@lxsw20

One major difference would be the prices.... just saying

chunkybeats:

 

@ MikeB4

 

I simply cant see the difference between trying an ipad in an Apple store compared to Harvey Norman. Oh the surroundings are lovely but exactly same product right front of you. I have been to the Sydney & Singapore Apple stores and really there is no difference between them. Of course heaps of sheep lining up to try an ipad thats already in your local Harvey Norman. A bit religious I find.

 

Why is someone who likes Apple a "sheep" and someone who is an  "avid Sony fan" not a sheep?

You are also contradicting your original post  "I now cant play with their tech in the flesh no more :-("

chunkybeats:

 

@lxsw20

 

One major difference would be the prices.... just saying

 

Pricing of Apple gear is consistent between Apple Store, Website and Retailer so not sure what your point is there. Apple store offer user training, product repair and replacements, various events etc,  good customer service. 

lxsw20:

 

chunkybeats:

 

@lxsw20

 

One major difference would be the prices.... just saying

 

 

 

 

Pricing of Apple gear is consistent between Apple Store, Website and Retailer so not sure what your point is there. Apple store offer user training, product repair and replacements, various events etc,  good customer service. 

 

 

 

 

 

This

And a true Apple store is very will laid out and as a retail experience fantastic. Many companies (sony included) have tried to follow the Apple example.

Is there still a Sony store in the Riccarton Mall ? They  had a good one there but I have not been into the Mall for a few years

MikeB4:

 

Is there still a Sony store in the Riccarton Mall ? They  had a good one there but I have not been into the Mall for a few years

 

yes it is still there. I purchased something there yesterday actually.

@MikeB4

I have had the majority of companies tech and I find Sony the best in my experience. A 'sheep' term is someone who hasnt experienced other brands other than their own. Like a lot of Apple users are. Thats all.

I popped into the Sony store and they have the Z3 Tablet Compact going for $463 and it is the last stocked item so someone is very lucky to get that! They also have the Z5 Compact at $699 but Spark also sell the Z5 compact at the same price so no real deal there. Il wait for the final week and bag myself a cheap tv hopefully! 

Haha, pretty much everyone I asked used to check stuff out in the Sony store then actually buy it at JB Hi-Fi. All their TVs/consoles/notebooks were available one floor down and often much cheaper.

chunkybeats:

 

@MikeB4

 

I have had the majority of companies tech and I find Sony the best in my experience. A 'sheep' term is someone who hasnt experienced other brands other than their own. Like a lot of Apple users are. Thats all.

 

I popped into the Sony store and they have the Z3 Tablet Compact going for $463 and it is the last stocked item so someone is very lucky to get that! They also have the Z5 Compact at $699 but Spark also sell the Z5 compact at the same price so no real deal there. Il wait for the final week and bag myself a cheap tv hopefully! 

 

Spark sell the Z5 compact at $899 not $699.

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile/phones/sony-xperia-z5-compact-black.html

The Sony store were let down by Sony NZ.

For eg,

1. Xperia Z4 tablet - I wanted to buy one, Sony NZ only offered up the old version. How can you expect consumers to support a brand when the country's supplier of that brand doesn't!

2. My Xperia Z2 is due for replacement, but will reluctantly be opting for Galaxy S7 as Xperia Z5 not on Vodafone!

It aint  JB Hi Fi or Apple to blame, it's the piiss poor Sony NZ support for Sony consumers to blame.

(typed this on a Sony Duo 11).

I'm an ex-Sony employee so I should be a bit careful what I say..
I always admired the brand and I landed the job by pure coincidence.. Sony products have always been high quality (and mostly still are) and I'm very fond of them.

Where things have taken a turn for the worse is the reluctance of the Japanese management to go with the changing world.
In the times of walkman/discman and to some extent the first PlayStation generations Sony was setting an example, a market leader.Then the internet happened, MP3, streaming.. It took them ages to come up with an MP3 player and they sadly lost it vs. the iPod.
Then the big boom with flat panel TVs occurred. Government subsidised Korean competitors jumped in and undercut Sony who struggled with high cost of labour and lack of funding.
A few bad management decisions and change of key figures later some improvement has been made but nowhere enough to catch up with LG & Samsung.

Throughout the early 90's the aforementioned brands were really sub-standard "cheap" brands that weren't respected in the west.
Now that has changed substantially and Samsung has become the biggest consumer electronics brand in the world.
Note that not only Sony has suffered from the dominance of the Koreans, also formerly reputable brands such as Philips and Panasonic have suffered tremendously.
Without government support (which the Japanese are very reluctant with) or huge foreign investment it will be very hard for Sony to jump back into gear.

Sadly the future for Sony looks a bit bleak. I still love their products and will always choose Sony over anything else if I can, and somehow I hope that they can regain some of their former strength by innovating.

PS: the retail stores have no relationship to the consumer "brand", they're mostly run by external franchising organisations

I bought a pair of earphones from the Sony Store about 15 years ago.

I used to regard Sony as my favorite brand until the last decade , I found other brands are of better quality and cheaper too. Sony is too overprice now.

lxsw20:

 

There is no difference between an Apple store and a retailer selling Apple gear? Right...