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[IT] Sony Hits 30-Year Low.

9K views 53 replies 40 participants last post by  GENiEBEN  
#1 ·
http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54352:sony-shares-hit-30year-low&catid=69
Quote:
Sony shed more than 7% to hit a near 32-year low on Friday, a day after it posted a record annual loss of $5.7 billion and failed to convince investors that it has a sound strategy to turn around its loss-making TV business and boost smartphone sales.

The Walkman and PlayStation maker has lost its innovative edge, falling behind Apple and Samsung Electronics, and guidance for the current financial year has failed to impress.

"I didn't see anything positive in there," a trader at a US bank said. "There is really nothing in there that can justify buying the stock."
 
#6 ·
Not surprised at all, especially when you look at the launch of the playstation vita. It is hard to imagine how much they have messed up. Zipper interactive, makers of socom put out a stripped out bare bone socom copy and named it Unit 13. Childish racing games, in my oppinion one is even too much when you consider your competition...nintendo. Who buys a new console for $300 to play mod nation racers, ben 10 racing, asphault (.99$ in android market).

I agree with the article, sony has lost the vision.
 
#8 ·
Not really a big surprise. Price wise they haven't been competitive for some time. Sony can't sell enough PS3 units to make up for the losses in their other divisions. Thats the primary problem. Either Sony needs to sell off their other divisions (or close them) and JUST make PS4 or they need to throw in the towel and let samsung buy them out.
 
#9 ·
Good riddance, their phone...Sony Ericsson Satio, it was supposed to be a flagship phone for which I paid $600. It was an utter failure, where I and a whole community that was dedicated to that particular phone agreed they abandoned the phone...

Sony, you deserve this.
 
#10 ·
Sony makes some of the best gaming hardware and most importantly exclusives out there. Would be a real shame if they don't turn it around. So many great games and franchises originated on Sony consoles.

Already got 11 games for my Vita and I love the thing to death, not to mention my PS3 collection is huge
smile.gif
. I can't imagine the gaming world with out Sony anymore, would be depressing.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1rkrage View Post

They're still living off their rep from the 90s so I'm not surprised.

They need to stop over-valuing their brand and price their goods accurately
Actually, their high end TVs are still some of the best available. Price of lesser competitors combined with lack of knowledge from the general consumer about new technology will result in this type of situation.
 
#13 ·
Their gaming division definitely needs an overhaul. Their TVs are quite good, and their cameras are pretty decent.

I think Mobile is where they will have a future.
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Take a look at their latest phone offerings. They've ditched Ericsson and are now just Sony Mobile. I've gotten incredible mileage out of my X10 and although it has been "abandoned" by Sony from a development standpoint the phone was popular enough that there are some amazing custom ROMs that make the phone shine. I've still got one of the best cell phone cameras around and my phone was released over two years ago, their latest ones are even better. I really enjoy their hardware functionality and design, one of the few including NFC in their phones. Their software has come a long way from when they first released the X10 (their first Android smartphone), but as with almost every Android phone, the best is always going to be Custom ROMs.

In regards to Warranty. I haven't had any issues. My Micro-USB port died on my X10, called them up and it was fixed/replaced with no issues whatsoever.
 
#16 ·
good that's what they get for being such proprietary asses.
Their Camera spits proprietary RAW image type, I remember their old Walkman need some bullcrap ATRAC3 format. And now their PS Vita needs some bullcrap $100 proprietary SD Card. Companies like this will never learn. You can't Trick people with your "SONY" branding anymore. People are just not willing to pay a premium for your overpriced products.

Apple is heading down this same road...and one day it'll become just like SONY a company that sells overpriced proprietary crap that no one wants to buy.
I hope Sony and all other companies that think strategically like it fail miserably
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by stargate125645 View Post

Actually, their high end TVs are still some of the best available. Price of lesser competitors combined with lack of knowledge from the general consumer about new technology will result in this type of situation.
The problem with their "high end" TV's is they priced themselves out of competition. High end shoppers aren't going to look at Sony, they are going to look at Pioneer and their flagship products. Sony doesn't manufacture high end products, they shouldn't try! Sony can be really great at manufacturing great products and at a price that will be attractive to consumers that want a well rounded, well build TV that has brand recognition.

