The document is a comprehensive case study on Sony Vaio, highlighting its evolution from a trendy computer brand to struggles in the competitive PC market. It discusses design innovations, product launches, and the brand's unique positioning as a premium offering. Ultimately, it addresses the challenges Vaio faces in a shrinking market and its recent attempts to re-establish its presence with new models.

1. Sony VAIO Case Study
Prepared by Kevin Huang
Feb 11, 2019

2. Page  2
Sony VAIO Design & Innovation

3. Page  3
VAIO Was A Trendy Brand

4. Page  4
Sony VAIO & 007

5. Page  5
A Look Back at the Golden Age of Sony VAIO PCs

6. Page  6
VAIO Chime
The chime heard when a VAIO computer is booted are
the DTMF notes corresponding to V-A-I-O (8-2-4-6)
dialed on a telephone keypad.
The VAIO logo itself was designed to
represent the change from analog to digital,
with the V and A representing analog
waveforms, and the I and O miming binary
digits.

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1996 1998 2000 2002 2003
VAIO was originally a brand
of Sony and VAIO , originally
an acronym of Video Audio
Integrated Operation, was
amended to Video Audio
Integrated Organizer in 2008
to celebrate the brand’s 10th
anniversary.
PCV-90 series of desktops
The first generation of VAIO
laptop computers was
released in 1997 and the
US$2,000 PCG-505 model
was designed to be
"SuperSlim," and was kept in
a four-panel magnesium body.
1997
VAIO PCG-707
Branded “PictureBook,”
Sony’s VAIO C1 series
introduced the idea of a
built-in webcam to its
notebook range in 1998.
Sony returned to its Walkman
roots with its MX series in
2000. Early models included
an FM tuner, MiniDisc player,
and built-in amplifier. The
front of the PC tower also
featured an LCD display with
audio information. Combined
with a set of speakers and a
remote control, it was Sony’s
fist attempt at an all-in-one
media PC.
LX series -
shipped with a
stylus and a
display that tilted
up to 65 degrees.
VAIO W all-in-one - combined
a PC with TV features. A built-
in antenna input brought TV to
this 15.3-inch PC, and the
keyboard folded up onto the
display thanks to a hinge
mechanism.
VAIO U series -
looked like tiny
portable DVD
players. At the
time, it was the
world’s smallest
and lightest PC
running Windows
XP.
VAIO PCG-Z1 - Sony’s
first VAIO Z notebook
arrived at the dawn of
Intel’s Centrino era, and
just as Wi-Fi networks
were becoming more
popular. It shipped with a
14.1-inch 1400 x 1050
display that was unique
at the time.
2001
PCG-R505
series
VAIO PCG-705 GT1 (6.4”)
– sold in Japan only
PCG-U101
(7.1”)

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2004 2005 2006 2009
Sony’s VAIO X505 series
had some impressive specs
when it first debuted in
2004. It was just 0.38
inches at its thinnest point,
and used Intel’s ultra-low
voltage Pentium processor.
It was the first laptop to
feature a "chiclet"
keyboard.
VAIO UX series -followed
Microsoft’s ultra-mobile PC
(UMPC) initiative, the UX
models included a slide-out
keyboard, touchscreen, and
Intel’s Core 2 Solo processor.
A 4.5-inch display was the
centerpiece of the device,
with buttons on either side for
additional controls. Sony also
shipped the UX with a
fingerprint reader. Sony’s UX
made its way onto several TV
shows and movies,
including Terminator
Salvation and Quantum of
Solace.
The VAIO SZ series was
yet another expensive, high-
specced machine, featuring
the latest processors,
display technology, and
even a fingerprint sensor, all
in a tiny package. Each
notebook gave users the
ability to switch between
integrated Intel graphics
and a discrete GeForce
GPU from Nvidia.
Sony launched VAIO
VA series, an all-in-one
with 20-inch display and
TV tuner, in 2005 with
Windows Media
Center Edition.
2007
VAIO TZ-90
Solid-State laptop
Sony’s VAIO P first launched
in 2009 as an ultraportable
notebook in a tiny form factor.
Designed as an expensive
and smaller alternative to
popular netbooks at the time,
the VAIO P shipped with an
8-inch display and 1600 x
768 resolution.

