Sony bought the other 50% of Sony Ericsson last month, and have now announced through The Times of India that the mobile device unit will be rebranded as Sony in mid-2012.
Sony Ericsson was a joint venture that lasted a decade and saw them lead the way with feature phones under the Sony Cybershot and Walkman brands, but has been struggling to compete in the smartphone arena. With this move to becoming a full Sony brand – the company is focusing all its efforts on Android-based phones with its feature phones being phased out. It is a brave move to try and dominate the very competitive world of Android smartphones – but with its tie-ins with Sony’s vast empire of media products as well as its Playstation gaming titles – Sony has ll the right elemnts to give it a shot.
In this move for Android domination – Sony will be up again Samsung which has dominated the Android smartphone sector in 2011 since the release of the Galaxy SII and now the Galaxy Nexus. It will be an uphill battle for Sony, with Samsung selling more smartphones last quarter than Sony has sold of its Xperia smartphone line since launch – but it only takes a couple of devices to get right back in the game. Samsung’s phones do tend to be packing some serious punch on the processor and screen fronts with Samsung also a major manufacturer of parts – but Sony has a history of great industrial design of quality materials. If Sony can source the right parts and put them in the right body (no plastic backs like Samsung please), then things could look up for the Japanese giant.
The extra competition will mean one thing for consumers though – 2012 will be a bumper year for smartphones and tablets and Apple better watch their back.
Interested in the latest mobile phones? Why not check out our Buyers’ Guide to 2012 Smartphones >>