There's no shortage of opinion that Sony, a premier consumer electronics manufacturer, and Apple, a pioneer in multimedia personal computing, should get together to make their TV/computing products more compatible. But to hear Sony's top executives, any cooperation with Apple is not likely in the cards.
In a recent interview with Tony Perkins, former editor of the now defunct Red Herring for his Always On Web site, Sony chairman and CEO Nobuyuki Idei said Sony is looking to Silicon Valley for a way to build a television set that will combine the functions of a PC "but also keep it simple to operate."
Idei said that Sony had met with Apple chairman Steve Jobs in January, March and June of last year "to try to work out a mutual strategy." However, Idei concluded, "You know Steve. He has his own agenda. Although he is a genius, he doesn't share everything with you. This is a difficult person to work with if you are a big company. We started working with them, but it is a nightmare."
Interjected Sony's U.S. chief, Howard Stringer, who sat in on the interview: "We are also rivals, and trying to get together would frankly be a waste of time."
For the full interview, visit www.alwayson-network.com.