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SONY XPERIA Rumors 2014 |
Smaug
Joined: Feb 23, 2014
Posts: 48
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After reading the same repeated cries time and again regarding Sony's dual flagship strategy, it's time to help shed some light on Sony's strategy. As always, we are never 100% sure what Sony is up to and why, but understanding the wider context can be... enlightening.
Last year the AFR published an article on Sony, and more specifically, Japan's "fad-loving consumers". A slightly harsh choice of words, but accurate for those of us who have lived in Japan. The (now old) article can be found here:
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/japan_fad_loving_consumers_threaten_UYtA3HB4tg4uzLidkfctjM
In short, Sony is effectively dictated to by Japanese phone carriers and the constant demand for updated models. After just 3 months of the XZ going on sale: “It’s time for a new model,” said Mai Kariya, a DoCoMo representative in Tokyo. “We’re finished with the Xperia Z, and now focusing on the Xperia A.”
The same story could be had for the Z1, Z2, eventual Z3 etc. Key excerpts:
"As Sony banks on smartphones to turn around its struggling electronics business, it faces an increasingly bothersome obstacle at home: the demands of Japan’s powerful cellphone carriers, which remain obsessed with constant model updates. For years, Japan’s three largest mobile network companies have pressed phone makers to update their handsets every three or four months, providing Japanese consumers a dazzling array of newfangled phones and
features each season."
"The fast-paced cycle is commonplace in Japanese marketing. Manufacturers deliver short runs of seasonal products to create buzz.... Phone manufacturers in the country have found it impossible to achieve the economies of scale that would justify the high development costs and the slim profit margins."
"If Sony can score more successes overseas and gain market share there, it could start shifting the lopsided power dynamics between Japan’s carriers and handset makers, analysts say."
We know Japan is one of Sony's largest single markets (the EU not withstanding). It clearly plays an important factor in the Xperia model strategy; Sony cannot afford to ignore the whims of that market's particular demands. However, as Sony pursues overseas sales and lessens the dependence on its home market, we may yet see a change in the future.
tl;dr summary: Don't blame Sony for constant model updates. Blame Japanese consumers and mobile carriers. | |
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vikeviki
Joined: Oct 16, 2012
Posts: > 500
From: INDIA,bangalore
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^
Sorry bro you made your comment to specific to one country,,its worldwide market now,not limited to one country> Sony is blended with all people who wants a premium design.
I am not talking against your comment,but I feel its unacceptable. |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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It's as good an explanation as any. The Japanese operators are very powerful, DoCoMo is huge.
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CrownedAkuma
Joined: Jun 28, 2013
Posts: > 500
From: North-East Italy
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On 2014-02-23 22:00:50, vikeviki wrote:
^
Sorry bro you made your comment to specific to one country,,its worldwide market now,not limited to one country> Sony is blended with all people who wants a premium design.
I am not talking against your comment,but I feel its unacceptable.
he focused his speech on Japan to explain the need for Sony to use this kind of release schedule...
I found the article really interesting and probably it's really the reason...
I'm not sure if the right choiche is to release a single or double flagship a year, the only thing I can say is that being one or two flagship Sony should release "the Best"... not rushed products... this is the only problem...
but even there... why Z1 has "not perfect" display? was this the way to finish the Z display that remained? why is its processing algorythm so aggressive? to defend the Cybershot realm?
We should know the real reason behind this kind of choiche before speaking.. but only Kaz know this info 
Post Scrittum
BTW how much time before the Sony Conference? 
[ This Message was edited by: CrownedAkuma on 2014-02-23 21:20 ] |
amirprog
Joined: Aug 22, 2013
Posts: > 500
From: Israel
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@Smaug
Thanks for shedding a light on this, but it's not "cries", it's just legitimate criticism. i hope that sony's goal is one flagship per year. i'm curious about tomorrow's announcements as anyone here. |
Felimenta97
Joined: Dec 07, 2011
Posts: > 500
From: Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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@CrowmedAkuma
9h36 min left, if I'm right.
