Sony

SONY

Sony Corporation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue of $70.303 billion (as of 2007) based in Minato, Tokyo. Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets, which developed the company into one of the world's richest companies.

The Sony Group is primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. Not only does SONY represent a wide range of businesses, but SONY remains globally unique. Their aim is to fully leverage this uniqueness in aggressively carrying out their convergence strategy so that SONY can continue to emotionally touch and excite their customers.

As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. The company's slogan is Sony. Like no other. 

SONY Organizational 

"Do what has never been done before." "Always stay one step ahead." These expressions have underscored our corporate philosophy since the very beginning, and have always represented the backbone of Sony's design philosophy of "building high-performance, easy-to-use and beautiful products with a distinctive Sony flair." This is the philosophy behind the long line of Sony design.

Sony Design continuously strives to create something original. To our mind, products are intended for people to use, so it only stands to reason that these products be designed with a human touch. For us, human-focused design is the foundation for creating something original.

People often note that the Sony Walkman changed their lives. In actuality, the Walkman’s success can be credited to the public’s demand for a “music on the go” lifestyle. The Walkman touched the hearts of consumers by making it possible for listeners to take their music with them and access it on demand. The Walkman story is a perfect example of what it takes to create consumer lifestyle changes—a product must strike a universal, heart-touching chord with people everywhere.

When Sony Design was established in 1961, its black & silver design language elevated the Sony image. The idea was to do away with excessive ornamentation and accentuate a powerful, high performance, professional feel through the use of simple, cool colors and materials.

It all starts with the principle of carefully listening to the user's needs. Every aspect of Sony design considers the needs of people who use our products. This includes everything from the shape of each button and dial, the position of every switch, to the interface design. We carefully observe the conditions under which the product is operated and pursue continuous improvement. Our products are not only functional but also give full expression to the beauty of functionality.

 

 

product

Sony offers a number of products in a variety of product lines around the world. Sony has developed a music playing robot called Rolly, dog-shaped robots called AIBO, humanoids, and QRIO.

PlayStation

The Slimline PlayStation 2 with controller

In late 1994 Sony launched the PlayStation to compete with other consoles. This successful console was succeeded by the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The PlayStation 2 has become the most successful video game console of all time, selling over 150 million units as of 2011. The PlayStation brand was extended to the portable games market in 2005 by the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Sony developed the Universal Media Disc (UMD) optical disc medium for use on the PlayStation Portable. Although Sony tried to push the UMD format for movies, major-studio support for the format was cut back in spring 2006, though as of 2009 some major-studio titles continue to be released on UMD.

Sony released the PlayStation 3, a high-definition console, in 2006. It later introduced the PlayStation Move, an accessory that allows players to control video games using motion controllers. Sony announced that on 1 April 2010 it was electronically removing Linux functionality from the first generation PS3. A class action has been taken out in California challenging the legality of "the disablement of valuable functionality originally advertised".

Sony admitted in late 2005 to hiring graffiti artists to spray paint advertisements for their PlayStation Portable game system in seven major cities including New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Sydney, Australia. The mayor of Philadelphia filed a cease and desist order. According to Sony, they paid businesses and building owners for the right to graffiti their walls. As of early January 2006, Sony had no plans to keep or withdraw them.

In November 2006, a marketing company employed by Sony created a website entitled "All I want for Xmas is a PSP", designed to promote the PSP through viral marketing. The site contained a blog, which was purportedly written by "Charlie", a teenager attempting to get his friend "Jeremy"'s parents to buy him a PSP, providing links to t-shirt iron-ons, Christmas cards, and a "music video" of either Charlie or Jeremy "rapping". However, visitors to the website soon discovered that the website was registered to a marketing company, exposing the site on sites such as YouTube and digg, and Sony was forced to admit the site's true origin in a post on the blog, stating that they would from then on "stick to making cool products" and that they would use the website for "the facts on the PSP". The site has since been taken down. In an interview with next-gen.biz, Sony admitted that the idea was "poorly executed".

