Sony ups its flat-panel HDTVs to XBR4 and XBR5 as Dell exits market

Sony has launched nine new LCD flat-panel TVs, including XBR4 and XBR5 series televisions. The TVs look very cool and very much an evolution of the Sony Bravia line. Interesting new features include access to Internet video content through the TV interface (hmmm -- is it a coincidence that Steve Jobs just announced this for Apple TV?) and one remote and one button operation of an entire (presumably all-Sony) home theater system from Blu-ray disk all the way through to the TV.

It's all very cool, but we're waiting for the new Sony Bravia and XBR ads, which, at least with the European versions, tend to be quite interesting in concept and execution. But Sony's survival and leadership in the cut-throat LCD TV market stands in sharp contrast to Dell's exit from that market today. With Dell's low-price strategy standing in sharp contrast with Sony's premium price marketing for its LCD TVs, it's just another reminder that low-prices aren't a marketing strategy -- they're a symptom of a failed one.

Technorati Tags: Apple TV, Bravia, Dell, HDTV, Marketing, Sony, XBR