Sony Corporation (Sonî Kabushiki kaisha) is a
mult inat ional conglomerate corporat ion ,
headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's
largest media conglomerates with revenue of US$88.7
billion as of 2008. The company is one of the leading
miniature manufacturers of electronics, video,
communications, video game consoles and
information technology products for the consumer
and professional markets. Sony has historically been
notable for creating its own in-house standards for
new recording and storage technologies instead of
adopting those of other manufacturers and standards
bodies
Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the
parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in
business through its five operating segmentselectronics,
games, entertainment (motion pictures and music),
financial services and other. These make Sony one of the
most comprehensive entertainment companies in the
world. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the
Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. The
company's slogan is Sony. Like no other.
Miniature Magnate
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SONYSONYFounded in 1946
Sony introduces first plug-and-play
Plasma WEGA® TVs in 32 and 42-inch models
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Key FactsType : Public
Founded : May 7, 1946 (adopted current name in 1958)
Founder : Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita
Headquarters : Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Area served : Worldwide
Key people : Sir Howard Stringer (Chairman) & (CEO)
Ryoji Chubachi (President) & (Electronics CEO)
Industry : Consumer electronics, Entertainment,
Products : Audio, Video, Televisions, Communications and Information Technology
Semiconductors , Electronic components, Motion Picture, Music, Online Business:
Sony Playstation
Services : Financial services
Revenue : US$ 88.714 Billion (2008)
Employees : 180,500 (2008)
“SDR", a compact bipedal
entertainment robot also known
as “QRIO" becomes Sony's
new corporate ambassador
®Hi-Definition Handycam HDR-HC1;
the world's smallest digital HD video camera recorder
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Origin of name
The name "Sony" was chosen for the brand as a mix of the Latin word Sony or Son(us) and Sonny, (a root of
sonic and sound). Sonny was a name popular amongst little boys those days. In February 1955, and
company name changed to Sony from Sonî Kabushiki kaisha. Morita pushed for a word that does not
exist in any language so that they could claim the word "Sony" as their own (which paid off when they
successfully sued a candy producer using the name, who claimed that "Sony" was an existing word in
some language).
Technological Milestones• 1960's 1960 -World's first direct-view portable television, the TV8-301 is launched
• 1962 -The world's smallest and lightest all transitor television, the TV5-303 is introduced
• 1979 - Walkman brand was introduced, in the form of the world's first portable music player.
• 1983- Sony introduced 90mm micro diskettes (better known as 3.5-inch floppy disks)
• 1995 -The world's first consumer use digital video camcorder, the "Digital Handycam®" is launched
• 1993- Sony introduced the MiniDisc format as an alternative to Philips DCC or Digital Compact
Cassette.
• 1998 -Sony introduces world's first integrated wide screen HDTV FD Trinitron WEGA® 16:9 34-inch
model
Sony's Blu-ray Disc World's First Portable
Music Player -Walkman
World's smallest and lightest all
transistor television, the TV5-303