The long-time king of consumer electronics is listing like the Costa Concordia. The foreign CEO who was supposed to right the ship is gone; today, S&P downgrades its debt into the BBB’s. Ouchy.

The company known for innovation and quality (how long ago it seems, but they won the Blu-ray, HD-DVD war, remember?) has found itself playing the commodity game, with prices on TVs, Blu-ray players, and game systems in a race to the bottom. Their content-networking notions — tying Sony’s vast video, music and other entertainment holdings together with its devices — haven’t turned into the moneymaker they’d hoped.

There’s a new CEO in town. What’ll he have to do to return Sony to any kind of glory? Maybe, just maybe, the company can be saved by finally delivering on the tech industry’s Dick Tracy-ish Holy Grail: the perfect cyber-watch. Like a smartphone on your wrist. Don’t you need one of those?

It’s not here yet, but you can get ready by practicing your pinch-and-zoom skills on a Wheat Thin.