Can Sony topple Apple?

With plans for a new smartphone and its own take on the iPad, the sleeping Japanese giant is gunning for digital gadget glory

Could Sony topple Apple?
(Image credit: Creative Commons)

Sony's line of personal CD players once ruled the world of music gadgets — until Apple's iPod killed it off. Now, says The Wall Street Journal, Sony's looking to return the favor. The Japanese giant is preparing to launch a new game-playing Sony-Ericcson smartphone to take down the iPhone — plus an online media service to swipe at iTunes and a multifunction netbook/e-reader/gaming device to conquer the iPad. Is Sony, with its strong history of innovative cool, the company that can finally give Steve Jobs & Co. a run for their money?

Sony's ripe for a comeback: "I miss loving Sony," says Joel Johnson in Gizmodo. And there's nothing wrong with it that can't be fixed. Its "engineering chops are second to none," and it has one "titanic asset" — a drool-worthy music, video, and PlayStation game library — that Apple would die for. If Sony can connect gadget with media, Apple might have real competition.

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