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#1 Bingo

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 05:14 PM

 

Sony is closing all 14 of its stores in Canada over the next six to eight weeks, the company announced in a statement today.

Sony was once a leader in consumer electronics, giving the world the Walkman personal music player, the PlayStation gaming console, and a slew of popular video camcorders. But the Japanese company has struggled of late, cutting fiscal forecasts time and again.

Most recently, Sony Entertainment was the victim of a cyberattack over the controversial film The Interview, in which hackers crippled the Hollywood studio's operations and posted confidential emails, financial data, and personal information online.

Sony is considering an exit from some of its core businesses in an attempt to reverse its fortunes, according to a recent report by Reuters. That report cited company sources who said Sony was considering selling off its TV and mobile segments in the face of stiff competition.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...onths-1.2902094

 



#2 sebberry

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 06:25 PM

Sony offered a good product, but nothing outstanding for the price.  I'm not surprised they're closing the remaining stores. 


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#3 cakeman

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 07:07 PM

Are there even any Sony stores left in Vic?  Dont think there has been for years..

 

Was a warranty tech for them in another life, from that side was a good company to deal with, rates were better than any other company out there, well designed product..

 

The whole industry has kinda.. died in the last 20 years.. a shame.. it was fun.

 

cakes..



#4 Rob Randall

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 07:46 PM

I think the Bay Centre outlet closed a couple of years ago. It used to be on Douglas near Johnson (pizza slice store now?) and before that on the 700 block Yates in the early 80s where the Era condo is now. In the days before big box stores and online shopping it was an elite boutique of higher end consumer electronics.

 

Certainly one of the biggest missteps in business. They should be bigger than Apple, indeed they had all the ingredients: a massive music label, dominance in hardware production, including every aspect of professional and home electronics, worldwide distribution and retail outlets, award-winning design and user interface experience and they were on the leading edge of digital technology, including compact digital audiotape back in the 80s. And they fumbled it all. And Apple cleaned their clock.



#5 jonny

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 08:40 PM

Sony was huge. When I was a kid, everybody wanted a Sony Walkman and then everybody wanted the Sony Discman. They were the best. By far.  

 

After that, they had that major gaffe with the whole mini disc thing. Sony never made a decent portable media player. Their phones fell way behind and the rest is history. They do make some smartphones now that get excellent reviews, but that market is so saturated I don't see how anybody makes any money unless they're Apple or Samsung. 



#6 pherthyl

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 08:47 PM

On the plus side you might soon be able to buy the new $1000 Walkman.  http://linuxgizmos.c...ns-android-4-2/



#7 sebberry

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 09:06 PM

My first big purchase with my first part time job was a Sony A/V receiver and I still have it.  I don't use it, but I still have it. 

 

The only other Sony product I own is a PS3.  Had a Sony TV once and a Sony 5CD changer and a DVD player, both of which I sold.  When I upgraded the A/V receiver I switched to Yamaha, then replaced that with another Yamaha.  TV is a Samsung Plasma I bought used for $300 (I dread the day I have to buy an LCD TV...) and projector is a Viewsonic of all things.


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#8 lanforod

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 09:17 PM

Just because the retail stores are leaving, doesn't mean you can't get their products anymore! Everyone here makes it sound like the whole company went belly up.
In general, I think Sony still makes a lot of excellent products. Their prices points are often 25% higher from their competitors though, and I think the brand loyalty is dying.

#9 cakeman

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 10:03 PM

The selection of audio gear in general has collapsed in the last 20 years... primarily due to the advancement of tech..

 

When I started as a tech, the previously mentioned Sony walkmans, and then the discmans were The piece of kit.. and due to their numbers and their relatively high-ish purchase price, we could repair them for a reasonable price and everyone was happy..

