Sony 2006 Annual Report Download - page 28

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LocationFree™ Base Station
We were honored to receive the NetKADEN Grand Prize 2005 from
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for our LF-PK1
LocationFree™ base station packs. This new award was established
by the Ministry to recognize home electronics products and services
that create new value by their ability to connect to networks (dubbed
NetKADEN by the Ministry). We launched LF-PK1 LocationFree™
base station packs in October 2005. The LF-PK1, when used in
conjunction with a PC or PSP®, can remotely access television or
video playing in the home from a remote location inside or outside
the home via an Internet connection or wireless LAN connection.
We will make LocationFree™ software development kits available
to third-party developers in the mobile phone and personal digital
assistant (PDA) markets to stimulate the development of more
mobile devices compatible with this liberating technology, which
is spurring the creation of new lifestyles.
LocationFree™ base station pack
LF-PK1
VAIO T-Series
VAIO
At a mere 21 millimeters thick and weighing only 1.25 kg, the VAIO
T-Series notebook PC is a miracle of advanced engineering, thanks
to high-density mounting technologies, an ultra-thin and light display
and carbon composites. Owing to newly developed batteries, the
VAIO T-Series’ standard battery lasts for approximately nine hours,
while its large-capacity battery offers approximately 14.5 hours* of
outstanding performance. This model is made still more attractive by
an 11.1-inch LCD monitor and a DVD super multi-drive capable of
handling nearly all DVD media. A mobile computer, the VAIO T-Series
is nonetheless loaded with features, earning approval from customers
worldwide for its outstanding performance.
September 2005 saw us take the further step of starting the VAIO
Owner Made program in Japan. This allows individual customers to
ask for VAIO PCs with customized specifications suited to their
individual lifestyles and preferences.
*When using a model with a Pentium M processor and at least 512 MB
of memory
Walkman® mobile phone
W810
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, established in October
2001 as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation and LM
Ericsson, maintained a high average selling price and continued to
grow shipments and sales during the fiscal year ended March 31,
2006. The company continued to invest for growth, mainly in the
area of R&D but also in marketing and brand-building activities, and
increased full-time employee head count by approximately 20%, to
around 6,000 people worldwide during the period. The additional
investment led to a considerable expansion of the company’s product
portfolio with the emphasis on offering a deeper product lineup, with
mid- and low-range pricing, and becoming a full portfolio player.
A highlight of the year was the launch in August 2005 of the first
Walkman®-branded mobile phone, the W800, which quickly estab-
lished the Walkman® brand at the forefront of music on the mobile
phone. By the end of March 2006, Sony Ericsson expanded the
Walkman® phone lineup to eight handsets, and the five models on
sale by this time sold over 5.5 million units in total. In addition, the
K750 2 megapixel, auto-focus camera phone set a new standard for
digital imaging on a mobile phone, winning the prestigious TIPA award
(Technical Image Press Association award) for Best Mobile Imaging
Device in 2005. Sony Ericsson’s imaging technology was further
strengthened at the beginning of 2006 with the announcement of the
first Cyber-shot-branded mobile phone, the K800, a 3.2 megapixel
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) phone with
auto-focus and Xenon flash.