I was talking to some folks who knew people who worked at Sony and they are pissed. Essentially the marketing budget gets eaten up by things like this — a 1080p 3LCD TV with a slim-line design — and the rest of the company gets the shaft. This model, the KDF-46E3000, is a thin rear-projection that comes in 37-, 46-, and 50-inch models.

Say what you want about Sony TVs, but this battle is over, guys. The average consumer wants 42-inch $1,500 plasmas from Costco, not a 37-inch fatscreen with WEGA on the front for $1,300 which is how much 37-inch model is. If you price out the plasma Sonys with similar specs, you’ll be in for a rude surprise.

Sorry for sticking a rant into this, but this deluge of Sony stuff just reminds me where they need to do better. The PS3, no matter what we say on the contrary, frittered away the PS2 love and is losing to the Wii. They’ve pulled quite a few ham-handed moves recently and I’m worried it’s a trend.

Press Release