Does Sony dream of Android? The Japanese web is currently filling up with rumors about Sony preparing not one but two Android-based mobile devices. Both the Android-powered Walkman and a personal satellite navigation device are rumored to launch next year. I just checked all Japanese news sources I could find reporting on the topic and the short answer is that the rumor seems to be true.
It would make sense from a cost point of view as Android would surely help Sony save some money in the disastrous financial situation they are in at the moment. In addition, Sony could piggyback on Android’s already existing Android app store infrastructure and bolster up the anti-iPod front.
Japanese web site “Impress”, usually a very reliable source, says [JP] Sony Japan is known to be very interested in Android, but that the company might have problems with the timing of the different product launches (the Android devices and the PSP Go). Gigazine, Japan’s biggest tech blog, says [JP] the Android-powered Walkman and PND are coming in 2010 and quotes an article [JP] in the Nikkan, a newspaper focused on technology.
This means the rumor is very likely to be true, although Sony Japan itself doesn’t mention anything about the whole thing on the corporate website. We will stay tuned.