The IT Chronicle

Do you know who is currently the world's most “admired” company?According to recent reports, that would be Apple. Even though thecompany has less than 10% of the global PC operating system marketshare, Steve Jobs has managed to create a force that has permeatedthroughout the consumer electronics realm, and the mindshare battle isclearly being won by those at 1 Infinite Loop. But one of the biggest(if not the biggest) company in all of CE doesn't exactly like that,and they're finally fighting back.

Sony has been lagging behind in many respects for years now. They haveforced people to use their proprietary formats in music and memorycards, and they have been slow to listen to consumer demands. Theirdesign edge hasn't really dulled, as their WEGA HDTVs and VAIOnotebooks are amongst the sexiest on the market. But design isn'teverything, and they haven't really been competing in terms of priceand features when compared to smaller startups and larger corporationswho have adapted to consumer demand.

According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, Sony is lookingto take on Apple. Head to head, no holds barred. Reportedly, they willbe “developing a new lineup of handheld products, including a smartphone capable of downloading and playing videogames.” That's inaddition to a “portable device that shares characteristics of netbooks,electronic-book readers and handheld-game machines.” Sony's Dash isalso an interesting take on the widget device for homes, and the SonyOnline Service will also be used to deliver television content over theWeb, probably to compete with iTunes.

Many of the upcoming plans are still under wraps, but one thing is forsure: companies are finally waking up and realizing the threat that isApple. Google's Android has really put pressure on Apple to improve theiPhone OS, and now Sony is getting serious about fighting the giant aswell. It's wild that Apple has managed to not only “matter” in theseareas over the past half-decade, but actually lead the way. We'relooking forward to some healthy competition; Apple has ruled the roostfor too long in our opinion.