Sony VAIO G

Now that I've ripped Sony, allow me to praise them for a bit. Second only to Apple, Sony makes the best computer hardware right now. To continue this reputation, their new VAIO G has a host of features that make it the new ultra portable to beat.

The 12.1" display VAIO G actually beat Apple to the Solid State Disk (SSD) storage with a 32 GB SSD that has been rumored lately to be in a new ultra mobile MacBook. This is probably the most significant feature not only because of it's weight reduction (the G weighs in at just under 2 lbs) but because of the speed of SSD storage over hard drive based storage and much lower power consumption. The G notebook gets an amazing 6 hrs of battery life, if the Sony battery doesn't blow up that is.

Other features include: a carbon fiber shell (not the fake Acer kind), Wireless, Bluetooth, multicard reader, and your choice of a Celeron or Core Solo processor. There is also the option of a DVD burner and 6 cell battery which provides an unbelievable 12 hrs of battery life.

In the ultra portable realm the Lenovo X Series has always been my favorite, but the new Sony G is the new hotness. It's far to early to say that the G is better at this time, but it's surely worth watching. They're both overpriced but with the addition of SSD on the new models the G is in the nearly unobtainable stratosphere at nearly $2300 for the base model. But hey, I'm wiling to buy pretty much anything with carbon fiber.

Sony's Woes

Sony's CEO Howard Stringer offered some explanation of why the company he works for has done such a good job of sucking over the last five years or so. This prompted me to rant a bit about something I've been meaning to write about for some time.

Sony has missteped so many times in the last few years it's hard to know where to begin. Their proprietary, go through us, Sony is the hub of all electronic entertainment approach to everything has led to the rise and fall of a handful of trademarks that starts with a product that sets a thesis statement for my point…the Betamax. Since that well documented failure Sony has stubbornly used the same mentality and marketing approach, and subsequently failed with: ATRAC, the MiniDisk, UMD and the currently failing PSP, the Connect Digital Music project, the SACD format which died along side it's rival DVD Audio and the Sony Network Walkman, which when finally introduced didn’t even support MP3 files. These failures are complimented by further stupidity such as their stubbornness to even enter the digital audio market (which Stringer mentions in a more flattering way), shipping a rootkit on one of their audio CD’s and recently, exploding batteries.

The Sony Corp. CEO revealed that a lot of the negativity surrounding both recent challenges for the company is the result of internal strife in the company and a cultural disconnect between Sony CEO Howard Stringer and his Japanese executive team.

Sony is just one big dysfunctional foreign exchange family right now, they need some counseling quick. The Nintendo Wii is saturating entry level gaming devices. The Xbox is stronger than ever and was in the marketplace sooner, once again due to a Sony debacle. One they may never be able to recover from. The HD disk wars are far from over. Stringer seems to be overly optimistic about Blu-Ray, but I’m not, even though they have gained some ground lately and technically offer a superior product (like Betamax). Not to mention the success or failure of one of these two products could, and probably will impact that of the other. The PS3 uses Blu-Ray disks and if the PS3 where booming, that many more people would automatically be Blu-Ray movie users.

I don’t hate Sony. Everyone (over the age of 20) has fond memories of their Walkman. Sony's Trinitron technology is legendary. Up until recently they have had the best gaming console bar none. They make great digital cameras (despite the proprietary Memory Sticks) and video cameras. Strangely enough their VAIO computers, although overpriced, are great as well as stylish and finally their line of Bravia XBR LCD televisions are arguably the best on the market. However something needs to change at a very high level for Sony to get back on track, recover from their recent blunders and regain the love of this geek and I’m sure many others.