In 2003, Sony Computer Entertainment America, marketer of the popular PlayStation game consoles, was sued by Immersion Corporation of San Jose, California which claimed that Sony's PlayStation "Dual Shock" controllers infringed on Immersion's patents. In 2004, a federal jury agreed with Immersion, awarding the company US$82 million in damages. A U.S. district court judge ruled on the matter in March 2005 and not only agreed with the federal jury's ruling but also added another US$8.7 million in damages. This is likely the reason that the Sixaxis controller for the PlayStation 3 had no rumble feature. The DualShock 3 has since been made available for the PlayStation 3, reintroducing rumble capabilities. MicrosoftCorp. was also sued for its Xbox controller, however, unlike Sony, they settled out of court so they could continue using the technology for the follow-up Xbox 360. A California judge ordered Sony to pay Immersion a licensing fee of 1.37 percent per quarter based on the sales of PlayStation units, Dual Shock controllers, and a selection of PlayStation 2 games that use Immersion's technology.

VAIO

Sony offers a line up laptops branded as VAIO. Previously Sony has disabled hardware virtualization on their high end VAIO laptops, citing concern for users running malicious code.However, most new VAIO laptops can utilize virtualization.

Sony Pictures Entertainment

In July 2000, a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation created a fictitious film critic, David Manning, who gave consistently good reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures that generally received poor reviews amongst real critics. When the scandal was revealed, Sony apologised to Ridgefield Press, the newspaper Manning was claimed to be from. Sony claimed it was unaware of the marketing ploy, and pulled the ads and suspended Manning's creator and his supervisor. In 2003, Sony paid the state of Connecticut $325,000 in fines following the Connecticut Attorney General's investigation into Sony's alleged fraudulent marketing practices. In August 2005, Sony finalized a settlement to pay $1.5m to fans who saw the reviewed films in the US.

In 2006 Sony started using ARccOS Protection on some of their film DVDs, which caused compatibility problems with some DVD players – including models manufactured by Sony. After complaints, Sony was forced to issue a recall.

Sony BMG

In October 2005, it was revealed by Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals that Sony BMG's music CDs had installed a rootkit on the user's computer as a DRM measure (called Extended Copy Protection by its creator, British company First 4 Internet), which was difficult to detect or remove.This constitutes a crime in many countries, and poses a major security risk to affected users. The uninstaller Sony initially provided removed the rootkit, but in turn installed a dial-home program that posed an even greater security risk. Sony eventually provided an actual uninstaller that removed all of Sony's DRM program from the user's computer. Sony BMG faced several class action lawsuits regarding this matter. On 31 January 2007, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a news release announcing that Sony BMG had agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Sony BMG committed several offenses against United States federal law. This settlement required that Sony BMG allow consumers to exchange the CDs through 30 June 2007, and to reimburse consumers for up to $150 for the repair of damage to their computers that they may have incurred while removing the software.

In September 2009 Sony had its Mexican office raided by police to recover over 6000 CDs, masters and artwork, by the popular Latin American artist Alejandro Fernández. Fernández's lawyers claimed that Sony was in breach of contract as Fernández had been contracted to Sony for seven albums and the recordings were an eighth album made after the contract had expired.

Digital photography

Sony offers a range of digital cameras, ranging from point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs.

Initially, in October 2005, it was reported by Sony that there were problems with the charge-coupled devices (CCD) in 20 models of digital still cameras. The problems can prevent the cameras from taking clear pictures, and in some cases, possibly prevent a picture being taken at all. In late November 2006, the recall was broadened to eight additional models of digital cameras sold between 2003 and 2005. The problem appears to manifest itself mostly when the camera is used in areas with hot weather. The eight models affected are the following: DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40 and DSC-U50. Sony indicated that they would repair or replace the affected camera at no charge. Since Sony is one of the largest producers of CCD chips, this recall may affect other manufacturers and models of cameras, possibly as many as 100 models or more. Other manufacturers of digital cameras, including Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus or Fuji have indicated they will replace faulty CCDs in their respective models of cameras if necessary.

