Sony正式宣布出售VAIO个人电脑(PC)业务、分割电视机部门并裁员5,000人，同时发布财务警讯，预期将在截止于3月底的本财务年度亏损1,100亿日圆，高于先前预测的300亿日圆；这家曾经是日本在全球市场之指标明星的公司身上，现在几乎找不到什么亮点。
随着移动装置崛起，PC市场持续面临窘境，然而放掉PC与电视机部门显然得让Sony付出不少代价，该公司预期接下来两年将支出900亿日圆的组织重整费用；但留下那两个部门对Sony也没什么帮助，要让PC与电视机部门拚生存，该公司将会永无止尽地持续失血。
如 先前业界消息， Sony 将把VAIO品牌PC部门出售给日本私募股权投资公司Japan Industrial Partners；该投资业者的幕后金主是美商Bain Capital与日商瑞穗证券(Mizuho Securities)。。根据日本媒体报导，出售 Vaio PC部门的交易金额可能高达500亿日圆(约4.9亿美元)。此外Sony的电视部门将独立为子公司，但该独立公司最后也可能寻求出售。
Tirias Research公司创办人兼首席分析师 Jim McGregor表示，有诸多原因使得Sony必须出售 Vaio PC部门。他说：“PC市场正持续萎缩，利润越来越微薄，加上Sony的PC品牌形象在近年来持续下滑；同时，就像其他高科技公司逐渐失去其市场地位一样，Sony需要的是撙节政策，以及专注于有助于使其成为主导厂商的产品与市场。”
McGregor 明确表示，Sony再也找不到坚持其PC业务的好理由了。他继续道：“PC 不再是新技术落实应用的理想平台了。它曾经相当具有吸引力，值得用户在PC上利用最新技术作业。如今具吸引力的平台是移动装置与服务器。因此，最佳选择便 是出售 Vaio 给其他PC供货商，以期减少亏损。我相信有几家中国或亚洲供货商将会十分有兴趣收购Sony的PC事业部门。”
IHS 资深首席分析师Craig Stice也认为Sony正陷于整体PC市场低迷导致的困境中。“由于移动与平板市场崛起以及日渐普及，整个PC市场在过去一年多以来持续下滑，”但他强调，Sony从未曾在此领域拥有巨大市占率，而是维持在较低的个位数，“相较于惠普(HP)、戴尔(Dell)或华硕(Asus)，其全球市占率约 1.9%还是相当低的。”
许多投资人与分析师似乎都认为，Sony首席执行官平井一夫(Kazuo Hirai)做的是合理的选择，但对笔者以及其他长期关注 Sony 的人来说，其策略还是不够明确：我们都知道Sony曾经是一家怎么样的公司，但它将变成什么样子？
我认为，以智能手机与游戏机为基础去重塑Sony的未来，是很牵强的答案；这两种业务在Sony截止于12月底的第三财季业绩都呈现成长，该公司表示“智能手机销售量显著增加”，且游戏机部门也因为 PlayStation 4 上市，营收大幅跃升。
但光是靠智能手机与游戏机，Sony能维持长期性的成长吗？特别是在这两种消费性电子产品正迅速“过气”的此时，我只能说：平井先生，祝你好运！
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
第2页：Sony真的无法脱身了吗？
第3页：看见不可见之物？
相关阅读：
• CES2014：老牌智能机大厂缺席，超新星们亮眼
• 日系厂商回归生活，聚焦智能家庭嵌入式方案
• Sony或收购瑞萨晶圆厂，扩增CMOS芯片产能9Oqesmc
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Sony真的无法脱身了吗？
一 篇刚出炉的、谈Sony财报之《纽约时报(New York Times)》报导引述投资银行麦格理(Macquarie)分析师Damian Thong看法指出：“平井紧守特定消费性电子业务的策略是合理的，因为该公司对那些领域的专注程度一直高过松下(Panasonic)等竞争对手；”他也表示：“没有脱身策略了，Sony就是一家消费性电子厂商。”
真的吗？Sony没有脱身策略了吗？如此观点让Sony的前景看来更加黯淡；为了寻找答案，我花了一些时间认真看了Sony首席执行官平井在今年国际消费性电子展(CES)上的专题演说。
