4 ms·

the issue here is clearly one of failing to adapt to change (as it so often is), but i’d characterize it as having more to do with a shift from isolated product

the issue here is clearly one of failing to adapt to change (as it so often is), but i’d characterize it as having more to do with a shift from isolated products (hardware and software) to connected ecosystems.. > By the way, Nokia is going down for the same reason. true, but nokia seems to have realized this early-on and, in fact, has been adapting.. while heavily criticized, their decision to abandon in-house platform development in favour of windows phone for smart devices is increasingly looking to be a wise one. they clearly get that devices (no matter how great they are in terms of build quality and software features) aren’t being measured in the market in isolation. device-specific features are part of it, but how it plays with other devices and services plays a big (and increasingly important) role.. this is what sony doesn't seem to get.. they have their own systems powering playstation-branded products, windows pcs and tablets, android tablets and smartphones, and a bunch of other devices (cameras, tvs, ...) and none of them play well with one another. they like to tout their rebranded 'sony entertainment network' as unifying their devices and leveraging their media assets but i've yet to see it take shape in any meaningful way. i've long been a fan of sony products but this lack of integration among products (and an apparent lack of vision to do so in the future) pushed me away.

kalleboo 13y ago
> i've long been a fan of sony products but this lack of integration among products (and an apparent lack of vision to do so in the future) pushed me away They integrate using standard protocols (HDMI CEC, DLNA, etc) and have to adhere to those limitations. I guess the alternative is going the proprietary way like Apple, but then everyone gets up in arms as well. It's lose-lose.
- simba-hiiipower 13y ago
  that's true, but i think there can be a middle-ground.. apple represents one extreme by locking-down everything to its ecosystem and connecting devices using proprietary technologies. i’d say sony's integration, by these means, lies on the opposite end of the spectrum and isn't really integration (by my definition at least) - as it offers no real benefits in using their products together over mixing them with competing ones. a middle-ground would be to support standard protocols while adding-in some tighter level of integration (more-so in terms of software and services than hardware connectivity) that make owning all sony products better than mixing them with others. if its compelling enough, i feel such integration can create a strong lock-in effect. that being said, it seems very hard to do. the only companies that appear to have the scale and expertise to build-out compelling ecosystem’s (consisting of an underlying platform, applications, services, and integrated devices) are apple, microsoft, and google.. samsung seems to have realized this, and done quite well leveraging it to the max (nokia as well, though it’s a bit early to judge), but sony seems to have lost its way and is trying to both leverage existing platforms while competing with itself in building-out its own..
ctdonath 13y ago
Sony did try connected ecosystems. They did it early, did it proprietary, did it wrong, and customers went elsewhere. They tried gluing everything together with MemoryStick and ATRAC. Everything, and I mean everything, had a MS slot: TVs, pens (!), CD players...whether it made sense or not. Anything that did audio pressured users to adopt ATRAC, with grudging allowance for MP3. MS was too pricy for anyone else to adopt, so it lost out to CompactFlash & SD. ATRAC was just inferior. Once those fell, Sony had nothing tying products together, and the walled garden went to weeds. They lost sight of why ecosystem components are linked. Having gotten severely burned, they were shy to adapt and rebuild the necessary cross-platform infrastructure.
- simba-hiiipower 13y ago
  > They lost sight of why ecosystem components are linked. Having gotten severely burned, they were shy to adapt and rebuild the necessary cross-platform infrastructure. i think you hit the nail on the head there. connectivity for connectivity's sake doesn't produce much value. its having everything work together in a way that makes the experience better for the end-user that really matters.

kalleboo 13y ago

> i've long been a fan of sony products but this lack of integration among products (and an apparent lack of vision to do so in the future) pushed me away They integrate using standard protocols (HDMI CEC, DLNA, etc) and have to adhere to those limitations. I guess the alternative is going the proprietary way like Apple, but then everyone gets up in arms as well. It's lose-lose.

simba-hiiipower 13y ago
that's true, but i think there can be a middle-ground.. apple represents one extreme by locking-down everything to its ecosystem and connecting devices using proprietary technologies. i’d say sony's integration, by these means, lies on the opposite end of the spectrum and isn't really integration (by my definition at least) - as it offers no real benefits in using their products together over mixing them with competing ones. a middle-ground would be to support standard protocols while adding-in some tighter level of integration (more-so in terms of software and services than hardware connectivity) that make owning all sony products better than mixing them with others. if its compelling enough, i feel such integration can create a strong lock-in effect. that being said, it seems very hard to do. the only companies that appear to have the scale and expertise to build-out compelling ecosystem’s (consisting of an underlying platform, applications, services, and integrated devices) are apple, microsoft, and google.. samsung seems to have realized this, and done quite well leveraging it to the max (nokia as well, though it’s a bit early to judge), but sony seems to have lost its way and is trying to both leverage existing platforms while competing with itself in building-out its own..

ctdonath 13y ago

Sony did try connected ecosystems. They did it early, did it proprietary, did it wrong, and customers went elsewhere. They tried gluing everything together with MemoryStick and ATRAC. Everything, and I mean everything, had a MS slot: TVs, pens (!), CD players...whether it made sense or not. Anything that did audio pressured users to adopt ATRAC, with grudging allowance for MP3. MS was too pricy for anyone else to adopt, so it lost out to CompactFlash & SD. ATRAC was just inferior. Once those fell, Sony had nothing tying products together, and the walled garden went to weeds. They lost sight of why ecosystem components are linked. Having gotten severely burned, they were shy to adapt and rebuild the necessary cross-platform infrastructure.

simba-hiiipower 13y ago
> They lost sight of why ecosystem components are linked. Having gotten severely burned, they were shy to adapt and rebuild the necessary cross-platform infrastructure. i think you hit the nail on the head there. connectivity for connectivity's sake doesn't produce much value. its having everything work together in a way that makes the experience better for the end-user that really matters.