Sony has studied how external experiences, including the use of electronic devices, entice emotional responses, and transposed the concept into a product line: Qualia made of a $3,900 miniature digital camera, a $15,000 stereo system, a $12,000 television and a $30,000 home-theater projector. The idea behind these productes states how much electronics are becoming an expression of one�s identity: just like cars, jewels or furs, they are clear status symbols.

Sony Store on Madison Avenue is to open in June his Qualia salon. The targets are couples in their 40�s who �tend not to have children” and just behind, the Renaissance Women (more brand-conscious than men), about the same age and without children either.
The luxury experience is to be extended to the packaging, to a special Qualia scent for the Qualia salons, to exclusive relationship with customers, etc.

Full report in The NY Times