Otaku Gadgets

Oh Sony, we like you for making Vaios. We really do. And we also think that your eReaders are really cool and all. But Apple has the best tablet of all times and we just think are acting a bit too ‘me too!’ to churn out something really useful.

So Sony CEO Nobuyuki Oneda said at a Press Conference in Tokyo recently that they were interested in what Apple is trying to do with its latest product — the iPad. He said that Sony would like to be active in that market and that means everything that the iPad is doing. But there’s a tiny little problem with that and Oneda knows it.

He did confirm that they were (sorely) behind in terms of making the device and yet they would like to be a player in that field. He expressed confidence in his company’s ability to build a credible device and make it work on it’s own online content/app store. Sony ‘s idea of the online store is (not very surprisingly) similar to what Apple does. It wants the store to distribute content to the tablet, PCs, Walkmans and possibly its eReaders. Which brings into mind the question — won’t a tablet device that mimics the iPad in functionality cannibalize eReader sales? Or has Sony given up on that part?

Its (eReader) rival Amazon certainly hasn’t, if its recent moves are anything go by. However, Oneda is right about Sony’s capability to make such a device. They are pretty good at designing premium things that are both well-designed and built. However, we all know by now that a tablet is as good as its UI, regardless of the (comparatively) minor hardware differences. So what’s it gonna be Sony? Will you use Windows? Android? Or custom Linux? We will be looking forward to this!

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