Where did Sony Loose its Mojo?

As I write this post, I am aware of a considerable hype and excitement that has been created by Sony Experia C660 Yuga Smartphone- 5” Full HD display, Glass Back, Android 4.1.2, Samsung Exynos 5 Quad Core processor, 3GB RAM, 128GB Storage, 16MP Camera and more. Sure that’s excitement- its closer to a laptop than a smartphone and sure that’s big- But I am really not sure –if that enough to get Sony back in the game. Here’s why-

Back in 2005-08, Sony (Then erstwhile Sony Ericsson) was big in devices- the 4th or the 5th in terms of device volumes and revenues, 2nd or 3rd on Profits and an enviable leadership in ASP. As if that wasn’t good enough Sony had a real plan to leverage its other sub brands – Walkman, Cybershot, Handycam, Playstation, Bravia, Sony Pictures, VAIO and Sony Music. Sony thus had enviable stakes in Music, Video, Imaging, Gaming, Computing, Content (both movies and Music) and LCD screens. In 2007, that kind of a portfolio was something that even a Apple couldnot think of for itself. Sony needed Brand extension of its venerable consumer brands into mobility and many believed that Sony had the secret sauce … except that the secret sauce did not happen. In 2009, Sony launched its last big sub brand- Xperia which would stand for its line of smartphones and one hoped that Xperia would marry the Sony heritage of consumer durable brands – 3 years on, the promise is un-fulfilled and Sony is fast fading into “has been” territory in smartphones.

Where did Sony Loose it? Like Nokia, it misread the writing on the wall as a war of features. It did not recognize the importance of putting all this together on a platform and innovate on the platform – something that Apple and Google pioneered with their App stores. Instead it played the marksmanship on device features bettering one sec with another and still with other. The most appalling realization is that Sony hasn’t still done anything to leverage these sub-brands to build a proposition in Mobility even now. That’s where Sony Experia C660 Yuga Smartphone comes in. All hardware, device and specs – no real platform innovation.

Sony has to get its content platform strategy in place – to really cause a dent in the device space. However, I don’t see a platform play happening at Sony which is a little sad given that there is very little profit pool left to maneuver only on the basis of devices. Neither has Sony been able to leverage its sub brands positively to create compelling propositions.