Fresh off the launch of its new Xperia Z smartphone, Sony is set to launch a range of new accessories to the retail market based around the concept of connectivity, all equipped with Near Field Communication technology.
The NFC-connectivity message will be marketed under the Sony ‘One Touch’ branding, and will see the launch of roughly 50 NFC-compatible products for retail sale, including portable speakers, headphones and home theatre systems. The brand’s new high-end Bravia TVs are even set to feature an NFC-enabled remote control for streaming content straight from a smartphone to the TV.
Sony is billing the One Touch interface as a simple system for quickly sharing content between devices, as the managing director of Sony Mobile Communications Oceania, John Featherstone, explained.
“For Sony, One Touch brings that to life,” said Featherstone. “It’s as simple as just touching and passing on the content. And Sony is really wedded to bringing those experiences to life. So much so, that it’s not just on our handsets, but we’re bringing out around 50 other devices with NFC capability to bring that ‘Sonyness’ out into the world.”
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The products will be launched in a range of colours, including bright blues and pinks, and will all feature a single point to tap and share things like music from a phone to a speaker. And while the technology behind NFC is certainly amazing, it requires a new level of demonstration from retailers.
According to Nicolas Barendson, Sony Australia’s general manager of consumer marketing, NFC is an exciting add-on feature for retailers to sell when it comes to devices such as speakers and home audio equipment.
“Sony has two big stories for 2013 — premium products and connectivity,” he said.
As far as connectivity is concerned, that story is being driven by NFC. And while Barendson would love it if consumers had a whole suite of Sony products to connect with each other, he is realistic in recognising that most consumers will have a variety of devices “across various ecosystems”. So when retailers are trying to convince consumers to add another device to their life, this is where demonstration comes in.
“NFC is all about education,” he said. “There is a real need for demonstration. That might be a big focus on sound, demonstrating the NFC to consumers through streaming music.”
Barendson advised retailers to have products on display and to get consumers to test out the devices, or even use their own NFC-enabled smartphone to stream music through a speaker on the retail floor. As with all demonstration, he said, it is about the need to “capture attention”.
Sony’s line-up of NFC-enabled accessories includes portable speakers, headphones and even TVs.
A Sony rep demonstrations the NFC touch-to-play technology.
Sony’s new MDR-1RBT NFC headphones are also Bluetooth 3.0 compatible.