Sony's Spider-Man Inhabits a World Without Apple

Peter Parker, the teenage superhero in The Amazing Spider-Man, isn’t the only one in Sony’s blockbuster summer film boasting superpowers. The movie is set in an alternate reality where Sony’s own gadgets rule and Apple products are nonexistent. The film’s hero, played by The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield, uses a Sony Xperia mini pro smartphone to make calls to his girlfriend, check voice mail, and listen to a police radio broadcast. In one scene, Spider-Man is even shown lounging on a web in the sewers while playing a game on his phone, shooting colored bubbles across the screen.

Sony isn’t shy about using its film distribution business, the third-largest in the U.S., to revive its struggling consumer-electronics products. “The real value for us is being able to reach an entire audience of entertainment enthusiasts who connect with these films, TV shows, music—whatever it may be—while ultimately bringing it back to the device,” explains Peter Farmer, a Sony Mobile Communications marketing vice president.