 

 

 

 

founder

Akio Morita The founder of Sony

"Curiosity is the key to creativity." After World War II, Japanese companies began flooding the American market with many inexpensive and poorly made products, and most Americans associated the words "Made in Japan" with poor quality. Akio Morita changed that perception by building an international company whose name is associated with innovative and high-quality products around the world.

He was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1921. The Morita family had been brewing sake and soy sauce for 14 generations. As the oldest son, he was expected to take over the business, but Akio was more interested in tinkering with electronics. Morita graduated with a degree in physics from Osaka Imperial University. During World War II, he was a lieutenant in the Japanese Navy and met an electrical engineer named Masru Ibuka. After the war, he was offered a teaching position at Tokyo Institute of Technology, but he read an newspaper article about Ibuka opening a research lab and went to visit him. The two men decided to form a partnership. Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka In 1946, they started Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, Corp. in a bombed-out department store in the ruins of postwar Tokyo. Ibuka focused on engineering and product design, while Morita handled marketing, personnel and financing. Their first product was an automatic rice cooker, but it was not very successful. There wasn’t much of a consumer market in post-war Japan because the economy had been devastated by the war, so Morita looked to the West as a market for his products. Many Japanese companies enjoyed modest success by building cheap knock-offs of products developed in the West, but Morita wanted to develop new and innovative products of his own. They wanted to develop a tape recorder, but couldn’t find a source for magnetic tape. They had to make their own tape by grinding up magnets and sticking the powder to strips of paper so that they could test their prototypes. They perfected Japan’s first magnetic tape recorder in 1950, and after some aggressive marketing by Morita, it was a modest success. By 1955, Morita was trying to design a pocket-sized radio for the American market, but the smallest radio they were able to make was still a little too large. He solved that problem by having his salesmen wear shirts with larger pockets, so that they could slip the radio in and out of their shirt pocket during demonstrations. The radios they sold became the first commercially successful transistor radio and was very popular around the world. Morita's "Pocket-sized" Radio Morita realized that brand-name identification was as important as good products to the company’s success. Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, Corp was quite a mouthful, and he wanted a name that would be easy to pronounce and easy to remember. Everyone else thought he was crazy to change the name of a successful company, but in 1958, he changed the company’s name to Sony. It was made up from the Latin word sonus, which means sound, and sonny, which he thought was a "friendly" term that also sounded like the sun. In 1960, he formed an American subsidiary called Sony Corporation of America. In 1961, Sony was the first Japanese corporation to have it’s stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Morita moved his family to New York City in 1963. He wanted to learn all he could about Americans and their culture, so that Sony could design products tailored to the American market. He also spent a lot of time socializing with the rich and powerful elite and was able to build lasting relationships with many of America’s business and political leaders. During the 1970s, portable tape players were popular in America, but they were big and heavy. Morita had an idea for a small battery-powered tape player with headphones, so that a person could listen to music and still have great freedom of movement. Many people in the industry believed that a tape player without a record function would never catch on, but Morita knew he could make the device much smaller and more portable without it. Morita’s instincts were right, and Sony’s Walkman has been one of the most successful personal electronics products ever, with over 250 million units sold since it’s debut in 1979. Sony Walkman Sony was the first Japanese company to build a manufacturing facility in the United States. Over time, Morita set up many other manufacturing, R&D and design centers in North America, Europe and Asia. He believed that Sony should contribute to the economies of the countries where their biggest markets were located. Akio Morita was friendly, cheerful and outgoing. Many said that he had a natural radiance and that he captivated the attention of everyone