Sony is in an awkward position this week as consumer electronics manufacturers meet in Las Vegas to unveil the intriguing gadgets they plan to sell this year.
The Tokyo-based electronics, movie and music giant that once defined the markets for televisions, video recorders, audio players, game consoles and e-readers is struggling to catch up to rivals including Apple, Samsung, Nintendo and Amazon.
Last year Sony hoped to galvanize a charge toward television’s next frontier with its brassy introduction of sets and accessories that offer Internet content and 3-D video. But the recession hindered that effort as sales fell short of Sony’s and retailers’ expectations.
Still, Sony CEO Howard Stringer is upbeat.
The company will double down on 3-D this week by bringing the immersive experience to a line of still and video cameras for consumers. Stringer, 68, also has high hopes for — but few details about — a 3-D cable channel that Sony, Discovery Communications and Imax plan to introduce early this year.
And the Internet continues to intrigue Stringer, a former CBS News producer who was born in Wales and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. Sony was one of the first companies to offer Google TV, a service that helps consumers find Web content and view it on their TV sets.
Here’s how Stringer sees the prospects for technology and television, in an interview edited for space and clarity:
Q: Are HDTV, 3-D TV and Internet-enabled TV just making conventional TV better? Or are they fundamentally changing the medium?
A: There is a fundamental change. The transformation now into the Internet is going to create a sea of content of various shapes and sizes. There’s much more visual anarchy — an anarchy that this (younger) generation seems to understand.
Q: Sales of 3-D TV sets didn’t meet your expectations.
A: When you’re in the middle of…