21st Century Walkman: Sony To Announce iTunes Like Service

Kris Erickson • Sep 1, 2010 • Comments ()

Update: This service has been announced, and it will be called Qriocity. The Sony Walkman was an iconic piece of technology when it appeared in the 1980s. For the first time, music was set free from the constraining shackles of the car stereo and the home hi-fi system, and allowed to join us as we went about our daily lives. Now Sony plans to update this concept with a new music and movie service that will unite content across all of the company's digital devices. This new platform is expected to be much more ambitious than Sony Connect, which was shut down in 2008.

At the IFA technology show today in Berlin, Sony will unveil the service that it hopes will be a new iTunes killer. And there are many reasons for the company to be optimistic about its prospects. The first advantage is that Sony produces a much wider range of potential media players than does its competitor, Apple. From the PS3 and PSP game systems to televisions, hifi equipment, laptops, e-readers and mobile phones, there isn't a media platform on the planet that won't be able to take advantage of this new online database of content. And of course, Sony owns the content, too, with holdings in Music and film that include the Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group, Sony BMG, Epic Music and a 20% share in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Despite the current dominance of the iTunes platform in digital media distribution, Sony's announcement will likely gain the close attention of competitors. The scale and scope of Sony's market means that a well-designed service could have a major disruptive impact.

Apple is expected to reveal news of its own later today, which will include improvements to its iPod and Apple TV products.

[Source: Financial Times]