Sony's Ando: PCs to function like a brain

Rather, Ando sees a personal computer (emphasis on the personal)evolving to the point where it actually knows a person's individual tendenciesand tastes, functioning almost like a surrogate brain. He also sees morecross-fertilization between computers andconsumer electronics to erase the old boundaries dividing television and PCs,perhaps resulting in a hybrid device that, of course, winds up connected to theInternet. The trick for Sony is to time things right so as to be on the cuttingedge of the next big thing. But being too far ahead of the curve can be just asbad as being too far behind. For Ando and for Sony--one of the most successful companies in the history of consumerelectronics--the rewards could be as large as the margin of error is slim.

Sony is widely known for the design of its products. What do you thinkPCs are going to look like in 2005?
I don't think we're going to see the typical boxes of today. As PC andconsumer electronics companies continue to influence one another, PCs willchange, especially as there is further integration of components, such asdigital cameras. The PC will take on many new roles, such as teacher, agent,guide, and there will be many different designs...something that is verypersonal and knows what your tendencies are, almost like a brain. Companieswill make all sorts of PCs based on hobbies, tastes, creativities andcapabilities. Computers will truly be more personal, and not just by name.

Wearable computers are very personal, and the industry has dreamed aboutthose for a while now. Is that something you think will catch on?
We tried a wearable-type device that we called the Glasstron and it nevercaught on. There is something to be said for timing, though, and that wasnearly three or four years ago.

What do you think will be the next area of technology innovation in the nextcouple years?
With the more common use of (liquid crystal displays), TVs are changing. At onetime, they were the center of home entertainment, but PCs came in and wereessentially the gateway to the Internet and took their place. Now the wholeindustry is trying to make the TV the center again by connecting it to theInternet and add new features such as DVD players. Eventually, it will beconnected to the PC, which will really be exciting.

When you talk about TVs becoming the center of home entertainment onceagain, do you think that they will integrate popular features such as DVDplayers and digital video recorders?
That is happening already, in Asian countries especially. The biggest change isviewing style. It used to be that people just watched what networks broadcast.Now with time-shifting capabilities, TVs will become more customizable to theviewing habits of consumers. They will remember your favorite channels andprograms that you like, so you will just sit down and select what you want towatch.

How do you think cell phones will change?
An important part of the digital revolution is the communications revolution.And a significant aspect of the communications revolution is video. You'restarting to see that more in cell phones where cameras are built-in, and we'readding that into many of our devices, even our handhelds.

It seems that more hardware companies are coming up with software andconcepts to help drive demand for hardware. Will that continue?
Hardware and software go hand in hand. Hardware can be commoditized veryrapidly, with competitors imitating an innovative device. One way to stay aheadis to develop specific software for that hardware, which helps to differentiateit from others. Software can be developed a lot faster than hardware, whichalso helps. With higher levels of performance, you can have more robustsoftware.

What do you think is going to be the future theme in the personal technologyworld?
The concept that consumer electronics devices can access all sorts of contentwhile connected to a network is the biggest trend, and as broadband rolls outand becomes more commonly available--which will happen by 2005--companies haveto make it happen by introducing more types of products.

Two companies that stand out when it comes to innovation in the technologyworld are Apple Computer and Sony. Apple is a lot smaller than Sony and doesn'thave the portfolio of products. Is that an advantage for them?
There are advantages and disadvantages. We respect Apple a lot for theircreativity and their emphasis on ease of use. We're going in the samedirection. However, they can move a lot faster because they are smaller. Westruggle with commoditization. When a product gets popular, others can imitateit, but Apple is going their own way so no one can copy them exactly.

Sony is very familiar with robots because of its Aibo products. What is your vision of the future forrobots?
We are hoping that robots will create a new type of industry. Initially, itwill be for entertainment and for giving comfort, but we think there is a long-term future for robots, and we are adding new technology to our robots so theywill quickly become more intelligent and more useful in day-to-day life.

You were one of the early proponents of the networked lifestyle, the role ofnetworks in the home and their future significance to consumers. Do you thinkthat access will extend beyond the home?
That has always been part of the plan, to be able to access your content fromanywhere. Even in our nonconnected devices, like Walkmans and camcorders, theidea was that you could access your individual content anywhere. But now with aPC and network infrastructure, we want to connect all products so you canconnect yourself to your network anytime, anywhere on any device. Deliveringrich content to devices is a challenge now on narrowband networks, but whenbroadband rolls out more extensively, that will help out and be a big changecompared to the past.

These kinds of connected devices will represent a new concept for consumers,and educating them to the benefits of these devices will likely prove to be abig challenge. How do you think selling devices to consumers will change?
The biggest hurdle is actually the dealers who may not be sure how or evenwhere to sell devices. Do you put something like the Airboard (a combination TV and PC with an LCD screen)with TVs or with PCs? We have faced this problem in the past, and we havemanaged to educate them. What we don't want to do is make it too hard on theconsumer to use the device. We have even created a user-friendly committeewithin the company to make sure that we don't run into that problem.

As a country, Japan seems more known for hardware than software. Do youthink that will change?
Well, hardware has been the more dominant of the two industries so far,but...we're becoming more active in creating software, particularly when itcomes to ease of use.