In the US, Sony is starting out with a key online partnership.
Late last year, Sony President Kunitake Ando, the key executive behind Sony's network strategy, announced a partnership with AOL Time Warner to develop a home networking platform and other technologies for delivering online entertainment.
In Japan, Sony has also gone into banking, credit cards and insurance, seeking a foothold in a variety of online businesses -- though the company readily admits it will have to wait years before turning profits in these realms.
Rivals such as Toshiba Corp and Hitachi are already hot on Sony's heels, adding value to their consumer electronics.
Yoshiaki Kushiki, a managing director who oversees multimedia research at Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, argues that Sony's advantage in traditional entertainment content does not necessarily make it sovereign.
"Network appliances are a totally new area for which content must be created," said Kushiki.
One product being developed by Matsushita is a refrigerator that records voice messages and sends them to mobile phones. Another is a "vital sign box" that looks like a fax machine and relays health data to a doctor.
The manufacturer behind the Panasonic brand has also set up a venture called "ep" with about 30 partners including electronics makers, Toyota Motor Corp, several broadcasters and banks.
Starting this spring, ep is to offer online shopping and interactive TV services along with digital broadcasts. Details have not yet been disclosed.
Satoru Maeda, senior general manager in charge of Airboard, Sony's Net-linking portable TV so far on sale only in Japan, acknowledges the difficulty in trying to sell products in a new, unknown market.
Sony won't even say how many Airboards have been sold since they hit stores December 2000 for US$990. The gadget, which connects wirelessly to other home appliances, recently underwent an upgrade to offer a brighter, easier-on-the-eyes monitor and broadband access.
Many Japanese are still confused, though, about Net appliances -- and can't tell the difference between an Airboard and a flat-panel TV, Maeda allowed.
"We still need to create the market and raise awareness," he said.
RSS