当然啦…这类专题演说内容通常都是充斥自我吹嘘以及推销语言，就像你会在电视购物频道看到的；但在那将近一小时长度的视频内容中段，突然让我灵光乍现──如 果Sony完全放弃那些硬件机箱呢？该公司集中精力发展先进的“感测(sensing)”技术如何？Sony只要负责销售与授权技术，并与那些来自不同产 业领域的设备业者合作就好。
平井在CES的专题演说花了不少篇幅谈“未来的”感测技术，他表示，从Sony现有的数字影像感测技术(别忘了，Sony在CMOS影像传感器领域仍是领导这)到该公司未来的先进感测技术，具备“看见不可见之物”的功能。
显然平井不只是在讲新一代的高阶数字相机，他还提到具备撷取实时照片功能的“一种完整影像传感器数组”，能让用户“改变背景与前景焦距、彩度、影像情度、景深…等，甚至在照片已经拍摄完成之后”。
9Oqesmc
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
第3页：看见不可见之物？
相关阅读：
• CES2014：老牌智能机大厂缺席，超新星们亮眼
• 日系厂商回归生活，聚焦智能家庭嵌入式方案
• Sony或收购瑞萨晶圆厂，扩增CMOS芯片产能9Oqesmc
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看见不可见之物？
平 井想表达的重点是，先进感测技术可“撷取看不见的信息”，包括速度、位置、波长…等等，并将那些信息结合，扩展人类的感知能力与洞察力，最终让我们能“看见不可见之物”；他提到该类技术的潜在应用包括汽车(如先进驾驶人辅助系统)、农业(感测天气或二氧化碳浓度)、护肤美容业以及一般医疗监测装置。
好吧…也许那些都只是市场营销操作，让观众对Sony的前景有一些比较乐观的想象，但如果该公司真的想找一个脱身之道，我强烈建议他们考虑往那个方向走。
虽然Sony被公认是一家消费性电子设备厂商，我认为这是一个该公司抛弃CE标签，并将打造硬件机箱抛诸脑后的时机。Sony既然有一些好点子，能运用先进感测技术来协助农夫们，那就表示该公司不必一定要靠卖硬件来掌握那些技术资产；只靠硬件是赚不到钱的。
仔细斟酌这种转型策略，我明白这意味着Sony必须将赖以为生的商业模式完全改变；对该公司来说，抛弃PC业务、独立电视部门就够苦的了──无论是在财务方面或是情感上──更何况是若连游戏机与智能手机业务都放手，势必对员工带来毁灭性的影响。
截至去年9月，据报Sony的全球员工总数为14万5,000人；而就算经历过最近一次的5,000人裁员(日本员工1,500人、海外员工3,500人)，Sony的组织仍然稍嫌太庞大，这种沉重的负担使该公司不可能成为更灵活、更小规模、更专注于技术的公司。
看来我自己又推翻了帮Sony想出来的脱身策略，但还是有替代方案的：我们可以把计划倒过来看，如果Sony的先进感测技术真的像平井说的那么神，那先把该公司的影像/感测技术部门独立如何？让它变成一家精简的新创公司，不必再背负着超过14万员工的庞大人力负担。
总而言之，Sony实在不应该以集团之名藏着那些不赚钱的业务，不过也不是说该继续把该公司砍到见骨；Sony该当机立断，保住能在未来有一些好发展的某部分业务。
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
编译：Susan Hong，Judith Cheng
参考英文原文：Sony Negotiating to Sell Its Vaio PC Business，by Zewde Yeraswork； Sony Dumps PCs, Splits TV Op, Cuts 5,000 Jobs，by Junko Yoshida
相关阅读：
• CES2014：老牌智能机大厂缺席，超新星们亮眼
• 日系厂商回归生活，聚焦智能家庭嵌入式方案
• Sony或收购瑞萨晶圆厂，扩增CMOS芯片产能9Oqesmc
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NEW YORK — According to Japan's financial newspaper Nikkei, Sony is reportedly negotiating the terms of a deal to sell its Vaio PC unit to an investment fund called Japan Industrial Partners.
