By Kim Yoo-chul
BERLIN, LONDON ― At the height of Walkman mania, Sony enjoyed a reputation as the planet's most exciting provider of consumer electronics products.
Of course, that title now belongs to Apple, or even Samsung Electronics when the discussions are limited to flat-screen televisions, but Sony representatives at the recent IFA conference in Berlin were confident that the iconic Japanese company still has the ability to wow.
Sony's edge will not come solely from its traditional strengths in hardware, company officials said, but increasingly from its ability to deliver a wealth of content seamlessly across a large number of devices in consumer electronics and mobile technology.
It remains to be seen whether the shifting of strategies means that Sony will become less obsessed in the size competitions with Samsung and LG Electronics, Korea's other technology giant, over market share in flat-screen televisions.
Sony has a complicated relationship with Samsung, which has a dual strength in finished products and parts, as it competes with its Korean rival in consumer markets, but also relies on it to provide many of the displays used for its televisions.
Sony, which has invested massively in the entertainment business over the past two decades, is also a crucial business partner for Samsung, which is struggling to secure a content pool to boost it sales for three-dimensional (3D)-enabled flat-screen televisions.
Sony and Samsung are operating a 50-50 joint venture for flat-screens in Korea’s provincial city of Tangjeong, and Sony has been buying more than half of the panels produced by the plant.
In terms of products, Sony seems to be aiming its guns more toward Apple and Google rather than its Asian television foe.
Sony unveiled a new "cloud-based" platform, dubbed as Qriocity, that provides music and movies through a variety of its network-enabled products, directly attacking the Internet television efforts pushed by the American technology giants.
"In this year's IFA, Samsung and LG were trying to convince visitors of their ability to balance their strengths in hardware and software. Sony, on the other hand, appeared focused less on shock-and-awe hardware, but rather on its ability to provide a cohesive network of products that are strung together with content," said a Korean industry official at the Berlin show.
Qriocity could be linked with Sony's other popular products and services, such as a content network for the PlayStation game consoles, and the company also plans to add a wealth of music content, through MusicUnlimted, to complement its massive video-on-demand (VOD) offerings.
"Sony is interested in delivering a variety of digital entertainment content and services that are powered by the Qriocity platform, including movies, music and games," said another Korean industry official.
"Sony has been endorsing its change in strategies in the world’s two biggest electronics trade fairs ― the IFA and CES in Las Vegas ― to add content muscle to its hardware strength. The delivery of content will indeed be crucial, with Internet connectivity becoming the core in the newer televisions produced today."
Sony chief executive Howard Stringer said last year that over 90 percent of Sony's products will be connected to the Internet and to each other by the end of next year.
Sony will also produce its first version of Google TV, a Web-enabled television that runs on Google's Android operating system, soon.
To balance its push for the advanced products for the high-end market, Sony is also strengthening its marketing efforts for e low-end liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions, and Samsung screens are to be used in many of them.
"Sony televisions are still selling well, but they rely more on their price competitiveness. However, the company's strength in content might be manifested better in the competition for 3D televisions," said a sales manager at a Currys Megastore located in Leicester, northwest of London, Britain.
At the end of the second quarter of 2010, Sony's global share in LCD televisions reached 12.3 percent, driven by its strength in the low-end products segment.
"I think Sony's recent focus on content makes sense considering its edges in network platforms. But the changes are also a good sign for Samsung as it needs to learn more about Sony’s experiences in handling content to lead over its rivals in the next televisions ― smart televisions," said another industry official.