“We will prove that it’s not who makes the tablet first…but who makes it better,” he said in Berlin.
NEW YORK – Content is king, including when you compete with Apple for a share of the tablet market.
That was the message from Sony Corp. chairman and CEO Howard Stringer as he talked up his company’s tablets and signaled that his company will take on Apple’s iPad by offering music and movies.
“Yes, yes, Apple makes an iPad, but does it make a movie?” Stringer said in a presentation at Berlin’s annual consumer electronics fair, Bloomberg News reported. “We will prove that it’s not who makes the tablet first…but who makes it better.”
Bloomberg quoted Alexander Peterc, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, as saying: “The tablet has to be significantly better than the iPad for consumers to want to buy it at that price point. Sony’s big advantage is that they have the content.”
The tablets that Stringer discussed will run on Google’s Android system and will integrate Sony’s music, video, gaming and digital book offerings.
According to Bloomberg, Stringer said the new devices could help the company move past challenges earlier this year, such as the earthquake in Japan and hacking attacks.
“In this year, we’ve been flooded, flatten
- Apple has 40 billion+ cash in the bank and could buy Sony in cash. See attached document on a comparison of financials.
- Anyone can make content and distribute it. You no longer need a gatekeeper (aka Sony).
- Apple has created an eco-system that is easy and just works. (hardware, software, distribution)
- Sony has had many failures in the digital space. “Sony Connect” is a great example.
- iTunes has the most Users in the world consuming media.
- Content wants to be free. If you try to control it people will find a way to get it and not pay for it. Never underestimate the amount of free time people have. They will spend 10 hours to get a $2.99 movie for free.
- What makes Sony content better than anyone else’s?
- Apple has patents just like Sony but Sony’s are outdated and not made for this type of technology. This means they will have to pay for the patents and drive up costs.
- Apple has a cloud Sony does not. How can Sony easily distribute content to users anywhere? PS Network?
- What’s going to stop Apple from buying a studio or just creating a studio for all content?
- What is going to stop Apple from buying a content library?
