The Xperia Tablet Z and the Xperia Z
At last week’s Xperia Z Ultra launch, we quizzed Ciaran Cleary, Sony Mobile’s national sales and marketing manager for Ireland, on the smartphone-maker’s strategy for delivering the best of Sony products and services through its mobile devices.
Sony Mobile is just one division of the Japanese conglomerate. There’s also Sony Computer Entertainment, which brings us PlayStation products; Sony Pictures Entertainment, which produces films; the record labels under Sony Music Entertainment; and Sony Corporation, which produces an array of electronics including Bravia TVs, Cyber-shot digital cameras and a range of speakers and music players. Sony Mobile is becoming the convergence point of these divisions.
Through the Xperia mobile device range, Sony Mobile is seeking to connect its sister companies in one seamless experience. You can see how this is happening with the new Xperia Z Ultra, which fully integrates the wider Sony Entertainment Network with apps like Music Unlimited (which now connects to the Walkman app) and Video Unlimited, which should arrive in Ireland later this year.
Sony’s Reader app will also be opened up to Irish users towards the end of the summer, allowing readers to make good use of features like the OptiContrast display on the Xperia Z Ultra.
Another entertainment feature in the works is Xperia Access, a music service coming soon offering behind-the-scenes content from the Sony family of artists.
Later this year, we’ll have the launch of the PlayStation 4, and Cleary assures us that there will be functionality that sees Xperia mobile devices used in conjunction with the next-generation gaming console. Until then, these devices can easily connect with Sony TVs and other screens through technology like NFC, DLNA and Miracast, not to mention one-touch connectivity with Sony’s range of 68 NFC-enabled devices.
“NFC is such an easy connectivity element for consumers to use,” says Cleary. “It’s got one-touch pairing, one-touch sharing. It makes the whole experience seamless for consumers to use and ensures that our accessories will have the best customer experience.”