Their notebooks are highly overpriced and ugly as hell, usually, and to boot their customer service is just horrible. I have worked within the industry for a number of years in some capacity or another, typically having direct contact with people from the tech at the desk in the depot to VP's. Sony was one of the worst companies to work with, they truly felt they were above everyone and treated everyone else like trash.

One example I will always remember is I ended up dealing with a person that had a fight with Sony about a battery replacement on his notebook. The unit was just a couple of months old and the battery wouldn't hold it's charge and needed to be replaced, and this replacement was authorized and deemed necessary by Sony. Now instead of sending him a replacement battery with a return shipping label for the exchange they wanted him to send his notebook in! Keep in mind this unit was your average run of the mill notebook with a battery the user can swap in and out. Their lead time on doing this was 8 to 12 weeks! When pressed by the customer and I as to why they couldn't send a replacement, as every other manufacturer would do, they said "We don't trust him enough to send back the defective unit." I was absolutely floored.

Fortunately for the customer I had gotten involved, which normally wasn't the case, and had contacts to a few of the different VP's within Sony. A couple of phone calls later he had a battery and apology, problem solved.

Sadly for Sony this wasn't the only horror story we had with them and customers have had, and there is absolutely no reason that I should have to make the calls I had to for a simple warranty claim. 99% of the customers out there aren't going to have that level of contact, so they are just screwed in the end. Sony's head got too big and they thought they were above their consumers and in a group that they didn't belong in, the exclusive high end segment. Even in the thinking they were in this market they didn't even provide the support that you would actually see in that market.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by stargate125645 View Post

Actually, their high end TVs are still some of the best available. Price of lesser competitors combined with lack of knowledge from the general consumer about new technology will result in this type of situation.
Sony doesn't manufacture high end products, they shouldn't try! Sony can be really great at manufacturing great products and at a price that will be attractive to consumers that want a well rounded, well build TV that has brand recognition.
Reviews disagree with you. That's all I have to say about that.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shiftwig113 View Post

good that's what they get for being such proprietary asses.
Their Camera spits proprietary RAW image type, I remember their old Walkman need some bullcrap ATRAC3 format. And now their PS Vita needs some bullcrap $100 proprietary SD Card. Companies like this will never learn. You can't Trick people with your "SONY" branding anymore. People are just not willing to pay a premium for your overpriced products.
Apple is heading down this same road...and one day it'll become just like SONY a company that sells overpriced proprietary crap that no one wants to buy.
I hope Sony and all other companies that think strategically like it fail miserably
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and it's the blind spot Samsung is using it.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by stargate125645 View Post

Reviews disagree with you. That's all I have to say about that.
Awesome, lets take reviews as what defines high end or not. I can dig up enough stellar reviews of Vizio products that would classify them as high end under your standard. What defines high end is the quality of the components, quality of assembly, and quality of the post manufacturing inspection. I am talking the actual total build of the product, not how much someone likes them or how "Totally awesome great! A++" a review says it is. Very few, if any, review sites actually break down a television to the smallest of internal parts and looks at them. They simply plug them in and determine, based off that persons personal feelings, how well it works. Are the colors rich, can you see the back light bleeding through, etc.

Look, I am not dogging on Sony in terms of quality as they make a good product, but that is it, a good product. They are not a high end product, an elite product, or an exclusive product. Sony was always the working mans Porsche if you will, a well built product that the average guy/girl could afford and trust that it would give them years of service! What is wrong with being that? That is the best market to be in, you have the largest customer base in that market.

What Sony did with their name and products would be like if Coke decided they were going to be the Dom Perignon of the soda world all of a sudden. Market themselves outside of their actual market and try to become exclusive, it would end in disaster, just like it did for Sony.