he came into contact with. His excellent communication skills and great charm allowed him to easily bridge the cultural gap between Japan and the West. He was a workaholic, but he also liked sports and remained very active throughout his life; even taking up water skiing, scuba diving and wind surfing in his sixties. But Morita’s passion was innovation. Sony developed the first successful battery-powered portable TV, the Trinitron picture tube, which set a new standard of quality for color TV, and the first color home video recorder called the Betamax. Sony also developed several media standards; the 3 ½ inch floppy drive, 8mm video tape and the audio CD in a joint effort with Phillips. First Betamax Video Recorder Morita had a stroke in 1993, while playing tennis and was confined to a wheelchair. He died of pneumonia in 1999, at the age of 78. At the time of his death, Akio Morita was the most famous Japanese citizen in the world and Sony was the number one consumer brand in the United States.   history 1946 May Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), also known as Totsuko, established in Nihonbashi, Tokyo with start-up capital of 190,000 yen for the research and manufacture of telecommunications and measuring equipment. 1947 Feb Company head office and factory relocated to Shinagawa, Tokyo. Oct Successful commercialization and sales launch of Sony's “power megaphone.” 1949 Sep Completion of first magnetic tape recorder prototype. 1950 Mar Japan's first magnetite-coated, paper-based recording tape, “Soni-Tape,” launched. May Japan's first magnetic tape recorder, the G-Type, order launched. 1954 May Sendai plant established in Tagajo, near Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. (in April 1992 it was renamed Sendai Technology Center.) Jul Announcement of Japan's first PNP alloy-type transistor and germanium diode. 1955 Feb Decision made to use SONY logo on Totsuko products. Aug Totsuko listed on the OTC (over-the-counter) market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Sep Japan's first transistor radio, the TR-55, launched. 1958 Jan Company name changed to Sony Corporation. Dec Sony listed on the TSE. 1959 Jun Formal announcement of research results leading to the negative-resistance “Esaki Diode” prototype. 1960 Feb Sony Corporation of America (SONAM) established in the United States. May World's first direct-view portable TV, the TV8-301, launched. Nov Atsugi plant established in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture (renamed Atsugi Technology Center in August 1989). Dec Sony Overseas S.A. established near Zurich, Switzerland. 1961 Mar Japan's first all-transistor amp tape recorder,TC-777, launched. Jun Sony became the first Japanese company to offer shares in the United States in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the OTC market of the New York Stock Exchange. 1962 May The world's smallest and lightest all-transistor TV, TV5-303, launched. Nov Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Ltd. established. 1963 Jul World's first compact transistor VTR, the PV-100, launched. 1964 Aug Sales launch of the “Sony-O-Matic” TC-357, a tape recorder featuring automatic recording adjustment. Sep Osaki plant established in Shinagawa, Tokyo (renamed Osaki West Technology Center in June 1995). 1965 May Sales launch of the Chromatron-type 19-inch color TV, 19C-70. Aug World's first home-use open-reel VTR, the CV-2000, launched. Oct Japan's first all-silicon transistor stereo amplifier, the TA-1120, launched. 1966 Apr Sony Building in Ginza, Tokyo, opened. Nov Sales launch of Sony's first cassette tape recorder, the “Magazine-matic 100” TC-100. 1967 Mar Sales launch of the world's first IC radio, the ICR-100. 1968 Mar CBS/Sony Records Inc., a 50-50 joint venture with CBS Inc. of the US, established. It was renamed CBS Sony Inc. in August 1973 and CBS/Sony Group Inc. in August 1983. It became a wholly-owned Sony subsidiary in January 1988, and renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc. in April 1991. May Sony (U.K.) Ltd. Established in the United Kingdom (reorganized as Sony United Kingdom Ltd. In April 1993). Oct “Trinitron” color TV, the KV-1310, launched. 1969 Sep Shibaura plant established in Minato, Tokyo (renamed Shibaura Technology Center in August 1989). Nov Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor Inc. established to assemble semiconductor products (in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture). Dec Inazawa Plant (currently Inazawa Technology Center) established to produce cathode-ray tubes (in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture). 1970 May Ichinomiya Plant (currently Ichinomiya Technology Center) established to assemble color TVs (in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture). Jun Sony G.m.b.H. established in Cologne, Germany (renamed Sony Deutschland G.m.b.H in June 1980). Sep Sony shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. 