Sony hops on the Apple bandwagon with comparative love-fest

Sometimes Sony just confuses the hell out of us. It's rare to ever see the electronics behemoth share a humble moment (did you see their self-aggrandizing CES press conference this year?), which is partly why it's so strange that Sony's SVP for Corporate Communications, Rick Clancy, took a long, wistful, and wholly uncharacteristic look at the many similarities between Apple and itself -- only managing to reach some missed-message middle-ground in between reminiscences of heritages of innovation and some clueless-seeming sense of supposed mutual admiration. It actually kind of just reminded us of that cliché about the totally popular friend you thought you had in high school -- who wouldn't say hello to you in public.

Sony, listen, the myriad operational, organizational, and innovational problems that caused you to take a back seat to Samsung as world's largest consumer electronics manufacturer doesn't mean you don't still have got a lot going for you. But riding Apple's coattails and comparing your products to theirs just makes you seem kind of desperate and out of touch. Bravia Internet Video Link is nothing like Apple TV, and maybe you didn't notice, but Jobs was actually kinda not-so-subtly jabbing the Vaio TZ when launching the MacBook Air, not lauding its design prowess. It's been a long, hard couple of years since Kunitake Ando got up on stage at Macworld -- but we still think you're better than this.

[7of7 @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:18AM]

The difference between Sony and Apple is that Sony makes awesome products but sucks at marketing while Apple makes mediocre products but is great at marketing.

[John @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:26AM]

My Apple products work well and as-intended.

[JohnTitor @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:41AM]

Apple makes good products, just for themselves anyway
keep everyone on a leash and limit features so as to add them one at a time raising sales every year
they know what they are doing

[Austin @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:41AM]

Really? mediocre? some of sony's products are a pretty-pretty nice, but Mac computers are the best built, even if you're running windows. so sayeth the benchmarks, PC magazines, ect.

[TedB @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:49AM]

yeah i don't get where you are trying to get at 7of7

lets put it this way... both song and apple are good companies, they just have different focuses in the world.

Sony makes amazing TVs, where apple makes amazing computers. (there are more examples, but I am not going to name them here)

Both have good marketing campaigns... Sonys "HDNA" thing is catching on pretty well.. and everyone has seen a "PC and Mac" commercial.

[Nathan @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:51AM]

The difference between Sony and Apple is that Sony is headed up by several run of the mill assholes, while Apple is captained by the biggest asshole west of the Mississippi.

Now I'm gonna bring out Paul Newman to sing a few songs about how the United States sucks, thanks for coming!

[s7r1k3r @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:19AM]

Go eat Dolphins Sony

[Phineas J. Whoopie @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:24AM]

So to summarize: You love Apple. We love Apple. Sony loves Apple. Sony sells their music DRM-free on Amazon.

News at 11.

[Phoenix Sanders @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:27AM]

I dont know about you but i happen to find dolphins quite appetizing.

[DanB91 @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:30AM]

i love sony and apple (apple a little bit more though). i hope they have like a huge partnership or something soon :)

[dizilbdog @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:39AM]

I'm a Mac Fan have a MBP and Honestly I would take the Sony TZ with EVDO over the Mac Air because it's something I could use Every where Unlike the Macbook Air

[Johnny English @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:50AM]

"...only managing to reach some missed-message middle-ground in between reminiscences of heritages of innovation and some clueless-seeming sense of supposed mutual admiration."

Ryan, dude, you make William Faulkner seem coherent. Please don't post when you've been drinking. K? Thx.