Sony: the comeback begins - Telegraph Few companies have had the bad luck of Sony - even if you discount the range of imperfect decisions, the Japanese giant has had to contend with the tsunami that demolished parts of its business, fires after the London riots that destroyed warehouses and valuable stock, a high Yen that makes exports challenging and an attack from cyber criminals that saw the company's PlayStation network laid bare before the eyes of the world. The company's executives bowed deeply in front of an audience that thought things could get little worse. This week, Britain's information commissioner fined Sony £250,000 for that security breach. Sony's plan to appeal rests on its point that it is a victim of crime, while the ICO contends it didn't take sufficient precautions. Even its trade show for UK dealers had to be postponed due to the snow. The root of Sony's problems, nonetheless, run deeper than bad luck: a vast Japanese conglomerate it, like Panasonic, operates in so many businesses that even the ones that do complement each other barely see themselves as part of the same business. New Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai is making much of his new slogan "One Sony," which seems as much to be a message to staff as it is to customers. And indeed, the company does own the biggest film studio in the world, which has allowed it to crowbar its Xperia Phones and its Vaio laptops into Bond films. Even that, however, has done little to help the firm stem its multi-billion pound losses. Finally, however, the battleship may be turning toward the right direction. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Sony unveiled its Xperia Z, a phone that has garnered the manufacturer positive reviews for the first time in several years. It proves that, now free of the Ericsson partnership, Sony can make devices that are in tune with what many consumers want. Analysts are divided, however, not on the phone's quality but on its potential to sell: "Flagships like Zperia Z will play a vital part in rebuilding Sony's brand," says Ben Wood of CCS Insight. And it's not so much about the device as about the brand. With the shine coming off even Apple and Samsung in the ascendant, it's becoming clear that users are fickle and cycles are shorter. Coming out of a dip, the time could be ripe for a Sony comeback, or it could simply not manage to get its message through. Launching the Xperia Z, Sony emphasised both the quality of the build for this waterproof, dustproof device, but also the fact that it was sorry for letting consumers down. It knows its reputation precedes it, and Hirai says he is "shepherding some projects personally." That means combining parts of the business that have previously not worked properly together. Yet Sony makes camera sensors for the iPhone and some of the best TV screens in the world - these are just two areas of expertise now in its new phone. There's a sense that if this approach doesn't work, nothing will.