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Sony VAIO Started the Race to Thin

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20142009 2011
Sony sold its PC business to the
investment firm Japan Industrial
Partners in February 2014 as part
of a restructuring effort to focus
on mobile devices.
Sony’s experimentation with slim and
lightweight laptops culminated in the X
series. At just 655 grams with a special
lighter battery, Sony claimed it was the
world’s lightest notebook back in 2009.
VAIO Z series - stupidly thin and light, it
came with a 13.1-inch full HD matte display,
an SSD, and a suitably powerful processor.
It also had an interesting port called Light
Peak, based on Intel optical technology that
we now know as Thunderbolt. With the
Light Peak port, you could connect up an
external dock that had a discrete graphics
card and a Blu Ray drive.
2010
Sony released the world’s first Blu-ray-
equipped VAIO VGN-AR70B notebook.
VAIO VA1 series - created at a time when
PC manufacturers were convinced media
center PCs were the next big thing, it
paired a 19-inch 1680 x 1050 display with
a powerful CPU, large hard drive, built-in
TV tuner, and a DVD drive.
VAIO Z Canvas
The VAIO returns

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Differentiation Strategy for VAIO
• High end niche products
• Consumers who give top priority to style and design
• VAIO 505 line (1998) gained significant awareness and recognition
• Positioned as “statement computer” 9kept away from attracting mass audience like others)
• “Sleek”
• Available in colors
• Iconic: rich purple
• Popular with image conscious people
• Focused on reducing weight and size
• Distinctive advantage: VAIO Media Gallery software
(others were not likely to have)
• Japanese brand image
• Premium offering
• Higher avg selling price

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Transition of VAIO PC Business
Sony maintains a minority stake in the new, independent
company, which currently sells computers in the United
States, Japan, and Brazil as well as an exclusive marketing
agreement. Sony still holds the copyright trademarks for
the VAIO brand and logo. Currently in the US, VAIO
products are sold by Trans Cosmos America, Inc.

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Sony's computers have long stood out from the crowd, slickly
designed and clad in colorful cases, yet the VAIO line has
struggled to capture everyday attention in recent times,
accounting for a scant 1.9 percent of all PC sales in the third
quarter of 2013.
Why? It'd be easy to point a finger a Sony's
design decisions. Most of the VAIO offerings
announced in the past couple of years have been
hybrids of one sort or another, as Sony—like its
competitors—grappled to compensate for the sudden
rise of tablets and the sudden shrinking of the PC
market. Hybrids, whether of the laptop/tablet or
(ridiculous) tablet/all-in-one form, have thus far failed
to get everyday buyers drooling.
The $1,200 Sony VAIO Tap 11
hybrid was almost impossibly
thin, but rife with compromises.
Why Sony VAIO Failed?

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Why Sony VAIO Failed?
The decision highlights a problem that has begun to afflict smaller
makers of Windows PCs, and even some of the big ones: as the
global market for PCs shrinks, profits are fast turning into losses.
Ranjit Atwal, devices analyst at research firm Gartner, says there
is a shakeout coming. The PC market is dominated by five big
companies – China's Lenovo, the American HP and Dell firms,
and Taiwan's Acer and Asus. Together they ship 60% of the PCs
sold globally a year. Apple has just over 5% of the market. That
leaves about a third of the market for the smaller players, and far
less of the profits.
"They've lost market share, and the market they're in has shrunk
as well. Scale is everything in this market. If you haven't got
economies of scale then the underlying costs of getting to market,
retail and so on, is too great to be profitable," Atwal said.
Atwal ranks Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, and Fujitsu as the "bottom
four" – together they had about 12% of the market last year – and
as those most under pressure.

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VAIO Is Back But Can It Survive The Ever Competitive PC Market?
After four (4) years of abyss, VAIO has unveiled the premium VAIO S Series - S11 and S13 - to
some great Japanese fare on the 16th of August at Keyaki in Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore.
Huney'Z World!

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“Nevertheless, I wasn't impressed with VAIO S Series.
While the Business PC is a huge market, it is also known
as a cut-throat market where pricing is a major
consideration on top of availability and technical support.
Unfortunately, the new VAIO S Series look "over spec" for
general usage but "less sexy" and/or "less flexible"
compared to those ultra-mobile PCs such as Microsoft
Surface Pro or Apple MacBook Air.
Ironically, it was VAIO that first created a disruption to
the PC market with its first ultra-mobile PC under the U
series back in 2004 and followed by the more iconic UX
series in 2006. Let's hope it has plans in the coming
months to repeat the feat, but until then, sorry to VAIO S
series.”

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The New VAIO Website

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VAIO S13 Product Messaging

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VAIO S11 Product Messaging

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Product Options & Pricing
11.6" Full HD (1920x1080)13.3" Full HD (1920x1080)

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Can It Compete with the Hot Selling Surface Go/Pro?
12.3” (2736 x 1824)10“ (1800 x 1200)

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VAIO Community (as of 02/10/2019)
6.9K
Followers
809
Followers
1.6K
Followers
(The latest post) (The latest post) (The latest post)
Do Consumers Still Care About VAIO Brand?

23. Page  23
Brand Needs to be Reformed AGAIN!

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Appendix
Previous VAIO Advertisements

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Sony VAIO Print Ads

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Sony VAIO Print Ads

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Sony VAIO Print Ads

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Sony VAIO Outdoor Ads

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Sony VAIO TV Commercials

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“I'm a PC, and I'm a Mac. And I'm a VAIO” Consumer Campaign