The news comes as the PC market continues to face poor results due to the rise of mobile, and Sony, stuck with a range of legacy products, scrambles to find its market advantage. The Nikkei report stated that the amount of the transaction could be up to 50 billion yen (US$490 million).
The potential deal under discussion, reportedly, would create a new company established by the fund that would own the business, and Sony would have a small stake in that company. According to Nikkei, the sale of the business would lead to disposal losses that could put Sony in a position of net loss for the first time in two years.
Sony, earlier this week, denied reports that it plans to sell Vaio to Chinese OEM Lenovo. The Japanese company, however, also acknowledged that it plans to revise its strategy for Vaio by looking at various options.
Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst for Tirias Research, told us that there are a whole host of reasons for Sony to sell Vaio. He noted:
The PC market is shrinking; the margins are razor thin; Sony's PC brand image has slipped in recent years; Sony is not a leader in the market; [and] like other high-tech companies that have fallen from market leadership, Sony needs to retrench and focus on the products and markets that it can become a dominant player [in].
McGregor made it clear that Sony no longer has any reasons to hold on to the PC business. He continued:
The PC is no longer the magnet platform for new technology on applications. When it was, it was worth being in PCs just to be working with the latest technology. The magnet platforms are now in mobile and servers. The best option is to sell the group to another PC vendor and hopefully minimize the expenses of doing so. I'm sure that there are a few Chinese or other Asian vendors that may be interested in acquiring Sony's PC group.
McGregor identified the investment fund possibly looking to purchase the business as a "Japanese private equity firm that obviously sees some value in the group if they can get it for the right price."
Craig Stice, senior principal analyst at HIS, agreed that behind Sony's dilemma there is the overall PC market's slump.
"The entire market has been down for the last year and a half or so due to the rise and popularity of media tablets," he said. Noting that Sony has never had a huge market share, Stice pegged the Japanese company's market share at steady the low single digits. "1.9 percent worldwide to be exact," he said. That is fairly low compared to HP, Dell, or Asus, he added.
Noting that Sony previously made comments that they are in the restructuring stage for its VAIO PC division, this is "not a huge surprise," he said.
Unlike McGregor, Stice believes that there are a few reasons why Sony should be holding on to Vaio. "Their brand and their legacy of PCs have been around for a while," he said. "They do well in Japan. They do have a name for themselves. They are one of the few vendors out there that has a complete lineup of electronic devices from TVs to cameras to PCs... People know Sony, they understand it."
Stice speculated that Sony might still try to keep a piece of Vaio even after selling most of it to the investment fund. Sony may be in talks with Lenovo for that purpose, he said.
Sony's sales and operating revenue in the second quarter of 2013 were 1,775.5 billion yen (US$18,117 million), an increase of 10.6%, compared to the same quarter a year ago. Sony's operating income in the last quarter decreased to 14.8 billion yen (US$151 million), compared with 15.5 billion yen a year ago. Sony is scheduled to announce the third quarter earnings Thursday.
Sony Dumps PCs, Splits TV Op, Cuts 5,000 Jobs
Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent
MADISON. Wis. – Sony dumps its PC business, splits its TV division and cuts 5,000 jobs, and issues a fiscal warning -- a loss of 110 billion yen, instead of a previously forecast profit of 30 billion yen -- in the current fiscal year ending in March.
It’s hard to find any bright spots left for the company that was once Japan’s guiding star in the global market.
Obviously, letting go of its PC and TV units is costing Sony dearly. The company anticipates a restructuring charge of 90 billion yen over the next two years. But keeping those two divisions wouldn’t have helped. By fighting for the survival of PCs and TVs, Sony would continue to hemorrhage indefinitely.
As previously reported, Sony is planning to sell its Vaio PC unit to Japan Industrial Partners, a private equity venture backed by Bain Capital and Mizuho Securities. Sony will spin its TV business into a subsidiary. Although keeping it as a separate company, Sony might be looking for its eventual sale.
Many investors and those in the analyst community appear to believe that Sony’s chief executive Kazuo Hirai has made reasonable choices.