EDIT: I remember walking into the electronics store as a kid with some Christmas money I had and wanting to buy my own TV for my room. I am looking at this row of TV's and the different brands, Phillips, RCA, Sony, Magnavox, etc. This was all before companies started merging with each other. After looking up and down at every TV over and over I settled on the Sony. Why?

  1. I knew the name.
  2. The TV felt and looked like it was just a little more solid than the others.
  3. The price was right on it, just a fraction more than the others. Enough to say "I am better, but still affordable".

The TV is still functioning today, and was well worth the few extra dollars it cost. But that isn't seen today, Sony tries to put themselves too far out there.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by shiftwig113 View Post

good that's what they get for being such proprietary asses.
Their Camera spits proprietary RAW image type, I remember their old Walkman need some bullcrap ATRAC3 format. And now their PS Vita needs some bullcrap $100 proprietary SD Card. Companies like this will never learn. You can't Trick people with your "SONY" branding anymore. People are just not willing to pay a premium for your overpriced products.
Apple is heading down this same road...and one day it'll become just like SONY a company that sells overpriced proprietary crap that no one wants to buy.
I hope Sony and all other companies that think strategically like it fail miserably
Yeah that's another thing I can't stand about Sony, EVERYTHING of theirs is some proprietary overpriced nonsense. No way.

I used to have a midrange Sony digital camera and it had a proprietary battery, memory card, cable connector, and photo format. Godawful software too. A replacement battery was $50.
rolleyes.gif
 
#22 ·
Funny those of you that hate Sony and favor Samsung. I hate both Samsung displays Ive purchased in the last year. 32" LCD TV has horrid speakers, lack of inputs and already has a failing sound output jack and the 23" LCD Monitor buzzes if the brightness is set under 85%.

My 4 year old 32" Sony Bravia LCD TV kicks the ever loving crap out of that Samsung TV in every possible way.

Ive been mostly very pleased with every Sony purchase Ive made over the last 20 years.
Wish I never bothered with Samsung.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm View Post

Yeah that's another thing I can't stand about Sony, EVERYTHING of theirs is some proprietary overpriced nonsense. No way.
I used to have a midrange Sony digital camera and it had a proprietary battery, memory card, cable connector, and photo format. Godawful software too. A replacement battery was $50.
rolleyes.gif
yeah. I didn't like the memory stick duo stuff on my old psp or the UMD that it came with.

The only home-run they've done with proprietary media was the Blu-ray
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm View Post

Yeah that's another thing I can't stand about Sony, EVERYTHING of theirs is some proprietary overpriced nonsense. No way.
I used to have a midrange Sony digital camera and it had a proprietary battery, memory card, cable connector, and photo format. Godawful software too. A replacement battery was $50.
rolleyes.gif
This is another example of Sony trying to be exclusive, high end, and elite. Which did nothing but upset their true core customer base.
 
#26 ·
I thought Sony was making a bunch of money off the PS3, PSP and such?... I know the tv's suck now and they don't last at all, my cousin had a Bravia 46', one day she turn it on and the damn thing started smoking, had some sparks and it died
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, she called me crying (was hilarious
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). My mom had a Bravia 32' and the damn thing only lasted 7 months before she had to replace it with a another one (Sears thing, she pays a contract... device breaks down... they replace it without her paying anything), so they gave her a new one... Bravia 32'... lasted 5 months, it was like it had 3D without the 3D (very annoying btw) lol
rolleyes.gif
, the new one now... (yeah i know, but it is a 3 strikes thing with Sears, after the third one they will give her a new one no matter what brand it is or something like that) the screen jumps and has some ghosting when she powers it up, then it disappears as long as she doesn't turn it off
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, point is, they are garbage now. Told her to get a Samsung, Panasonic or Vizio
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.

Even my Vizio 42' XVT (is 2 years old now) and is still looks like new, hell my brother has a 4-5 year old Panasonic and the damn thing still looks amazing!!