Too bad the conference will be at 4:30am for me... And, I have a whole day at school (7 am to 6 pm) without a good Internet connection to follow the news. So, yeah, after I come home, after over 14 hours, I'm going to have to read A LOT of things. Of course, I can see bits here and there with my daily 10 to 30 Mb of data, but not much...
Maybe I can download some pages and read them offline before leaving home? 
I don't get people. Never Have, never will. |
Smaug
Joined: Feb 23, 2014
Posts: 48
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On 2014-02-23 22:00:50, vikeviki wrote:
^
Sorry bro you made your comment to specific to one country,,its worldwide market now,not limited to one country> Sony is blended with all people who wants a premium design.
In some aspects yes, but also no.
Yes, the mobile market *appears* largely a worldwide market. Consumers often prefer a premium design (not forgetting regions where feature phones still dominate); something we can all agree Sony is famed for.
This does not mean Sony is free to appeal to the widest common denominator. They do have a certain reliance on their (large) home market and currently cannot afford to ignore it due to financial constraints. My assertion is backed by Sony's actual product development strategy: continued releases of updated models every 4 - 5 months in Japan. It is vexing to complain about rolling Xperia updates and then claim a worldwide market with identical demands. To do so implies Sony is ignoring what every consumer in the world (apparently) wants.
I, for one, do not believe a company as experienced as Sony is that ignorant.
Japanese consumer demands can be very different to the rest of the world. This is not a criticism; many countries have unique market preferences. The automotive industry is a great example of this, despite cars being "universal". However, Japan is famed for their closed mobile ecosystem. "Galapagos syndrome", a term often used in business and academia to describe unique product development in Japan, was originally attributed to the mobile sector. Google this to find out more for yourself.
Keeping focused on Xperia: Sony are in the process of a balancing act. Like many players in this sector, they are constrained by different suppliers (inhouse and outsourced), consumers (Japan, Europe, China etc) and complementary forces (mobile carriers). Their home market just has a stronger influence. Japanese phones have pioneered features that appeared years ahead of rivals (fingerprint scanner etc). Some features never caught on outside Japan. If it were a "worldwide market", this wouldn't occur.
Sony's current target of growth in overseas markets (China, US) is a reflection of this. Diversification has many benefits, especially for Sony. Like I prefaced earlier, none of us are 100% sure why Sony walks the path it does. The point is, there are logical explanations behind the dual yearly flagship updates and I have yet to see a more compelling argument. It is not in Sony's interest to spend twice as much as rivals in developing constant model updates that consumers apparently don't want. |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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On 2014-02-23 22:59:44, Smaug wrote:
On 2014-02-23 22:00:50, vikeviki wrote:
^
Sorry bro you made your comment to specific to one country,,its worldwide market now,not limited to one country> Sony is blended with all people who wants a premium design.
It is not in Sony's interest to spend twice as much as rivals in developing constant model updates that consumers apparently don't want.
So, What do you think will happen?
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CrownedAkuma
Joined: Jun 28, 2013
Posts: > 500
From: North-East Italy
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On 2014-02-23 22:57:34, Felimenta97 wrote:
@CrowmedAkuma
9h36 min left, if I'm right.
Too bad the conference will be at 4:30am for me... And, I have a whole day at school (7 am to 6 pm) without a good Internet connection to follow the news. So, yeah, after I come home, after over 14 hours, I'm going to have to read A LOT of things. Of course, I can see bits here and there with my daily 10 to 30 Mb of data, but not much...
Maybe I can download some pages and read them offline before leaving home?
LOL tons of pages to read 
Here it will be 9 AM so I'll be ready to read EVERYTHING
ALL THEIR INFO ARE BELONG TO US  |
Felimenta97
Joined: Dec 07, 2011
Posts: > 500
From: Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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On 2014-02-23 23:20:45, CrownedAkuma wrote:
On 2014-02-23 22:57:34, Felimenta97 wrote:
@CrowmedAkuma
9h36 min left, if I'm right.
Too bad the conference will be at 4:30am for me... And, I have a whole day at school (7 am to 6 pm) without a good Internet connection to follow the news. So, yeah, after I come home, after over 14 hours, I'm going to have to read A LOT of things. Of course, I can see bits here and there with my daily 10 to 30 Mb of data, but not much...
