Friday, September 3, 2010


Sony Dash: Opinion

Thoughts Written by: Darren Humphries on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 11:09am

An impromptu debate on twitter got me thinking about the Sony Dash and it’s prospects for commercial success. I tweeted my initial thoughts with this:

“I think the Sony Dash will be a HUGE success! Plus, I think I saw the narwhal from 20,000 Leagues fighting the Lock Ness Monster!”

…followed by:

“…of course, Yeti was distracting me with a lame joke, so I may have been mistaken…maybe it wasn’t the Lock Ness…”

What I didn’t realize was that Sony had it’s ear to the ground and responded:

“@DarrenHumphries Have you had a #sonydash demo yet? It’s not as exciting as the Lock Ness Monster, but it’s the real deal.”

…then me again:

“@SonyElectronics I have to admit I haven’t seen it in person. I’ll look for demo, though I’m really more of a smartphone guy. ;) ”

…and one more from Sony:

“@DarrenHumphries There is a big space between your phone and your PC. #SonyDash fills it perfectly.”

I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed to find someone from Sony had ‘heard’ me. It was like talking about someone’s huge nose only to turn around and be staring down the subject matter.

After that exchange I decided to think about the Dash’s story a bit more but I can’t shake my initial thought; I don’t see this selling well at all.

The Dash may be a great product and it certainly looks good. It has a nice, slick style to it and the idea of having bite-sized internet info around the house is good enough but there is always the battle for value, or at the least, perceived value. The Dash is cheap at only $199US and you do get a lot of gadgetry for that but companies seem to forget about the justification process their consumers go through. Is the Dash worth the $199? Should that money be spent on something else (like diapers or tires)? Is there some other gadget that does the same thing but costs less? Does the Dash do anything to improve my life for that money? Is it too complex to set up and use? Obviously there hurdles to any products success but I wonder if the Dash can overcome them.

The next part of the equation for the Dash is target customer. Is this product for the rich or the masses? Is the Dash for the technically savvy, the electronically challenged or the mushy middle?

What about competition? Engadget’s review (link at bottom) addresses this somewhat but the decision process does not come after testing out a product, it comes before that. People know about the iPad and even though it is more money, they might be more willing to part with $499 for it than $199 for the more unknown Dash.

Finally, marketing. Sony does not have the name-clout it once had, so this will not be an if-you-build-it type success. Sony needs to blitz the marketing all over and to make the product positioning VERY clear. Sony has not had a great track record in doing this recently.

As Zig Ziglar used to say; Sony need to prove the Dash’s worth as a “big pile of benefits for a little pile of money”. Again, I don’t think the Dash is a bad product at all – it looks very nice – but I am not sure about it`s commercial success. I’d certainly be happy to be proven wrong by Sony.

Dash review at engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/01/sony-dash-review/

Comments (6)
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Comments

6 Responses to “Sony Dash: Opinion”

  1. Jim T on May 5th, 2010 12:02 pm
    Jim T

    This is the first product I’ve considered to replace my clock radio.

    From what I’ve read, I think it will do well in the marketplace.

    I went to Best Buy but they didn’t have any yet. The salesperson didn’t know what it was either.

  2. Mike Temporale on May 5th, 2010 2:14 pm
    Mike Temporale

    at $200 it’s a pretty expensive clock replacement. I can use my phone as a alarm and it has weather updates, email, video playback, twitter, and more. And my phone is portable.

    I see what Sony is looking to do, and it’s a cool idea, but it just doesn’t seem practical to me. :(

  3. Jim T on May 5th, 2010 4:33 pm
    Jim T

    Mike: I think you see what you want to see (with a somewhat closed mind). I said clock radio – you see clock. I’m thinking it would be much more than my clock radio to include web weather, web radio, and much more in a small package. You see a phone replacement. I don’t see my phone being a good replacement for my bedside clock radio.

    In any event I’m going to check it out when it is available.

  4. Darren Humphries on May 5th, 2010 4:36 pm
    Darren Humphries

    Certainly love to hear your thoughts if you get one.

  5. Mike Temporale on May 5th, 2010 10:02 pm
    Mike Temporale

    @Jim – Don’t take it the wrong way, I see what Sony is going for, and I think it’s a cool idea.

    However, my point is not directed at the functionality of the device, but more at the price. $200 isn’t exactly cheap. And when you compare that device to the features that come with most high-end smartphones these days, I find it hard to justify the purchase.

    HD2 comes with FM Radio, Clock, Alarm, WiFi, Audio and Video playback, Weather forecasts, email, web browsing, twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Bing Maps (for traffic reports) – all of that comes on the device without adding anything else. Cost is $499.

    Yes, that’s a couple hundred more, but it’s also portable and doesn’t sit in my house all day while I’m out at the office or visiting friends.

    Anyway, my point is not that this device doesn’t have a place, I’m sure it does – just not at that price. If they can bring the price down, I would be interested in getting one myself. It looks pretty darn cool.

    When they do become available, please let us know – I would be really interested to learn more about it.

  6. Jim T on May 5th, 2010 10:14 pm
    Jim T

    Mike: I checked BestBuy and they have them at a store that isn’t as close as I’d like but for some reason don’t have any at the local BestBuy.

    So if you search BestBuy and then use their store item locater you might find one locally to see if you like it up close and personal.

    If I decide to go to this other BestBuy I will report back.

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