However, what gets to me, and many veteran Sony followers, is the lack of clarity: We all know what Sony was, but what is it becoming?
Rebuilding the foundation of Sony’s future on the back of smartphones and game consoles is hardly an answer, in my opinion.
These two businesses showed progress in the third quarter ending in December. Sony reported a “significant increase in sales of smartphones,” and a jump in operating income in its game division due to the PlayStation 4 console launch.
But with smartphones and game consoles, will Sony be able to sustain growth over a long haul?
At a time when these two consumer electronics products are fast becoming legacy platforms, well, good luck to Hirai.
No exit strategy?
This morning, as I read the New York Times’ story on Sony’s earnings, I came across the following quote:
Mr. [Damian] Thong, the Macquarie analyst, said Mr. Hirai’s strategy of hanging on to certain consumer electronics businesses made sense because the company has always been more heavily focused on these areas than rivals like Panasonic.
“There is no exit strategy,” Mr. Thong said. “Sony is a consumer electronics company.”
Really? Sony has no exit strategy?
Here’s a comment that makes Sony’s future look even bleaker.
In search of an answer, I spent a little time this morning watching video of a keynote speech, given last month by Sony chief Hirai, at the International CES.
CES 2014's keynote address by Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO, Sony Corp.
Click here to watch the video clip.
Of course, these keynote speeches are usually so full of self-serving blather and sales pitches that finding any substance is like panning for gold.
But in the middle of the almost an hour-long video, it suddenly hit me.
What if Sony gets out of the box business entirely? What if it zeroes in on the development of advanced “sensing” technologies? And Sony becomes responsible for selling and licensing, and partnering with equipment vendors in different industries?
Hirai spent much of the time during his keynote speech, talking about “future” sensing technologies. He meant everything from Sony’s current digital image sensing technology (remember, Sony is the world’s leader in CMOS image sensors) to its future advanced sensing technology “that has the ability to see the unseen.”
Clearly, Hirai wasn’t just talking about the new generation of high-end digital cameras. He cited “a complete array of image sensors,” capable of capturing real-time photos, which allows users to “change background and foreground focus, color intensity, image enhancements, depth of fields, and others -- even after the picture was taken.”
To see the unseen
But his point about advanced sensing technology was to “capture unseen data,” including speed, location, wavelength and others, and combine them to expand human perception and insight, and ultimately “to see the unseen.”
Hirai talked about the potential of using such technology in automotive (i.e. Advanced Driver Assistance System), agriculture (sensing weather, CO2 consistency), skincare, and more general medical monitoring devices.
OK, maybe this was just marketing hype to make everyone feel better about Sony’s future. But if Sony is really looking for an exit plan, I’m convinced this is it.
Despite the public perception of Sony as a consumer electronics appliance company, I think it’s time to ditch the CE label and forget about building boxes.
Just because Sony has good ideas to help farmers with its advanced sensing technology, it doesn’t mean that Sony has to build the box to hold the technology. Sony won’t make money by creating a box for every industry application.
As I pondered this makeover, I realized that this is a total switch of the business model that made Sony who it is today. It was hard enough for Sony -- financially, but also emotionally speaking -- to dump the PC business and spin off TV. Ditching both game consoles and smartphones will be devastating to the company’s workforce.
As of September last year, Sony reportedly had about 145,000 employees. Even after the latest 5,000 job cuts (1,500 in Japan, 3,500 abroad), Sony is still saddled with too big a workforce. That makes it almost impossible to morph Sony into a more nimble, small-scale, technology-focused company.
I know. I just killed my own exit plan for Sony.
But here’s an alternative.
We can flip the plan. If Sony’s advanced sensing technology is as good as Hirai claimed in his keynote speech, how about spinning off Sony’s imaging/sensing technology group? Make it essentially a hungry startup, freed from the burden of carrying more than 140,000 employees.
By all means, Sony shouldn’t be hiding unprofitable business units in the name of synergy. But rather than in the perpetual motion of cutting the company to the bone, it’s high time for Sony to save one part of the company that might be able to do some good in the future.
责编：Quentin
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