Mobile media has heated up considerably in the last few years, although the argument could also be made that it has always been a hot commodity. Starting out with ringtones and later even wallpapers that could be ordered via text-message keywords and even website ordering, mobile content would expand to include full music downloads as well. Spurred on by tie-ups and deals between mobile phone manufacturers and mobile media providers as well as with music moguls from the entertainment industry, mobile content has seen the rise of mobile music as a viable commodity all its own. This is perhaps most clearly underscored by the strong sales figures seen from Apple’s iTunes music and application download platform.
Considering that Apple has made a strong fort for itself out of dollars made on the digital storefront, it must come as no surprise that competitors like Nokia have tried a similar tack with Comes With Music, a digital storefront open initially to buyers of new phones with a limited-time free-download period as a come-on. Sony Corporation is now trying something similar, making inroads into the digital storefront game with the intent to sell music, books, movies and other media for mobile devices. Tentatively called Sony Online Service, this new plan was recently announced at a management strategy meeting in Tokyo and is projected to be similar in nature and look to Apple’s own iTunes platform. It may also push Sony hardware along with its digital content.
While seemingly too close to the Apple platform in concept – no surprise considering Sony is now playing with former Apple exec Tim Schaaf at bat along with its typical roster – the Online Service platform will probably be differentiated from iTunes by the integration of a user-upload system similar to YouTube. There may also be an outlet similar to the App Store for independent software developers to provide their own content and applications for download.
The move to establish the tentatively-named “Sony Online Service” marks an ambitious attempt on Sony’ part to connect its product range directly to its own digital content library, and could itself be a solid move. This also marks a transition for Sony, moving away from solely focusing on delivering quality television sets like the Bravia, music players like the evolving Sony Walkman, and cameras on the level of the now-ubiquitous Cybershot, in order to gain an edge in software, a range which the company has long struggled at getting a foothold in.
As such, this move comes as a welcome shift, and possibly even a necessary one, in a time when the economic slowdown has noticeably impacted consumer spending on hardware and other electronics. Sony needs to change its game plan a bit, especially given Tokai Tokyo Research Center’s Osamu Hirose’s analysis that the company ”has been too focused on hardware.” The time has come, possibly, for Sony to make steps toward focusing on networked product and digital content as opposed to the hardware and gear that contains and delivers it.
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