With a doubt, Steve Jobs latest wonder, the Macbook Air, got the tech world all abuzz once more, and his comparison to Sony’s own pride and joy, the VAIO TZ ultra portable, during his Keynote got the company’s attention. Now, it's Sony's turn to share their thoughts on the Macbook Air.
The senior vice president of VAIO product marketing, Mike Abary, commended Apple for creating an engineering marvel with the Macbook Air, but quickly followed it up with the results of their own research done way back in 2004 which revealed that thinness is not the key in winning the hearts of consumers. Back then, they had the X505, a 0.16-inch laptop that had a carbon fiber body minus the optical drive. A lot thinner than the MB Air, but obviously not as well-received.
Unfortunately, their vision back then wasn’t quite apt for the time. Four years ago, people couldn't imagine computers without optical drives. Considering how technology works today, users can do away with the optical drive and live happily ever after with flash drives and Wifi. Apple, of course, provided a solution for those who just can't live without optical media with the Remote Disc feature. If Sony was able to come up with a similar feature back in 2004, maybe the x505 would have been a succes, but then again, the technology wasn't there yet for the development of such a feature.
I guess Sony was years ahead of Apple in conceptualizing a slim laptop, but it was a case of having the right idea at the wrong time. Apple, for their part, is on a roll with the success of one hit product after another.
The senior vice president of VAIO product marketing, Mike Abary, commended Apple for creating an engineering marvel with the Macbook Air, but quickly followed it up with the results of their own research done way back in 2004 which revealed that thinness is not the key in winning the hearts of consumers. Back then, they had the X505, a 0.16-inch laptop that had a carbon fiber body minus the optical drive. A lot thinner than the MB Air, but obviously not as well-received.
Unfortunately, their vision back then wasn’t quite apt for the time. Four years ago, people couldn't imagine computers without optical drives. Considering how technology works today, users can do away with the optical drive and live happily ever after with flash drives and Wifi. Apple, of course, provided a solution for those who just can't live without optical media with the Remote Disc feature. If Sony was able to come up with a similar feature back in 2004, maybe the x505 would have been a succes, but then again, the technology wasn't there yet for the development of such a feature.
I guess Sony was years ahead of Apple in conceptualizing a slim laptop, but it was a case of having the right idea at the wrong time. Apple, for their part, is on a roll with the success of one hit product after another.
I came from a press launch yesterday for LaCie, the French company that specializes in storage solutions for consumers and enterprises. One of the products they launched was the 
