MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Sony thinks quality will win out (for them)

Robert Minneman · 08-05-2010, 11:45 AM

I have no idea if anyone brought up this point but it will be hard for any company to compete in the eReader market when they're going up against devices with large vendors behind them, or devices that have functionality way beyond any actual "eReader".

With the Kindle and Nook, you have two very large book stores behind them. With the Apple iPad, not only do you have Apple's AppStore/iTunes distribution point but you have all the other functionality that comes with it that's so far beyond what any other eReader on the market can provide.

Sony is attempting to "niche" itself into a profitable portion of the market, and while yes, the Sony quality is superior (I still have and use my PRS505 on a daily basis), what they are missing is a quality, easy to use, distribution point (like the Nook, Kindle, and even the iPad has), they're missing a quality interface application (not having used the Nook or Kindle, I don't know if their front ends for adding/modifying content are better than Sony's but it wouldn't be hard), and most of all they're missing a WinTel based dev kit so that the user community can more easily keep the device relevant on their own (for example the PRS505 enjoys a few user mods that extend its usability significantly).

Without these things I imagine Sony will only be a tertiary player in the eReader market.

But it's not like Sony hasn't shot itself in the ass before, just take a look at its history:

Betamax (superior in quality, smaller foot print, but licensing made it untenable)
Minidisc (absolutely great idea, again much smaller foot print, more durable, superior quality recording format, but again Sony screwed that up)
Remember the embeded license protection on SonyBMG CD's that was screwing up PC's all over the planet?
Sony PSP (by far the best hand held gaming system made, but the implementation of "minidisc2" and their insistance on not allowing ANY third party create minidiscs they hampered independant development significantly so that, again, it's not the market leader it could/should be)

Sony tends to cut off its nose to spite its own face...

08-05-2010, 11:45 AM	#151
Robert Minneman Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 18010 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	I have no idea if anyone brought up this point but it will be hard for any company to compete in the eReader market when they're going up against devices with large vendors behind them, or devices that have functionality way beyond any actual "eReader". With the Kindle and Nook, you have two very large book stores behind them. With the Apple iPad, not only do you have Apple's AppStore/iTunes distribution point but you have all the other functionality that comes with it that's so far beyond what any other eReader on the market can provide. Sony is attempting to "niche" itself into a profitable portion of the market, and while yes, the Sony quality is superior (I still have and use my PRS505 on a daily basis), what they are missing is a quality, easy to use, distribution point (like the Nook, Kindle, and even the iPad has), they're missing a quality interface application (not having used the Nook or Kindle, I don't know if their front ends for adding/modifying content are better than Sony's but it wouldn't be hard), and most of all they're missing a WinTel based dev kit so that the user community can more easily keep the device relevant on their own (for example the PRS505 enjoys a few user mods that extend its usability significantly). Without these things I imagine Sony will only be a tertiary player in the eReader market. But it's not like Sony hasn't shot itself in the ass before, just take a look at its history: Betamax (superior in quality, smaller foot print, but licensing made it untenable) Minidisc (absolutely great idea, again much smaller foot print, more durable, superior quality recording format, but again Sony screwed that up) Remember the embeded license protection on SonyBMG CD's that was screwing up PC's all over the planet? Sony PSP (by far the best hand held gaming system made, but the implementation of "minidisc2" and their insistance on not allowing ANY third party create minidiscs they hampered independant development significantly so that, again, it's not the market leader it could/should be) Sony tends to cut off its nose to spite its own face...