Can Sony really take on the iPod?

Time and again, news accounts have noted Sony's loss of the portable music to Apple Computer. And time and again, Sony has vowed to recapture the crown it once held so proudly with the venerable Walkman.

But Sony's attempts to corner the digital music market from front to back--from the recording studio to the hardware player--have often been , to say the least. This week, the Japanese multinational came out with the latest product it hopes will slay the wildly popular iPod. Then, just days later, it announces that it is cutting 10,000 jobs--less than two years after slashing 20,000 positions.

At the same time, it is locked in mortal combat with Microsoft on the gaming front and practically everyone else in the digital TV business. Given its stretched resources, precarious financial situation and the hyper-competitive music player market, does Sony have any realistic chance of catching up to the iPod?

Blog community response:

"Sony has gone from being the innovator to playing not very satisfactory catch-up in many areas..."
--whoar.co.nz

"Sony used to be the name in portable audio. 'Walkman' was generic for the little thing you carried with headphones to listen to music. But Sony blew it. They stuck to their guns on the MD when everyone else was abandoning it for MP3s."
--Anonymous Blogger

"Sony gave us great Walkmans and Discmans. But it didn't give us great iPods. And all its size and market power couldn't help it compete with a better product--a better product that only capitalism and the profit motive could give us."
--A Stitch in Haste

"Is this a sign that Sony will lose the console war or not even compete? They are still redesigning the PS3 and will take $300 loss per console while Microsoft will take $125 loss and Nintendo a mere $50."
--The EYI Blog