How Apple's Steve Jobs out-Sony'd Sony
Interesting article over at SFGate detailing how Steve Jobs studies early Sony product development culture and Zen-like approach to design:
"It was very nearly fetishistic, in fact -- he even had a collection of Sony letterhead and marketing materials," laughs Deutschman. "Sony was a company that Jobs instinctively admired and saw as model from the very beginning. So it's been an interesting transformation over time, to see Apple supplant Sony as the center of the consumer technology universe."
Early Sony would wait, miss first-mover advantage, take their time and only release breakthrough, revolutionary products that could own a category, like Trinitron televisions and the Walkman. That Sony has faded away. (I covered this year's CES Sony presser for Android Central and... yeah, it wasn't good). But Apple under Steve Jobs has taken its place:
"I was at a party last night in central Tokyo that happened to have a bunch of twentysomething guests," [Douglas Krone, CEO of Dynamism and Gizmine] says. "Every time I saw something glowing, it was an iPhone. It was a chilling display of dominance -- five years ago, you would have seen 99.9 percent Japanese handsets and 0.1 percent Nokias and MotoRAZRs. Softbank's flagship stores look almost comical now, with rows and rows of iPhones broken only by the occasional row of iPads, in a space that used to have a wide array of handsets."
It's often been said that Apple and Jobs build the products they themselves want to have and that they're not as concerned with market as they are with "denting the universe". They've had challenges, including the MobileMe launch and the iPhone 4 antenna kerfuffle, but measured against iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, the resurgence of Mac, and the growth of Apple Retail the successes have been stunning.
The only question is whether or not Apple can keep it up or if they'll stray the way once-dominant Sony did?
[SFGate via Daring Fireball]
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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Of course they'll stray...eventually. Apple has already strayed at least once, though obviously they have come back stronger than ever. They'll stray again; Apple seems unstoppable today, but no more than did Sony under Ibuka and Morita, or Microsoft under Gates. I would not bet on Apple losing focus anytime soon, but nothing lasts forever.
I agree. Apple will be strong for a good while now, but not forever. Their business model is actually rather old fashioned, even if their products aren't. Witness the struggle they've had with the cloud and social. It will be tough, nearly impossible, to stay focused without Jobs.
forever is a long time, I think they still need to learn how to adapt, especially when it comes down customers needs.
Maybe you should pay a bit more attention to the ACTUAL article/post. It does infer that just like Sony of past years, Apple ignores early stages of technology and only picks up a product that they think they can make memorable. No how does that not go in line with Apple ignoring social networking and cloud computing? At the time Apple could not make any money of either (and they still can't) which is why it is not offered.
Total AppleAss-kissing "Article".
Apple's gotta long way to go to "outSony" Sony. 
You've obviously been living under a rock for the last 10 years to not see that Sony today is clearly a sad shell of what it once was...so indeed, Apple has far outSony'd Sony already...
Let's see Sony makes TVs , Apple doesn't. Sony makes Home Stereo systems , Apple doesn't . Sony makes Car Audio systems , Apple doesnt. Sony makes videogame systems , apple doesn't. Sony makes bluray players , Apple doesn't.
Apple makes computers , phones , mp3 players which sony also makes.
The ONLY thing Apple makes that Sony doesn't is iPad
Sony stocks $2908 vs Apple $330
And I can guarantee you theres more Sony products in every home than Apple products.
The only sad shell would be the one you've been under , AppleFanBoy
I love both companies , for different usage ,,, when it cones to gaming , TV and movies , Sony is the leader hands down , just like Apple is way ahead when it comes to phones
@ArtVanDelay
Yes, we get it, Sony OBVIOUSLY has more a diversified product suite than Apple. But my friend, please don't let this fool you. Apple is indeed the "center of tech universe" DESPITE the fact the fact that they choose not to complete in certain markets (TVs, DVD-players etc). Like it or not, Apple is currently "tech darling" is consistently making innovative products that every other company tries to mimic.
