There was an interesting article comparing Sony and Apple. I saw the relationship here especially during the time of Akio Morita (who also had to step down because of illness although he was much older than Jobs). Then came Idei whom I actually knew (I meet him several times when he was head of marketing and  later when we was CEO). He was a marketing guy without much vision or ability to focus the company. And now we have Howard Stringer who is trying but does not have the capacity. I believe that Sony should broken up.  At one time, I  had suggested that Apple consider buying the company and breaking it up.  This was before their major successful with the iPhone and iPad and when Sony’s brand was stronger than Apples. In retrospect, it was a dumb idea since it would have been a major distraction.
The interesting thing here is what will happen when, Job’s leadership is no longer. Sadly, we will probably not have to wait very long to find out.