Sony Says Its 2011 Strategy Is to Make 3D ‘More Personal’

LAS VEGAS -- Sony in 2010 “established ourselves as the industry leader in 3D because we do business across the entire 3D universe,” CEO Howard Stringer told a pre-CES news conference Wednesday. For 2011, Sony will embark on “the next phase of our 3D strategy,” which is to make 3D “more personal,” Stringer said.

To that end, Phil Molyneux, making his first public appearance as Sony Electronics president since replacing Stan Glasgow last July, introduced what he called the world’s first 3D consumer camcorder with double full HD. Available in April at $1,500, the camcorder features a 3.5-inch LCD 3D display that requires no eyewear.

Glasses-free 3D products were a major thrust of the Sony conference, albeit in the form of technology prototypes that don’t yet have commercial “timetables” for introduction into the consumer marketplace, said Hiroshi Yoshioka, president of Sony’s Consumer, Professional and Devices Group. Sony wanted to show the prototypes to give reporters “a glimpse into the future,” Yoshioka said. They include a glasses-free Blu-ray 3D portable with a 10.1-inch screen, and glasses-free flat-panel 3D display in three configurations -- a 56-inch 4K LCD, a 46-inch 2K LCD, and a 24.5-inch 2K OLED panel.

For 2011, Sony will introduce “more 3D products and content to further cement our leadership” in the category, Stringer said. It was typical of the superlatives Sony executives used to describe their company. Sony as a company is “stronger, smarter, leaner and more profitable than it was a year or two ago,” Stringer said. Molyneux said his charter since taking the Sony Electronics helm was to make Sony the top CE company in the U.S. by 2013.

"Television Redefined” is the tagline of a new 2011 campaign Sony plans to use to trumpet its Internet TVs, executives said. By March, more than 50 million U.S. homes will have devices such as PS3, connected TVs and Wi-Fi Blu-ray players that are “Internet-enabled,” Stringer said. That’s “a significant base of connected products,” he said. TVs are “no longer passive devices, but gateways,” he said, and “it’s clear consumers are ready” for them. Sony is “working very hard to create the best consumer experience” in Internet TVs, he said. With the “Television Redefined” campaign and products and services to back it up, Sony is “shaking up the television landscape and will win,” he said. Skepticism was present at the launches of color TV and HDTV, and 3D TV and Internet TV are no different, yet they're “poised” to follow “the same path of success,” he said.