We all understand that Sony makes some high-quality products and they are indeed a major player in the tech world BUT Apple has "out-Sony'd Sony". And since your "stocks" information is inaccurate, i just wanted to quickly correct you:
Sony is trading at $34.78 per common share (Market Cap of 34.9B) Apple is trading at $336.05 per common share (Mrk Cap of 309.6B)
Look at the Japanese Sony
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=6758.T
Sony is a tech darling in their own department. The PSP2 blows the competition away
Listen , I love my iPhone , but the rest of Apple products I can live without.
However , I can't live without my Sony HD Bravia , PS3 , blurays , 12 speaker car audio etc.
ur really living under the rock...you are right Sony has TVs but Samsung dominates, they got mp3 player but Apple is dominating. so on so forth... and for market share; they are way behind apple... last thing I don't own a Sony product...so you are dead wrong in saying all household owns Sony product.
Reading AND comprehending seems to be a challenge for you.
I never said EVERY home has Sony products. But if you take the total of all SONY products in every home in the world , they outweight Apple products in every home in the world.
Since when us Samsung ahead of Sony ?!
oh just cause your geek squad installed a Samsung in your living room ?! 
@ArtVanDelay
Look at Japanese Sony? What does this mean? Yes, Sony is headquartered in Japan but they are still ONE company. So lets compare Apples to Apples (no pun intended
-
Sony stock price is 2,908 in Japanese Yen which is equivalent to roughly $35 USD
Apples stock price is 27,609 in Japanese Yen which is equivalent to $336 USD.... get the picture now?
Very Simply Put - Stock Price is a measure of investors forward-looking expectations for a company. Past and Present performance are factored in.
Again, we all respect Sony's brand-image and products (the sony walkman man is one of myfavorite products of all time) however, Sony is not currently "out-innovating" Apple and THIS is simple reason why Apple is "tech darling". And this is not always a bad thing for a company not to be on the leading edge. Some companies enjoy great success by reacting to the marketplace and making their competive version
Ps... Xbox 360 dominates PS3 and the iphone/ipad/ipod competes very well against other more established/specilized mobile gaming platforms
At the time, they are beating out Sony. In all markets.
Ya this obviously a pro apple website but when is the last time Sony was in the news in the way Apple is on a weekly basis. It's not saying Sony is terrible, it is stating that Apple has reached the point that Sony used to be at. Just as in 15 years we'll be saying that "blank" is at where Apple used to be.
Um just three days ago when they announced NGP
I've been an Apple-only-using black sheep since 1988. I didn't care whether or not Apple was a leader then, and I won't care tomorrow. I just won't use junk.
If Apple does not start upgrading iOS faster to not only compete with Googles speed but sometimes leap frog Google's speed. Why because if they don't then Apple will become as slow as Nokia and Nokia moving so slow is an huge disadvantage od Nokia. How ever Sony stell makes some of the best LCD/LED TVs , they have the best BlueRay players, they have some of the best Windows PC in my experience, (because when ever I go to BestBuy I look for a computer that has similare specs as my MacBook the only thing that comes lose is a Sony Computer. So I would think that Sony is Stell doing great.
Damet garm javoon
How out of thr loop are you with reality? Sony has all those electronic divisions but your fanboy glasses fail you impressively. Sony's TV division has been consistently getting beat down by Samsungs own offerings. The PSP had abysmal sales numbers and couldn't even compare to Nintendos's DS. The PS3 has been in last place in sales numbers since it first came out. Whatever shabby MP3 player they offer is being stabbed repeatedly in the face by the iPod touch. There's a reason why Sony has minimal market influence and is only worth around 30 bucks a share compared to Apple being deemed "the worlds most valuable tech company" by forbes magazine, no one ever expected Apple to be worth more than Microsoft but they sure are right now. In fact, Apple is the second most valuable company next to an oil company. You saying Apple has a long way before outdoing Sony is like saying a middle aged man has a long way to hit puberty before a six year old does. Great job. Maybe you should read up more on google before saying ludicrous things like this
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofbest-sellinggameconsoles?wasRedirected=true
As far as TVs go , Samsung sells more than Sony cause of their PRICE. If you look at the quality , Sonys TVs are better but cost a bit more
Apple is moving perfectly fine with iOS. Actually, I've been fairly surprised with the rate of iOS 4.x, which is going to have at least three "4.x" updates with 4.3 coming out in a several weeks.
