It is easy
to criticize companies in trouble. My gripe with Sony as much as with
Nokia is that they should have seen the changes in their markets coming 5
years ago. They should have launched new products, services or even
businesses by today or should have acquired promising start-ups by now.
None
of that happened and we could contemplate forever about why not. So
while it is easy to see this in hindsight, the question remains of
course; what should they have done different? Upon seeing yet another
I'm Watch ad or an E-Paper Watch ad, the latest über-succes story at Kickstarter, I realized THIS is what Sony could or should have done. And in fact [update!] they just did announce one.
Sony Smartwatch - the one to watch?
Most consumers age 30 and over will remember Sony for their Walkman. I also remember them from back in the days as makers of super cool video and recording studio hardware. But some time after 2000 Sony started to loose its cool. And recently it all went from bad to worse.
For too long Sony went on producing hardware but they forgot to develop a meaningful ecosystem. It also forgot to develop products that are cool. Where before Sony sold ultra-expensive halo hardware, much like Audi has the A8 or R8, today they have little to brag about.
When they did start to develop content for their hardware, like the Sony Entertainment Network, the rest of the market was already a step ahead. Its fine to build television or to sell hifi equipment but what if the content is not more and more integrated with a larger digital infrastructure? Where is the Bluetooth connection on a Sony TV e.g. How can I easily integrate that huge screen into my owned & acquired content collection? How can I get access to searchable content on the web. Where can I access my content in the cloud? Can I stream my music over Wifi or Bluetooth using other equipment, preferably from Sony if that is my preferred supplier?
Today it is absolutely important to not only sell hardware but to sell an infrastructure where the hardware is first and foremost the start of a customer relationship. But the hardware should also be a tool that derives its relevance from what it does NOT do, i.e. it is not a collection of features but a logical unit that gains its meaning in my life through integration. It should have a clearly reduced but relevant set of features that enable this integration, nothing more and nothing less.
And then there is I'm Watch. In fact in itself I'm Watch is nothing more than a different way of using existing content, transmitted over Bluetooth. Apart from a clock it can't do much, yet it comes alive as soon as its hooked up to a smartphone or computer. Now imagine I'm Watch with a Sony logo on it. Imagine what they can develop to bring that watch to live, using their own available content.
So there it is Sony; I'm Watch could have been your next Walkman. This is what consumer ask from electronics today. Cross device content streams, cloud based content solutions. It is actually not so important whether it is the cloud, a smartphone, or computer based, it doesn't really matter. It is again more about how the end-user has seamless access to owned, acquired or searchable content at any given time. For Sony this should go from integration of television use with home computers and tablets, with the home based printer, with a cloud based storage.
UPDATE
Just days after this article was published here first Sony did release a Bluetooth watch under the completely un-inspiring and 'missed a major opportunity to define a category' name Sony Smartwatch. According to the reviews there is not so much that is very Smart about it. In fact from the reviews you get the feeling that some haphazardly put together team rushed the thing to market, forgetting in the process what it takes to build a great experience.
The I'm Watch offers, at least on ehrm 'paper' the right kind of integration and serves as an agile extension of your smartphone or computer. I just hope it will serve as a wake-up call for big corporates and their workforce. We'll wait and see but if the Smartwatch is Sony's future then it I'd challenge them to get smarter still.
Sony Smartwatch review @pocket-lint
I'm watch home page
Update:
Sony filing a Patent for wireless charging. Curious to see what they will do with it in a few months from now.
None
of that happened and we could contemplate forever about why not. So
while it is easy to see this in hindsight, the question remains of
course; what should they have done different? Upon seeing yet another
I'm Watch ad or an E-Paper Watch ad, the latest über-succes story at Kickstarter, I realized THIS is what Sony could or should have done. And in fact [update!] they just did announce one. Sony Smartwatch - the one to watch?
Most consumers age 30 and over will remember Sony for their Walkman. I also remember them from back in the days as makers of super cool video and recording studio hardware. But some time after 2000 Sony started to loose its cool. And recently it all went from bad to worse.
For too long Sony went on producing hardware but they forgot to develop a meaningful ecosystem. It also forgot to develop products that are cool. Where before Sony sold ultra-expensive halo hardware, much like Audi has the A8 or R8, today they have little to brag about.
When they did start to develop content for their hardware, like the Sony Entertainment Network, the rest of the market was already a step ahead. Its fine to build television or to sell hifi equipment but what if the content is not more and more integrated with a larger digital infrastructure? Where is the Bluetooth connection on a Sony TV e.g. How can I easily integrate that huge screen into my owned & acquired content collection? How can I get access to searchable content on the web. Where can I access my content in the cloud? Can I stream my music over Wifi or Bluetooth using other equipment, preferably from Sony if that is my preferred supplier?
Today it is absolutely important to not only sell hardware but to sell an infrastructure where the hardware is first and foremost the start of a customer relationship. But the hardware should also be a tool that derives its relevance from what it does NOT do, i.e. it is not a collection of features but a logical unit that gains its meaning in my life through integration. It should have a clearly reduced but relevant set of features that enable this integration, nothing more and nothing less.
And then there is I'm Watch. In fact in itself I'm Watch is nothing more than a different way of using existing content, transmitted over Bluetooth. Apart from a clock it can't do much, yet it comes alive as soon as its hooked up to a smartphone or computer. Now imagine I'm Watch with a Sony logo on it. Imagine what they can develop to bring that watch to live, using their own available content.
So there it is Sony; I'm Watch could have been your next Walkman. This is what consumer ask from electronics today. Cross device content streams, cloud based content solutions. It is actually not so important whether it is the cloud, a smartphone, or computer based, it doesn't really matter. It is again more about how the end-user has seamless access to owned, acquired or searchable content at any given time. For Sony this should go from integration of television use with home computers and tablets, with the home based printer, with a cloud based storage.
UPDATE
Just days after this article was published here first Sony did release a Bluetooth watch under the completely un-inspiring and 'missed a major opportunity to define a category' name Sony Smartwatch. According to the reviews there is not so much that is very Smart about it. In fact from the reviews you get the feeling that some haphazardly put together team rushed the thing to market, forgetting in the process what it takes to build a great experience.
The I'm Watch offers, at least on ehrm 'paper' the right kind of integration and serves as an agile extension of your smartphone or computer. I just hope it will serve as a wake-up call for big corporates and their workforce. We'll wait and see but if the Smartwatch is Sony's future then it I'd challenge them to get smarter still.
Sony Smartwatch review @pocket-lint
I'm watch home page
Update:
Sony filing a Patent for wireless charging. Curious to see what they will do with it in a few months from now.
