Sony to launch blu-ray recorder in Japan in Dec

Sony's stock fell 2.75 percent to a 9-month low, hurt by investment bank Goldman Sachs cutting its earnings estimates and downgrading its rating to "neutral" from "buy."

At stake is not just dominance in the next-generation DVD hardware and software markets, but Sony's reputation as a top-class manufacturer with the ability to deliver quality products to the market on time.

Sony, whose strong brand image once allowed it to charge a hefty premium for its products, has been hit hard by a series of setbacks in recent months such as recalls of more than seven million Sony-made batteries by PC makers and a delay in the highly anticipated launch of its PlayStation 3 in Europe.

The Tokyo-based company, whose epoch-making Walkman music players have long lost their leading position to Apple Computer Inc's iPod, needs to ensure a smooth launch of the advanced recorders to help regain consumer confidence in its technological prowess.

"We consider the Blu-ray recorder a core product for people in the living room to enjoy high-definition broadcasting, high-definition photos and high-definition movies," Sony Senior Vice President Kiyoshi Nishitani told reporters.

Electronics companies such as Sony and Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic brand products, are promoting the Blu-ray format as the next-generation optical disc standard, while Toshiba Corp. is a leading proponent of the rival HD DVD technology.

At the core of both formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.

Sony expects a model with a 500-gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive, which will hit store shelves on December 8, to sell for 300,000 yen ($2,550), and a version with a 250-GB hard drive to come with a price tag of 250,000 yen.

The latter will go on sale on December 16.