Now we know why Sony was slow to announce new products

Now we know why Sony was slow to announce new products ,

ads CES Sony this year are neatly summarized by the void of nothingness in the hands of COO Mike Fasulo in the photo above. The Japanese company has helped define the traditional consumer electronics in the 90s basically did not bother to introduce renowned products to the largest exhibition of consumer electronics. And, judging by Sony last reported profit was good .

Each January at CES, Sony I witness the launch of several devices, more things, and more promises. And every spring after CES, I look at these products not make a dent in the hyper-competitive markets that Sony is trying to penetrate. Whether an update to the Xperia line or a new Hi-Res Walkman smartphones, new devices launched at CES Sony never went to become commercial blockbusters. So when I saw the shortage of big launches this time I'm actually a little relieved. Sony will not have a new product tear the sales charts this spring, but he has not had one of those years of effort.

A humble Sony resist the temptation to start new things just because he can

The beginning of 2016 Sony is unencumbered by new sins. There is no albatross hung around the neck of Sony, not moonshot it must find ways to sell and promote. And the end of the 2015 Sony company says it more targeted and limited is a business that can prosper. The last three months of the year churned healthy profit of $ 1 billion off $ 21.5 billion in revenue. Sony no longer in the big leagues with Apple and Google, and it seems to be coming to terms with this reality well. He spent the last few years, shrinking down to only the most essential and potentially profitable businesses.

Regarding the consumer technology market is concerned, Sony might as well be known as the PlayStation Inc. Hardware sales account PS4 software for nearly a quarter of Sony's income and continue to strengthen the profitability of the company. But beyond the PlayStation? Sony has discharged its PC division in 2014 and spent much of 2015 trimming down its spending on mobile devices. Sony's smartphone portfolio is now smaller and focused on the premium end. The company still considers its TV camera and significant sales, but neither is much of a linchpin that PlayStation.

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Sony Pictures had a healthy fourth quarter 2015 and the assurance of Sony products remained a reliable profit driver. The universal thread tying together the positives to recent success Sony has been reduced dependence on hardware sales. Products more material than Sony and companies like it introduce, the more problems they eventually find. TVs are commonplace. The cameras are commonplace. Headphones are trivialized. Smartphones are ridiculously trivialized. There are companies that find success in each of these areas, but the benefits tend to concentrate in the hands of very few.

Sony is a leader in consumer electronics. He made great camera sensors, and it supports one of the key games of ecosystems in the world, but he is unable to set its own prices and rules of how it could once or Apple now with the iPhone. So now Sony must be wiser and more sober. He must choose his battles wisely, as is done with the PlayStation VR project where new material is intimately related to Sony PlayStation proven success.

Escaping commoditized markets is challenging but feasible

At the same time, Sony does not give market mass innovation quite as it continues to nourish projects like Life Space UX and internal crowdfunding initiatives that produce things like FES watch. These ideas, as well as a highlight CES presser Sony Hi-Res platinum, representing a controlled experiment - they are the efforts of Sony to reaffirm its design and engineering direction in a unique way and in a way that people can relate to emotionally. None of them even require great game ecosystem as smartphones do, and although unlikely, each of them could be a success in vacuum.

Significant reductions in marketing and research and development for the mobile division of Sony may also report further rationalization in the coming months. After a perpetual also-ran in the Android smartphone market that is barely profitable, even in good times, Sony could decide he has had enough of trying.

Sony stop trying to live up to its name and its legendary reputation at CES this year and now he has a clean slate to work with. If 2016 continues in the same way as 2015, the Sony brand can grow less visible, but leaner and more focused company could become stronger as a result.