Sony-From Transistor Radios to Mini-DVD Camcorders and Binoculars

Anyone who has ever bought a DVD player, a camcorder, a camera, a pair of binoculars, or a mini-DVD recorder is familiar with the name Sony, even if they don't own any electronic merchandise that was made by the corporation.

On May 7, 1946 the Sony Corporation was created by two friends, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. At the time of its inception the Morita and Ibuka called the company Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. which when translated to English is Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. The company name changed to Sony in 1958. The name change happened because there was some confusion between the Tokyo based electronics company and the Tokyo Kyuka (commonly referred to as the TKK) which was a Tokyo railroad.

The Sony Corporation started gaining recognition when it designed and built the Type-G tape recorder, the Type G was Japan's very first tape recorder. The next successful move the Sony Corporation made was when the convinced the Bell Labs (based in the United States) to license the transistor technology they had invented to his com pony. Although Sony can not claim credit for building the first transistor radios, that credit belongs to Texas Instruments and Regency, it was the first company to sell them to market them to the general public. The TR-55 was the first transistor radio that was so small it fit in someones coat pocket. Sony produced the TR-55 in August 1955, by 1956 they had manufactured approximately 40,000 copies of the TR-55's cousin the TR-72, which they sold to citizens in the Netherlands, Germany and the United States.

Their latest development is the VRD-MC5 DVD burner. This DVD burner, which is not yet available to the public, is designed to be used with Sony's AVCHD camcorders. The VRD-MC5 DVD burner will allow people to burn DVD's directly from their digital camcorder without having to use a home computer.

Developments and lens technology that have been made in the binocular industry. Sony mini-DVD camcorders and cameras either use similar technology as binoculars, in some cases they even share it. One example of shared technology would be in the DVD camcorders where Sony uses a lens that is manufactured by the Zeiss Company. Sony's DCR-DVD108 Handycam Mini-DVD Camcorder, which cost approximately $400.00, is a mini-camcorder that uses a Zeiss lens. Zeiss lenses are considered some of the finest optical lenses in the world. The Zeiss Company uses them in binoculars that are popular among outdoor enthusiast such as birdwatchers and hunters.

With the increasing demand for binoculars that feature built in digital cameras it should only be a matter of time before the Sony Corporation comes out with a pair of hybrid binoculars.

The Sony Corporation has come along way since the days of the TR-72. The company now employs over 158,500 people. They have an revenue of approximately $63.980 billion. It's estimated that their operating income in 2006 was $14.578 billion and that their net income was as high as $1.042 billion.

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