Post date: Jan 07, 2011 12:50:35 PM
Sony still missing a tablet PC, says considering options to make its tablet second-largest seller after Apple's iPad in a year.
ASIA-BUSINESS ASIA - Technology experts say 2011 is the year of the tablet PC, and global consumer technology companies have been falling over themselves to launch or unveil their own versions of the iPad.
A dazzling array of models are on show at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, with one notable absence - Sony.
The Japanese consumer technology giant says it's biding its time, to make sure its tablet is different.
Sony says options under consideration include 3D capability.
The Japanese conglomerate has also set a itself a lofty target in the tablet space - to be the world's second-biggest maker of the device in a year.
Analysts say Sony would have to offer truly exceptional features to achieve that goal.
The iPad already has a commanding lead, while Sony has no product to boast about.
Other competitors like Samsung are also pushing ahead with their tablets.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab is already seen as the most viable iPad killer.
Microsoft unveiled a new partnership with mobile chipmaker ARM to power its tablets, and also showed off its own tablet PC design.
Succession issues could prove a distraction as well.
CEO Howard Stringer is due to step down in 2013, and media reports have focused on his future prospects.
Stringer denied he was a candidate for chairmanship of the BBC.
Stringer has overseen cost cuts and has tried to integrate Sony's sprawling units over the past five years.
But Sony has also fallen behind Apple, in producing exciting consumer technology innovations, and lost ground to South Korean rivals in the flat-panel television market.
Arnold Gay, Reuters.