Sony's been thinking about tablet computers for a few years -- long before Apple introduced the iPad -- but still isn't sure whether to jump in.
The company wants more evidence that people will buy the touch screen devices, Bloomberg reports. Mike Abary, senior vice president of Sony’s Information Technology Products unit, said the company is somewhat interested in tablets "not just because of Apple but because it creates some interesting opportunities."
“The iPad has created a new opportunity,” Abary said. “Now we can get a good judgment as to whether the market is truly accepting of it.”
For now, Sony will concentrate on its line of e-readers, which it revamped last fall to better compete with Amazon's Kindle. Avary said the company wants to introduce color displays and bring Wi-Fi connectivity to more models, as only the highest-tier Reader Daily Edition can download books over the air. Avary didn't disclose e-reader sales, but told Bloomberg that it was the company's fastest-growing product category last fiscal year.
Something's amiss with this logic. First of all, the 1 million iPad sales within its first 28 days seems like a pretty good validation of the market. And from the comments I've read at this site and elsewhere, there's a lot of interest in iPad alternatives. It's true that the kind of tablet Apple created is a young product category, but I think the interest is there, and growing.
As for concentrating on e-readers, a recent survey by the Boston Consulting Group showed that while e-readers and tablets are set to become wildly popular, 66 percent of consumers would prefer to buy a multi-purpose device rather than a dedicated book reader.
I think e-readers will have their place at low price points, but Sony traditionally has not excelled on the cheap end of the market. While the company sits back and evaluates tablets, it only falls further behind its competitors.