AndroidOS has pretty much reached maturity and its cycle times are going to lengthen. iOS cycles will also lengthen. This is the fate of any software of appreciable size. The code base gets featured, stable and mature, with a whole platform of software to run. There just won't be huge improvements after that.
The only way to avoid this fate is to destroy the platform (ie, don't support any "legacy" code) and start over. But starting over has some significant trades (typically less features early on).
Apple updates iOS as fast aaa google does android. Sure google has a new version of android every 2-3 months but only 2-3 phones get them anytime soon. Before I got the iPhone I had an htc aria which came with android 2.1 and its chance of getting any other android version looks dismal. Google doesnt pay attention to all it's phone models running android.
I love Apple. Me my wife and 7,2 yr. old kids carry ipod touches or iphones but Sony does everything! My Vaio is just as good as a Mac(except cheaper) and my PS3 I could not live without. My Cybershot takes 14mp panoramic photos. Regardless of marketshare to many people(probably more than apple still) Sony is leader of the pack. And the PSP2 blows the socks off the ipod touch. Damn I just bought 2.
@Tom. Your Sony Vaio is as good as a Mac? Please, please. Obviously you have never owned one.
Sony is to TV's and MP3 players what Blackberry is to smart phones- they fell asleep at the wheel, companies like Apple "lapped" them in the innovation department, and they got complacent with the competition. Sony used to be "the" TV brand to get......not anymore.
Say Sayonara to Sony's marketshare!
Yup Sony makes the worst TVs lol. Gimme a break dude. Seriously ?! Do you have a Jobs tattoo on your chest ?
@yngwie. I never said Sony makes the worst TV's. Are you that challenged that you simply cannot read?
If so, put your Sony Trinitron on Closed Captioning and practice reading the little words at the bottom of the screen. It takes practice, j.a.c.k.a.s.s.
Props, Rene. Some saucy debate going on here.
Wow, what a lot of experts. Why dont you all search for “iPhone Death Watch” from 2007. Another list of funny, in retrospect, quotes.
Apple fanboys
Nerds!!!
I Don't know anyone with a Sony tv. I do have a Ps3. I sold my xbox the day i got it. And as far as LCD and led screens go, it's samsung and LG that all the tech companies buy from. Phones and laptops and tablets all pretty much have an LG or Samsung screen. Sony has fell behind a lot but still makes quality products. You just pay more to have it say "Sony"
I love both Apple and Sony... in term of their product.. both serve a different purpose in my life.
The question in this debate is simple, who innovate more these days?? Apple or Sony?? hmm~
Most of you should stop and reread the article above. It's not about stock prices, product diversity, nor about how many products one company has in each home. It's about how products are designed, created, marketed, and sold. In that respect, Sony has seriously lost focus and Apple has taken their place as a better company.
Apple's forward momentum hinges squarely on Steve Jobs. Yes, he's a douchebag--but he's a visionary douchebag, and those are hard to come by.
If the recent rumors are correct that his cancer has returned, and he dies--Apple has 5 years tops before it strays off into stupidity land. They've got a long history of making piss poor decisions without Jobs at the helm.
Unfortunately those rumors are more than just rumors. I'd say it will take a miracle to see Mr Jobs back to work
Last I heard, its the combination of the cancer and rejection of the liver transplant
Stevie, Get well soon buddy , we need you!!!