Sony Corporation (Sonî Kabushiki kaisha) is a

mult inat ional conglomerate corporat ion ,

headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's

largest media conglomerates with revenue of US$88.7

billion as of 2008. The company is one of the leading

miniature manufacturers of electronics, video,

communications, video game consoles and

information technology products for the consumer

and professional markets. Sony has historically been

notable for creating its own in-house standards for

new recording and storage technologies instead of

adopting those of other manufacturers and standards

bodies

Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the

parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in

business through its five operating segmentselectronics,

games, entertainment (motion pictures and music),

financial services and other. These make Sony one of the

most comprehensive entertainment companies in the

world. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the

Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. The

company's slogan is Sony. Like no other.

Miniature Magnate

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SONYSONYFounded in 1946

Sony introduces first plug-and-play

Plasma WEGA® TVs in 32 and 42-inch models

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Key FactsType : Public

Founded : May 7, 1946 (adopted current name in 1958)

Founder : Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita

Headquarters : Minato, Tokyo, Japan

Area served : Worldwide

Key people : Sir Howard Stringer (Chairman) & (CEO)

Ryoji Chubachi (President) & (Electronics CEO)

Industry : Consumer electronics, Entertainment,

Products : Audio, Video, Televisions, Communications and Information Technology

Semiconductors , Electronic components, Motion Picture, Music, Online Business:

Sony Playstation

Services : Financial services

Revenue : US$ 88.714 Billion (2008)

Employees : 180,500 (2008)

“SDR", a compact bipedal

entertainment robot also known

as “QRIO" becomes Sony's

new corporate ambassador

®Hi-Definition Handycam HDR-HC1;

the world's smallest digital HD video camera recorder

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Origin of name

The name "Sony" was chosen for the brand as a mix of the Latin word Sony or Son(us) and Sonny, (a root of

sonic and sound). Sonny was a name popular amongst little boys those days. In February 1955, and

company name changed to Sony from Sonî Kabushiki kaisha. Morita pushed for a word that does not

exist in any language so that they could claim the word "Sony" as their own (which paid off when they

successfully sued a candy producer using the name, who claimed that "Sony" was an existing word in

some language).

Technological Milestones• 1960's 1960 -World's first direct-view portable television, the TV8-301 is launched

• 1962 -The world's smallest and lightest all transitor television, the TV5-303 is introduced

• 1979 - Walkman brand was introduced, in the form of the world's first portable music player.

• 1983- Sony introduced 90mm micro diskettes (better known as 3.5-inch floppy disks)

• 1995 -The world's first consumer use digital video camcorder, the "Digital Handycam®" is launched

• 1993- Sony introduced the MiniDisc format as an alternative to Philips DCC or Digital Compact

Cassette.

• 1998 -Sony introduces world's first integrated wide screen HDTV FD Trinitron WEGA® 16:9 34-inch

model

Sony's Blu-ray Disc World's First Portable

Music Player -Walkman

World's smallest and lightest all

transistor television, the TV5-303