Sony is one of the world’s largest technology companies and a global leader in the production of electronics. The company has been around since 1946, and it has gone through many changes over the years.
Sony started as an electronics manufacturing company but quickly expanded into music, movies, television shows and other entertainment media, as well as mobile phones and tablets by creating the Xperia line of products. Sony is known for its innovative products, such as the Walkman, PlayStation, and Bravia TV lineups.
Here are interesting facts about this iconic brand:
- Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. It was initially called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo or Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation but was later changed to Sony in 1958.
- The name Sony has a twofold meaning that the founders Morita and Ibuka had in mind when they chose it. It came from the Latin sonus , which means “sound”. The name was chosen because it was easy to pronounce in many different languages and also had a youthful connotation, due to its association with the word “Sonny.”
- Did you know that despite being one of the biggest tech giants around the world today – Sony actually got its start producing electric rice cookers? In 1995, Sony attempted to break into the home appliance market by releasing the world’s first rice cooker. Unfortunately, it was a massive failure and sold less than 100 units due to its faulty design and poor usability.
- In 1979, Sony released the world’s first portable music player, called the Walkman. This revolutionary device allowed people to listen to music on the go, without the need for a stationary record player or boombox. The Walkman became an immediate hit, with millions of units sold in the first few years after its release. It changed the way people listened to music and paved the way for future portable music devices, such as the iPod and the smartphone. The Walkman is still remembered as a cultural icon and a milestone in the history of consumer electronics.
- Sony is also responsible for launching one of the most successful video game consoles ever – PlayStation One – in December 1994. The PlayStation was introduced as the world’s first home video game console to use CDs and cartridges.
- Sony Corporation is the owner of Columbia Pictures, one of Hollywood’s largest movie studios.
- In 2005, Sony became the first company to offer high-definition television (HDTV) on a large scale with their BRAVIA line of LCD televisions. They are known for their superior picture quality compared to conventional LCD TVs because they use LED-backlighting technology instead which helps increase brightness while still preserving deep blacks due to its local dimming capabilities resulting in a better viewing experience overall
- In 2013, Sony announced their first OLED TV that had 4K Ultra High Definition resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels).
- As of January 2023, Sony has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, ranking it as the 134th most valuable company in the world.
- Sony is also known for its popular digital cameras such as the Cyber-shot series which first debuted back in 1996 making them one of the pioneers in digital photography along with Olympus and Fujifilm, who were also producing digital cameras at that time before smartphones started dominating market share today.
- Another product that put Sony on the technology map is Trinitron – their own line up of CRT type televisions released back in 1968 boasting superior picture quality thanks to special phosphor coatings on each color dot used on screen giving viewers more natural looking colors compared to conventional monochrome monitors available at that time!
- Did you know that Sony Pictures Entertainment produced some of your favorite films? From “Spiderman” all the way down to “Men In Black” – these movies were all made under supervision from SPE so if you love these films then give a shout out to Sony!
- Issey Miyake, a renowned Japanese fashion designer known for his technology-inspired clothing, designed the uniform worn by Sony employees. Miyake is also the creator of the signature black turtlenecks famously worn by Steve Jobs.
- Chorocco was an unusual twist on vinyl records marketed by Sony in 1982. It was mini plastic VW campervan that was designed to sit on top of vinyl records and play the music through its speakers as it “drove” around the record.