Maybe I can download some pages and read them offline before leaving home?
LOL tons of pages to read
Here it will be 9 AM so I'll be ready to read EVERYTHING
ALL THEIR INFO ARE BELONG TO US
Good for you . And I just noticed you're from Italy. Why I was 100% sure you were from Japan?
I don't get people. Never Have, never will. |
Smaug
Joined: Feb 23, 2014
Posts: 48
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On 2014-02-23 22:22:49, amirprog wrote:
@Smaug
Thanks for shedding a light on this, but it's not "cries", it's just legitimate criticism. i hope that sony's goal is one flagship per year.
I do not mean to insinuate those who criticise Sony are wrong to do so. Only to remind readers there are forces at work guiding rational decisions at Sony HQ; we only need set aside our personal preferences and consider the wider picture that Sony must balance. They are not a company in a financial position to throw endless models at the wall and hope one will stick.
The unanswered question remains: why has the Xperia Tablet Z not followed the same refreshed model strategy as the phones?
Kaz was adamant in bringing divisions together under one roof, and sharing the Xperia branding was symbolic of this. Yet the XTZ has remained the same model since April last year while several high end phones have come and gone. The leaked specs for the XTZ1 do not indicated a massive overhaul either. That and the lack of interest in a mid-sized (~8 inch) tablet continue to elude me. |
supercoolman
Joined: Jun 04, 2013
Posts: > 500
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On 2014-02-23 23:30:08, Felimenta97 wrote:
On 2014-02-23 23:20:45, CrownedAkuma wrote:
Good for you . And I just noticed you're from Italy. Why I was 100% sure you were from Japan?
his username contains romaji? guilty crown, then crowned akuma
[ This Message was edited by: supercoolman on 2014-02-23 22:49 ] |
CrownedAkuma
Joined: Jun 28, 2013
Posts: > 500
From: North-East Italy
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On 2014-02-23 23:30:08, Felimenta97 wrote:
Good for you . And I just noticed you're from Italy. Why I was 100% sure you were from Japan?
LOL for the nickname, the avatar... ? dunno
@Supercoolman
If you hover over the Avatar it will get big and reveal the truth
[ This Message was edited by: CrownedAkuma on 2014-02-23 22:56 ] |
supercoolman
Joined: Jun 04, 2013
Posts: > 500
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On 2014-02-23 23:49:55, CrownedAkuma wrote:
On 2014-02-23 23:30:08, Felimenta97 wrote:
Good for you . And I just noticed you're from Italy. Why I was 100% sure you were from Japan?
LOL for the nickname, the avatar... ? dunno
your avatar is too small for me to see/recognize anything...
On 2014-02-23 22:59:44, Smaug wrote:
Japanese consumer demands can be very different to the rest of the world. This is not a criticism; many countries have unique market preferences. The automotive industry is a great example of this, despite cars being "universal". However, Japan is famed for their closed mobile ecosystem. "Galapagos syndrome", a term often used in business and academia to describe unique product development in Japan, was originally attributed to the mobile sector. Google this to find out more for yourself.
but that Galapagos syndrome was defeated by Apple in just few months?
[ This Message was edited by: supercoolman on 2014-02-23 22:56 ] |
Felimenta97
Joined: Dec 07, 2011
Posts: > 500
From: Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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As we say here in Brazil, I'm going to keep putting my finger in the wound and ask again:
Why everyone is wanting something absolutely completely new with the Next Tablet? Except for a few little issues with some units here and there, I think the Tablet Z is probably the best Xperia product Sony (Ericsson) ever, made (read: with almost zero flaws). The device is super thin and light, runs with almost zero lag for an "outdated" processor. The screen is simply perfect. No color change even at the highest of angles. Speaker Sound quality is amazing for such a small device (compared to notebooks, for example). Seriously, zero complaint about mine.
The next gen will just make the best they have, even better. Screen at a good resolution, but with better technology (both Software and hardware), even thinner (the thinnest of all tablets) and lighter (even more than iPad Air), newer processor, bit more of RAM, new Android version and there you go.
I don't get people. Never Have, never will. | |
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Posted: 2014-02-23 21:40
