Supposedly a Sony bigwig in North American operations called Jobs "greedy" and only interested in Apple's wealth. I think we should be careful about quotes attributed to a public figure. Things can definitely be stretched, exaggerated and so on by the public when information is obtained second hand. There is no video or anything to corroborate the quotes. BUT, it wouldn't surprise me if he did - Apple is beating the pants off Sony in some key electronic gadget markets! Check it out::
Greedy Jobs
3 comments:
I saw this too. The comment seems a bit odd to me. Don't all companies try to maximize profits for there own companies. They only get into deals with other companies which they feel would benefit them too. Charity is not part of business.
I think what bothers Sony is that Jobs thinks different than other executives. He only cuts deals which he feels enhances the customer experience, which in the end will help the bottom line of Apple. I think most executives try to force the customer through hoops trying to coax as much money out of them as they can along the way. With no other alternatives, customers reluctantly follow the maze.
In business, if you can't compete then don't play the game. If Sony is unable to create products which dazzles the customer then they need to go back to the drawing board. Sony has been a very innovative company with some great products. The Trinitron picture tube was the gold standard for decades. Now picture tubes are ancient history. I think that times are changing and Sony is having a hard time adjusting. But don't blame Apple.
I saw the comment, too, and I find it to be extremely hypocritical. See, I tend to stay away from certain Sony products, such as cameras, not because they are bad cameras (they're good), but rather because Sony products such as these utilize Sony proprietary accessories (this does not apply to things like CD/DVD players or receivers). The most notable of these proprietary products is the 'memory stick.' Instead of using SD or Xd, or something that is interchangable, Sony uses its own 'memory stick' that is not compatible with others' products. It's a strategy to get people stuck in Sony's line of products. The same issue existed for Sony's PDA's when they made them. And, remember the MiniDisc?? This strategy is the greedy one! Yeah, the iPods have the AAC and the DRM things (though, the DRM is more of a record studio thing), but you can use an iPod with any MP3, and you can load any cd's on it, and you can buy MP3's from another store and load them onto an iPod, as well.
Sony has clearly stepped into the old adage of the pot calling the kettle black!
-Le
Le, you tell that pot what it is! I agree with both your comments - Jobs is SUPPOSED to get Apple to make money. But he does it through the fanatical attention to making great, consumer friendly products.
And DRM is clearly a record studio thing. Apple has already shown that they prefer NOT to use DRM with the iTunes plus thing. Unfortunately, with the way Universal has been behaving, I don't think we'll see DRM free music spread for a long time.
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