The company brought its "Dream World" exhibition to the City of Lights to showcase its latest technologioes and consumer electronics products.

Addressing 1,700 dealers and Sony executives flown in from around the world, Nobuyuki Idei, Sony's chairman and group CEO, said in a keynote address that Sony is ready to "show its strength as an electronics and entertainment company" with the emergence of "unlimited" ways to deliver content via satellite, cable, the Internet and wireless networks.

The diversification of content distribution is prompting "consumers to access content not only through TV and radio sets, but also through PCs, PDAs and mobile phones," he said. By making its products, content and services "network-ready," Idei said, "we will be fully prepared to take advantage of the major network explosion that will come within the next two to three years."

Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America, added, "Synergy is the most used and abused word." But citing a number of successful cross-promotion examples of the company's devices and content in recent years, Stringer said using Sony's content as a driving force, "We are reaping benefits" from synergy.

Being digital, being wireless and being personal were recurring themes at the Sony event.

Kunitake Ando, president and group COO at Sony Corp., described Sony's initiatives for "the rebirth of TV" as an always-on, interactive device. With Sony's new wireless display product called AirTact, scheduled to go on sale in Japan this week, consumers can control a large screen plasma TV, and display a variety of home network content on the portable device.

With a portable display, "TV is no longer limited to the home," Ando said. Transforming traditional TVs to "location-free" TV or displays, Ando said that 125 million TV sets sold today worldwide would be "easily increased to four or five times that number."

Katsumi Ihara, president of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, showed off Sony's SO505i, the world's first 1.3 megapixel camera phone. Now available in Japan for NTT DoCoMo subscribers, Ihara said Japanese consumers bought more than 40,000 units on the first day of sales. The SO505i is the first to bring "true camera style to the mobile industry," Ihara said, adding that Sony Ericsson is defining a new imaging style for mobile phones.

Ihara noted the convergence of mobile phones with home networks. The Instant Messenger community is "now reaching the living room," he said, by sending messages and sharing pictures on TVs, PCs or in home servers.

Sony also has launched Sony's Net Music Download initiative to expand its audio business. The service will start next spring in the United States, "with combined efforts of our music, electronics and pictures companies." Ando said Sony "will get a bite out of Apple," referring to Apple Computer's iTune services.

By: DocMemory
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