In an television interview, not yet aired, Sony Chairman/CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, gave ample props to Steve Jobs and the iPhone. According to Smarthouse, “In talking about current products, when asked about Apple’s iPhone Stringer said, ‘The good news is that Steve Jobs spotted a trend that we’ve seen. The phone is a convergence device, between music and a phone. We are all building variations on the same theme. We have sold plenty of Walkman phones [from Sony Ericsson], especially in Europe.’ While Stringer is pleased with Sony’s cellular phone progress, ‘I would never sit up here and say I’m not worried about Steve Jobs. I wouldn’t bet against Steve.”

Later on in the interview he also admits that Sony missed the boat when it came to portable music. This is the first time I have heard anyone from Sony admit, what I perceive, is an admission of stupidity about pushing the MiniDisc format when it comes to portable music.

Sony has always had a pseudo relationship with Apple most recently with deals on the iTunes Music Store and with HD standards in Apple’s iMovie and Final Cut Pro applications.

[Via Smarthouse]