News
Sony CEO: Open tech could have beaten Apple
By Charles Starrett
Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Monday, May 11, 2009
News Category: Digital Media
In a recent interview with Tech-On, Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer made several comments about Apple’s products, including the suggestion that the Japanese electronics giant may have been able to best the iPod had it made different business decisions. When asked about the importance of open technology, Stringer pointed to Sony’s Connect music download service as failure, saying its proprietary DRM scheme “created a problem.” Stringer added, “customers couldn’t download music from any Websites except those that contracted with Sony. If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple Inc of the US.” Stringer also said that Sony needed to “grab” the opportunity to offer device-agnostic files before Apple, presumably referencing Apple’s DRM-laden movie files, since the iTunes Store has since gone DRM-free. In addition, he briefly pointed to the Apple TV as an indicator of how users are beginning to change their TV viewing habits, saying the company is “evolving the PS3 into a platform for Web services. TV development is also in a period of transition; the fact that sales volume is growing for the Apple TV, a kind of set-top box, might be evidence of an emerging trend.” [via Engadget]
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1
Well, Hasbro could have beaten the iPod had it made different business decisions.
Sony had the Walkman, it’s time for someone else to succeed in the business.
Posted by Ryan on May 11, 2009 at 1:30 PM (PDT)
2
Ah yes, the ever popular “if we weren’t so stupid, we would have made products people wanted” excuse.
Posted by dave on May 11, 2009 at 2:45 PM (PDT)
3
“You know, we’d be kicking the Wii’s cartoonish little backside in this generation’s console wars if we had just priced the PS3 for about half as much, and gotten it on the market two years before we did,” Stringer continued. “And I think we’d have been really successful in the automobile industry if we had just started up an assembly line.”
Posted by Flippy Hambone on May 12, 2009 at 7:39 AM (PDT)
4
Funny how hind sight is always 20/20 and crystal clear. But notice how Sony no longer forces you to use memory stick with every thing but give you an option now. Sony could have been the tech giant if they only use more accepted standards and made things cheaper for the end user.
Posted by David on May 12, 2009 at 7:46 PM (PDT)