Sony who are desperate to get traction in the premium TV market is set to use the CES 2014 event in January to try and grab brand share back from Samsung by positioning their 4K TV offering as being superior to other manufacturers.
While the Company is betting on being able to sell a big screen 4K entertainment message at CES they are also trying to regain their premium TV branding position which they have lost to Samsung and LG.
“We’re [going] after the premium consumer out there,” said Sony Electronics president Phil Molyneux.
Sony already has televisions and video cameras with 4K resolution, and it is planning to expand into other areas, likely 4K smartphones and computers.
“Its clear people will want to generate their own 4K content,” Molyneux said in a briefing with reporters on Sunday. As for specific new products, Molyneux said we’d have to wait for CES.
Molyneux said Sony is also working hard to drive down prices for the TVs and camcorders that can capture and display 4K content.
The move to try to tap 4K as a means to gain back its reputation as an aspirational consumer brand could be a smart play.
Sony 4K Vs HD
“The focus on 4K may not create a huge number of sales out the gate, but what the complete set of 4K solutions does do is help reposition Sony as a premier provider of high-quality video,” said Bob O’Donnell, who recently left IDC to form Technalysis Research, his own research and consulting firm. “They’ve lost some of their prestige to Samsung and Apple over the last few years, and this can help them re-establish themselves as a technology leader.”
One area where the Sony name has been particularly dormant has been in smartphones. Despite some big promises after having bought out its joint-venture partner, Ericsson, Sony has yet to regain significant share, in part because few carriers are heavily subsidizing or promoting its devices.
“We’ll have some good stuff to share around smartphones at CES,” Molyneux said, insisting that Sony isn’t giving up on its efforts to crack the U.S. market. “We recognize the U.S. is a terribly important market,” he said.
