Even if PDAs survive, Sony's withdrawal from the U.S. and European markets may signal a rude awakening from the "digital dream" the company envisioned and marketed a decade ago.

The idea back then was to eventually link Sony's many products with a gumstick-size storage invention called a Memory Stick, which could be used to transfer digital data among Sony's computers, handheld devices, camcorders and other products. But the company's decision to curtail production of its Clie handhelds yanked a much-touted link out of that chain and raised questions about Sony's commitment to that vision.

Remember that, for all its successes, this is also the company that gave us Betamax, the electronic equivalent of the Edsel. And just recently, when it introduced yet another competing digital music format, Sony showed that it clings to the notion of locking up markets with proprietary technologies. That kind of exclusionary thinking could prove dangerous, as the discussion on this page indicates, because so many devices (cameras, phones, handheld devices and so on) now offer functions that aren't tied to specific products. As it fights a growing list of rivals on multiple fronts, Sony may find that it needs more friends than enemies--or risk seeing its digital dream turn into a nightmare.
--June 4, 2004