the public in such a way. WebTV or a
large display should sit in the living room.
We often use the expressions "desktop entertainment" or "private
entertainment" just to avoid being confused with something to be used in the
living room.
Even in commercials, we've never shown a PC being used in the living room.
If you look carefully, you'll note that a PC is used in a private room,
connected to an MD or a video.
When digital TVs or telephones become common, each private room is
going to need a new TV set. When that time comes, people won't need two
displays, one for TV and another for a PC. If they have to choose one,
they'll probably pick a PC.
Nikkei PC: For the fusion of AV apparatus and personal computers,
cooperation from other companies within your organization (what Sony calls
independent business departments) would be indispensable. We've noticed
that a virtual company called the "VAIO Center" got started last January to
cover all those companies. Please explain it.
Ando: VAIO Center is designed to determine the general direction,
exchange of information and promotion of business. Commercialization will
depend purely on each of the companies. We started MD that way.
Thanks to the VAIO Center, the fences between the companies seem to be
lower than in other firms.
We put on the market just the other day the "Memory Stick" as a medium
for exchanging data among PCs and AV apparatus. That was one of the
things the VAIO Center promoted.
(Note: AsiaBizTech) Sony introduced a notebook type PC mounted with a
CCD in September.
Related stories: Sony Releases 1.1kg VAIO Notebook PC with CCD
Camera
Sony Develops Mini-Notebook PC with CCD Camera
(Nikkei Personal Computing) |
