It’s award season – and Sony has won no less than five Product of the Year awards at the annual European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA), awards, the largest editorial multimedia organization in Europe. The seductive Xperia Tablet Z won outright in the coveted Tablet of the Year 2013-2014 category, a  stunning victory in Sony’s attempt to set new standards in the rapidly expanding tablet sector. Other accolades went to two Sony cameras, a Bravia TV and a HT receiver in a thrilling night.

The full list of Sony’s five awards:

• European Advanced Camera of the year 2013-2014: SLT-A99
• European Compact Camera of the year 2013-2014: DSC-HX50/HX50V
• European TV of the year 2013-2014: KDL-55W905A
• European HT Receiver of the year 2013-2014: STR-DA5800ES
• European Tablet of the year 2013-2014: Xperia Tablet Z

The luxurious Xperia Tablet Z win shocked few when it was placed next to the competition. The 10.1″ tablet, armed with an 8.1 megapixel camera, 16x digital zoom, front-facing 2.2 shooter and is powered by 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8064+MDM9215M processor with Adreno 320 graphics. The device also has 16GB internal memory with a MicroSD slot for further expansion, also comes with many of Sony’s finest features; HDR recording for both picture and film, Bravia Engine 2, the class-leading Exmor RS camera sensor and IPX5/7 Water-resistance with IP5X Dust-proof standards. It uses Android Jelly bean 4.2 with a healthy 2GB of RAM for silky smooth operation. It wouldn’t be a Sony device if it didn’t stop traffic, either.

The two awards in the camera category confirm Sony’s cutting-edge heritage and continuing leadership in the area. EISA awarded the SLT-A99 the European Advanced Camera of the year 2013-2014.

  Sony’s flagship camera, the Alpha SLT-A99, provides the demanding photographer with excellent image quality and a host of innovative features through its use of a full frame sensor and its SLT electronic viewfinder system. 

One imaging award not enough; Sony took victory in the European Compact Camera of the year 2013-2014 category also, with the DSC-HX50 / HX50V. This accolade builds on previous Sony EISA camera winners (HX5, HX9, HX20), producing the perfect camera for travel.

 From round-the-world expeditions to a Sunday stroll, it gives every scene the detail it deserves and is the smallest digital camera with a 30x zoom. 

A roaring addition to Sony’s trophy shelf however, is a fourth consecutive award for European TV of the year 2013-2014. The KDL-55W905A claimed the prize, particularly for the latest innovations in Sony display technology; the X-Reality PRO engine and the new TRILUMINOS Display.

 Being the fourth year in a row that EISA have awarded BRAVIA TV with such a prestigious accolade, the W9 excels the beauty, emotion, drama and excitement of every moment with the best-ever picture and sound quality in one TV. 

In the HT High End of the year grouping, Sony scored victory with the STR-DA5800ES, flexing it’s prowess in high-fidelity audio. The receiver offers maximum customisation, powering front and back speakers in superb sound reproduction.

  A mix of ways to connect means you can enjoy music and movies any way you want, while the 4K upscale technology means your favourite movies can be seen in four times the detail of Full HD with a 4K TV. 

What Do Awards Matter Anyway?

These five trophies can be added to Sony’s five that it won at last year’s awards also. But is there something missing? Awards? Sony? Xperia? Where is the Xperia Z smartphone? Unfortunately, it didn’t win. The HTC One took that prize. This year has been better than others in terms of high quality competition, with the Xperia Z battling the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, and the iPhone 5. This category may have really been a 50/50 toss between Samsung and Apple in previous years, but the Xperia Z is a warning that mobile devices are not a hobby for Sony.

There are other gains which are less visible for Sony but truly important. Consider Sony’s struggle to turn its TV business profitable, and awards help. Awards of this calibre signify honor amongst professionals and critics. If the TV business were ignored or had poor reputation, then a profitability argument could be made to to spin off the business after eight years of elusive profitability. Good reputation can connect to sales and Sony needs only to battle costs in that division to complete the work. Strong reputation partially fortified through award-winning indicates valuable, marketable, successful  innovation, which the stock market notes. Also, this is positive for branding in as a part of Sony’s marketing repertoire. Bravia, Xperia, Walkman, PlayStation, are powerful brands that are connected here and complement each other – as these technologies are seen on adjacent devices; PlayStation certification on Xperia smartphones and tablets, Xperia devices connected to Bravia TVs. This is a positive sign for CEO Kaz Hirai’s leadership and his One Sony strategy.

More on EISA.

Discuss:

Should the Xperia Z smartphone have won? Do awards affect what you buy?