1971 Oct 3/4-inch u-matic color video cassette player, the VP-1100, launched. 1972 Mar U-matic video cassette recorder, VO-1700, launched. Aug Operations commenced at color TV assembly plant in San Diego, California. Dec Sony Koda Inc. (currently Koda Technology Center) established to manufacture home-video products (in Kota-cho, Aichi Prefecture). 1973 Jan Hispano Sony established in Barcelona, Spain. Feb Sony France S.A. established in Paris, France May Sony receives the first Emmy ever awarded to a Japanese company for developing the Trinitron color TV system. 1974 Jun Operations commenced at color TV assembly plant in Bridgend, Wales, in the U.K. Aug Operations commenced at cathode ray tube (CRT) plant in San Diego, the first ever integrated color TV production facility to be established by a Japanese company overseas. 1975 May Home-use 1/2-inch “Betamax” VCR, the SL-6300, launched. 1979 Jul Sales launch of the TPS-L2, the first stereo cassette player “Walkman.” Aug Sony Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture with Prudential Insurance Co. of America, established. It was renamed Sony Pruco Life Insurance Co. Ltd. in September 1987 and Sony Life Insurance Co. Ltd. in April 1991. 1980 -1981 Aug Technology announcement related to Sony's magnetic video camera based the “Mavica” magnetic recording standard. 1982 Oct World's first CD player, the CDP-101, launched. Nov Initial delivery to NHK of the “Betacam” BVW-1, a 1/2-inch-tape combined camera/VTR for broadcast use. 1983 Apr New “division-based” corporate organization model introduced. 1984 Apr High definition video system (HDVS) launched. Nov Portable CD player (later called “Discman”), the D-50, launched. 1985 Jan 8mm camcorder, the CCD-V8, launched. 1986 Nov Sony Europe G.m.b.H. established in Cologne, Germany. Operations commenced at Sony France audio and video products assembly and device plant in Colmar, Alsace, France. 1988 Jan CBS Records Inc., the records group of CBS, acquired. It was renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc. in January 1991. Sep Launch of the consumer-use still camera, “Mavica” MVC-C1. 1989 Jun Compact and lightweight passport-sized 8mm camcorder, “Handycam” CCD-TR55, launched. Nov Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. acquired. It was renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. in August 1991. 1990 -1990 Dec Launch of the HD-equipped, 16:9 wide aspect ratio, 36-inch consumer-use television, the KW-3600HD. 1992 Nov MD system launched. 1993 Jul World's first continuous-wave room-temperature operation of blue semiconductor lasers successfully developed. Nov Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. established. 1994 Apr New company structure introduced at Sony Corporation. Jul World's first high-brightness, green light-emitting diode successfully developed. 1995 Sep “Digital Handycam”, first consumer-use digital video camcorder DCR-VX1000/DCR-VX700,launched. Nov Sony Communication Network Corporation established. Dec Basic specifications of new industry format for high-density optical disc finalized, including new format name, “DVD.” 1996 Oct Sony China established. Oct Sales launch of the digital still camera “Cybershot” DSC-F1. 1997 Apr Sony Marketing Co., Ltd. Established. May Development of “Digital Reality Creation,” technology to create highly-realistic 4x picture resolution based on standard television signals, using Sony's exclusive digital signal processing algorithm. Jun Introduction of Corporate Executive Officer System. Jul Home-use PC “VAIO” series launched Jul Flat CRT “WEGA” series launched Oct Sales launch of the world's first broadcast-use HD camcorder, HDW-700. 1999 May Sales launch of Super Audio CD players, SCD-1. Jun Sales launch of the entertainment robot “AIBO” ERS-110. 2000 Jun Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz Berlin opened. Nov Small Biped Entertainment Robot SDR-3X announced. Dec Sales launch of the personal IT television “Airboard” IDT-LF1. 2001 Feb Sony develops world's largest (13 inch) full color organic EL display. Apr Sony Bank established in Japan. Apr Sony EMCS established. Oct Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications established. 2002 Oct Sony absorbs AIWA by merger. Nov Sales launch of the “CoCoon” channel server CSV-E77. 