2nd UPDATE: Sony Ericsson JV Deepens Ties With New Xperia Arc
January 06 2011 - 10:22AM
Dow Jones News
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson Thursday launched its latest
attempt to grab a major share of the market for Android smartphones
with a new flagship device, the Xperia arc, which also marks deeper
collaboration between the handset maker and Sony.
The Xperia arc, which succeeds Sony Ericsson's previous Xperia
X10 flagship phone, is based on Android 2.3, the latest version of
Google Inc's (GOOG) open mobile platform, and is the first of a new
generation of handsets the company plans to launch this year. It
will be available in selected markets, including Japan, from the
first quarter.
The device integrates several features direct from Sony,
including the Mobile Bravia engine that improves image quality and
the Exmore R sensor that boosts photo and video quality in low
light conditions, signalling a deepening integration between Sony
Ericsson and the Japanese consumer electronics giant, according to
Sony Ericsson spokesman Aldo Liguori.
The closer ties are in sharp contrast to speculation in early
2009 that the two parent companies in the joint venture, Sweden's
Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson (ERIC) and Japan's Sony Corp. (SNE), would
split the partnership, amid continued losses and poor sales.
Last year the company returned to profitability following
several loss-making quarters during which rivals including Apple
Inc. (AAPL) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) took the lead in
developing new smartphones. Industry experts have long called for
Sony Ericsson to more effectively exploit Sony's technical
expertise, particularly in gaming, stoking speculation that it will
soon launch a gaming smartphone that integrates Sony's PlayStation
platform.
"There's a lot of smoke and I tell you there must be a fire
somewhere," Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg said in an
interview in November regarding the speculation.
Sony is becoming "an increasingly important business partner,"
Liguori said, noting that while the company previously used Sony
functionality and sub-brands, chiefly Walkman and Cybershot, in its
phones, the features in the Xperia arc take the collaboration to a
deeper level.
Sony spokespeople in Europe weren't immediately available to
comment on the partnership.
Still, it faces tough competition in the Android smartphone
sector from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE),
Taiwan's HTC Corp. (2498.TW), and U.S.-based Motorola Mobility
Holdings Inc. (MMI).
Sony Ericsson launched the Xperia arc at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Motorola Wednesday also
showcased two new Android smartphones. Meanwhile, HTC Thursday said
its unaudited fourth-quarter net profit almost tripled from a year
earlier, driven by strong handset shipment growth.
The Android platform had a 25.5% share of the market for
smartphone operating systems in the third quarter of 2010, up from
just 3.5% a year earlier, according to research firm Gartner.
Still, Sony Ericsson's global market share of the entire mobile
device market fell to 2.5% in the quarter from 4.3% a year
earlier.
The Xperia arc will sell at about the same price as the Xperia
X10 when that device was launched last spring, at around 5,000
Swedish kronor ($735) in the Swedish market, said Sony Ericsson
spokesman Gustaf Brusewitz.
The Xperia arc "ticks most of the right boxes" with a big 4.2
inch touchscreen, nice hardware design and a fast processor, said
Neil Mawston, director for wireless devices strategies at research
firm Strategy Analytics.
-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099;
gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com
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