Sony takes full control of mobile business to better compete with Apple
After paying $1.4 billion to take sole control of its mobile business, Sony has named a new head of its smartphone division, as the company hopes to better compete with rivals like Apple and Samsung.
Kunimasa Suzuki, responsible for planning and design of Sony's consumer products and services, has been tapped to become the president and chief executive of Sony Mobile Communications, The Wall Street Journal. The company paved the way for the move in buying out Swedish partner Ericsson, which had been a part of Sony's mobile business for a decade.
But it was that partnership with Ericsson, and the lack of complete control it gave Sony, that the company viewed as a major weakness. It bought out Ericsson for €1.05 billion, or $1.38 billion U.S., in an effort to take on Apple and its highly successful iPhone and iPad.
Sony is now pursuing a unified "four screens" strategy that will span across the company's smartphone, PC, television and tablet product lines. Suzuki is one of the top deputies of Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Harai, who took over the company earlier this year.
Harai became famous for his work with Sony's gaming business and the PlayStation brand. But in his new role as CEO, he looks to mimic Apple's strategy by tightly integrating hardware and software in Sony's products.
"Kuni has a vast experience in product planning and management in the information technology and mobile product business, as well as experience of cultivating business in emerging markets," Hirai said. "He is a strong leader and the right person to oversee Sony Mobile Communications as we establish a new business structure as 'One Sony' intended to reinforce and accelerate our overall business management."
The changes come as Sony has struggled to return to profitability. In the December quarter alone, the Japanese electronics maker reported an operating loss of $1.2 billion, on revenue of $23.4 billion.
The final year of operation for Sony Ericsson also saw a loss of €247 million as the company failed to gain significant market share. The latest data from Gartner gave Sony Ericsson a 1.8 percent share of mobile device sales in 2011, well behind Apple's 5 percent share and Samsung's 17.7 percent.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
If they had to think about this, it's already too late.
lol agreed!
They only way Sony can win is to come up with something to change the game. The name Sony doesnt draw people the way it used to. They have to be better than apple.
They should also reduce their product catalogue and focus more on doing a few things right.
They need to make themselves cool (or at least seem to) to become relevant again. The masses have moved on a long, long time ago.
So they can beat apple by copying apple?
They only way Sony can win is to come up with something to change the game. The name Sony doesnt draw people the way it used to. They have to be better than apple.
I think this is a smart move. But those "4 screens" need a common platform otherwise it's pointless. They should also reduce their product catalogue and focus more on doing a few things right. There's also the problem that they suck at software and UX.
My guess: ARM based processors using flavours of the Power Systems Software.
I'd love to know what they're going to be doing in the software field, considering it's been their Achilles heel for decades. They'll be starting from scratch in this department if they do it themselves.
Sony might be able to get away with developing its own fork of Android but they're stuck with Windows. And they're as good as anyone in hardware but boy do they crank out awful software.
And enough with the proprietary storage media!
perhaps wait till it is worth half as much in a year or two though.
So Sony is still putting the focus on the HW, not the SW or services? Good luck, Sony.
They don't want RIM to go down alone.
So Sony is still putting the focus on the HW, not the SW or services? Good luck, Sony.
Well said. It's more of the same old, same old, from Apple's competition.
Too bad for Sony. This will never work and they just wasted 1.4 billion dollars!
If they had to think about this, it's already too late.
Oh no you didn't ! But yeah, Sony sucks.
Their vita is garbage , their phones are trash and when that Apple tv( knock on wood) drops Sony will be seen as a tired 500 lb. gorilla, just like HP.
By the way, who wants to bet Meg Whitman will be
out of there by the end of the year?
[...] Sony is now pursuing a unified "four screens" strategy that will span across the company's smartphone, PC, television and tablet product lines. [...]
Not sure if "PC" should be considered just one of four screens. Maybe laptop / desktop could be considered separate screens.
Then again, Sony is in big trouble. Splitting hairs like that is a luxury that they can't afford.
So Sony is still putting the focus on the HW, not the SW or services? Good luck, Sony.
Indeed. I remember when US companies were in awe of Japan Inc. Back when Sony's secret key to success was the firmware that drove their hardware. That's right. I read in many traditional media outlets that Japanese manufacturers' bulletproof firmware was one of their main strengths. The built-in mini-OS that ran in '90s Sony TVs with its on-screen feature navigation.
Now we can look back and see that Sony, among others, thought that the best way to deliver a great user experience was to train users to become great at dealing with a terrible user interface. By hitting generations of users with the same thing over and over. To train them to think that there was no alternative. Their solution to the blinking 12:00 on all those un-programmed VCRs was the DVD player.
They milked that firmware advantage for all it was worth, but that cow is dead now.
They haven't successfully transitioned to the next level.