2003 Apr Sales launch of the world's first next-generation high capacity optical disc “Blu-ray Disc” recorder BDZ-S77. Jun First “QUALIA” products launched. Jun Corporate shift to “committee-based” organizational model. Oct “SDR,” a compact bipedal entertainment robot, began activity as Sony group's “corporate ambassador,” under the new nickname “QRIO.” 2004 Jan FeliCa Networks, Inc. established. Apr Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) becomes wholly owned subsidiary via exchange of shares. Apr Sony Financial Holdings Inc. established. May Sony develops new 4K SXRD high-resolution LCD panel, the industry's first LCD device to meet advanced digital cinema DCI-recommended specifications of 4K (4906H x 2160V) setting the global standard for digital cinema projectors. Aug Sony BMG Music Entertainment established. Sep Development and commercial production of world's first mercury-free button-shaped silver-oxide battery. Oct Sales launch of HDR-FX1, the world's first consumer use digital HD video camera recorder conforming to HDV standard 1080i. 2005 Apr Consortium, including Sony, completes acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) of the US. Jul Sales launch of the “Hi Definition Handycam” HDR-HC1, the world's smallest digital HD video camera recorder. Sep Sales launch of new “BRAVIA” brand HDTV-compatible flat-screen TVs. Oct New organizational model introduced, replacing “internal companies” system with one centering on “business groups.” Dec Sony Communication Network Corporation delists as a subsidiary tracking stock. Sony Communication Network Corporation (renamed So-net Entertainment Corporation in Oct. 2006) listed on the Mothers Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. 2006 Jan World's-first signal-processing circuit technology compatible with "xvYCC" format developed---supporting a far wider gamut for color reproduction. Apr Sony and Samsung reach agreement on manufacturing 8th generation amorphous TFT LCD panels at their joint venture, S-LCD Corporation. Jun World's first Blu-ray Disc drive Notebook PC (VAIO typeA) released. Jul Digital SLR camera α100 (DSLR-A100) released. 2007 Feb Sony relocates headquarters to new building called "Sony City." Aug "Bio Battery" which generates electricity from glucose developed. Spt Sound Entertainment Player "Rolly" released. Oct Sony Financial Holdings lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Dec Sony establishes in-house recycling of flame-retardant polystyrene. Dec World's first OLED TV released. 2008 Jan So-net Entertainment lists on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Jan Sony develops new close proximity wireless transfer technology "Transfer Jet." Apr Sony releases world's smallest full HD " Handycam" HDR-TG1. Jul Sony releases new "BRAVIA" JE1 series (KDL-32JE1), featuring industry's highest level of energy efficiency for 32-inch digital LCD TVs. Oct Sony BMG becomes wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. Oct Sony releases digital SLR Camera "α900" with 24.81 effective megapixel CMOS image sensor "Exmor" 2009 Feb Compact, high-speed, high-accuracy finger vein authentication technology dubbed "mofiria," developed Feb HDR-XR520V and HDR-500V Handycam---World's first camcorder with new back-illuminated CMOS image sensor --- released Apr Sony DADC Japan Inc. established Jul Sharp and Sony enter into definitive agreement regarding joint venture to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels and modules Sep Sony Group unveils new brand message "make.believe" Oct High frame-rate single lens 3D camera technology, developed Oct Highly-efficient wireless power-transfer system based on magnetic resonance, developed Oct Mercury-free alkaline button battery (LR) that reduces environmental impact, launched Dec Sony and FIFA announce agreement for selected media rights for the world's first 3D FIFA World Cup 2010 Jan Sony opens “Sony 3D Technology Center,” located at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Feb Sony introduces Cyber-shot™, the world's first digital still camera with full HD progressive video. Feb Sony develops world's first millimeter-wave wireless intra-connection technology for internal high speed data transfer within electronics products. Jun As an official partner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, Sony hosts "Sony 3D World" events in several countries where visitors are able to experience Sony's 3D World. Jun Sony launches “NEX series”, the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens digital still camera series. Jul Tohoku University and Sony jointly develop the world's first blue-violet ultrafast pulsed semiconductor laser with 100 watt output. Sep Sony introduces the world's first consumer interchangeable lens HD camcorder Handycam NEX-VG10E. Oct Sony commercializes world's first 16.41 megapixel "Exmor R" back-illuminated CMOS image sensor for mobile phones. Oct Sony introduces Sony Internet TV, powered by Google TV —he world's first television with Google TV platform. Dec Sony introduces e-book reader. Dec Sony launches new digital music service---"Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™"

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