 

Over a handful of years, Discmans obliterated Walkmans and Discmans came down in price hugely and many manufacturers stopped selling (mostly) individual parts and it all came as assemblies.. fine for warranty work, but out of warranty it wasnt worth trying to repair a unit..,

 

Same thing happened with home audio and VCR's.. Previously a vast array of options and feature sets and (vcrs specifically) complicated metal mechanisms, multiple circuit boards, lots of wiring harnesses.. then almost overnight, 1 small surface mount circuit board, few wires and a mostly plastic mechanism..

 

With the explosion of MP3 players, home audios taken a beating.. Many people now just have a small dock type stereo in the corner with an Ipod or similar planted on it and thats good enough.. (to be fair, they can sound prettty damn good, but Im still a snob hah) .. Audiophile gear has always been on another level..  but the average joe is listening to music in different ways now.. I dont believe the market is what it once was..

 

I tried to buy a high end car deck a few months ago and was surprised (I shouldnt have been, but..) by the lack of selection from many of my familiar old brands.. 1 higher end deck, 1 feature set.. take it or leave it.. and a handful of cheapies with the same features they've had for years (so no R&D on making new models, just throw it in a new package and be done)

 

That being said.. if anyones got any 70's, 80's or 90's car stereo gear sittin in their garage.. Id be interested in taking it off your hands ;)  (No, seriously, whatever you've got)

 

cakes..



#10 sebberry

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Posted 15 January 2015 - 10:31 PM

What are you looking for for the car?


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#11 insanelydeadlydisease

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 07:43 AM

I think a combination of theft and the fact everyone can just play whatever's on their phone on their car stereo killed the head unit market for car stereos. Even the boom car thing is nearly dead thankfully.



#12 Layne French

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 08:32 AM

I generally have enjoyed many of my Sony Products over the years, however I have always felt their speakers leave a bit to be desired. 

 

My car came equipped with a 10 speaker sony package, not very impressed as it is quite flat sounding. Their Xplode car audio line always felt like a half effort in development.



#13 lanforod

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 09:23 AM

In the past, for similar prices, I find Bose and Yamaha > Sony in audio equipment. Sony seems to have come down in price a bit now though, competing more with Samsung, LG and leaving that mid/upper audio market to Bose, Yamaha, Pioneer etc.



#14 sebberry

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Posted 17 January 2015 - 12:26 PM

Bose? :o

Ok, maybe their old stuff.  There's a reason why their new stuff is marketed as "lifestyle" systems.


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#15 lanforod

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Posted 17 January 2015 - 07:43 PM

Fair enough!

#16 Mike K.

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Posted 21 January 2015 - 02:57 PM

Nintendo sure has a similar story to that of Sony.

 

And come to think of it many Japanese electronic companies are only a sliver of their former glory. Remember when Sanyo was huge? Panasonic? Lol...


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#17 lanforod

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Posted 21 January 2015 - 03:00 PM

South Korea is the new Japan.



#18 jonny

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Posted 21 January 2015 - 03:13 PM

Nintendo sure has a similar story to that of Sony.

 

And come to think of it many Japanese electronic companies are only a sliver of their former glory. Remember when Sanyo was huge? Panasonic? Lol...

 

I think the sales of those Nintendo DS' are pretty huge, and the Wii was (is still?) a huge seller for Nintendo.

 

But yeah, anything tech related can change so fast. Look how fast Blackberry rose to prominence and then fell. Samsung and Apple are dominant now, but who knows what the market is like in 10 years.



#19 lanforod

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Posted 21 January 2015 - 03:40 PM

And companies can return from the depths too, ie. Apple.

Things certainly continue to be interesting in tech. Microsoft announced a new holographic headset today, that looks far more useful than Google Glass.



#20 Nparker

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Posted 21 January 2015 - 04:27 PM

...And come to think of it many Japanese electronic companies are only a sliver of their former glory. Remember when Sanyo was huge? Panasonic? Lol...

I recently purchased a Panasonic electric razor and my TV is also from this manufacturer. I am happy with both products.



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