View this article at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/06/sony.working.on.atv.rival/
Thursday, Mar 06, 2008 11:00am
Sony working on Apple TV rival, $299 Blu-ray
Sony is developing its own response to the Apple TV, the company's Electronics chief Stan Glasgow has said in a roundtable discssion with Gizmodo. The executive notes that his company is "working very hard" on such a device and suggests that it would not necessarily be tied to the BRAVIA Internet Link feature from the company's HDTV sets, which lets them browse a narrow range of content without a dedicated computer or media device. Glasgow declines to provide most details but hints that access to the PlayStation Network will spread "over the next year" to other devices besides game consoles and may not be limited to gaming-related content.

Most of Sony's focus will remain on Blu-Ray, the official adds, though whether an Apple-like media hub would include it has not been mentioned. The company has no concerns about the end of HD DVD putting an end to price drops and expects a dedicated Blu-ray player to sell for $299 by the end of 2008, reducing the price for the format by at least a quarter of its current $399 benchmark.

"Next year $200 could happen," Glasgow says, also predicting that 2009 is when mass adoption will take place.

The senior staffer also notes that the PlayStation 3 will continue to change throughout its lifetime, receiving storage upgrades and other feature updates as technology advances. The PS3 is often considered Sony's current answer to networked media hubs through its support of media playback from a hard drive as well as streaming over a network from nearby sources.