Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. plans to step up its competition with the likes of Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. by introducing more mid- and low-end phones in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Sony Ericsson lately has focused on sales of sleek high-end phones like its W800 music device, gadgets that typically bring in higher profits but fewer sales.
“We’re going to expand to the mid and low end,” promised Jon Mulder, Sony Ericsson’s product marketing manager.
Sony Ericsson’s renewed interest in the mid- and low-end phone market follows similar moves from Motorola and Samsung. Motorola recently extended its agreement with the GSM Association to sell super-cheap phones in emerging markets like India and Thailand. Samsung too has said it plans to move into the low-end market after years of focusing on feature-packed, expensive devices.
Such efforts follow on the heels of the world’s No. 1 mobile-phone maker Nokia Corp., which scored its dominant market position with sales of simple, inexpensive phones.
Sony Ericsson’s Mulder said the company would not play in the “ultra-cheap” phone market-an area comprising phones of $50 or less and markets like the Philippines, Russia and elsewhere. However, Mulder said Sony Ericsson would offer a “complete” phone line-up stretching from the high end to the low end.
Sony Ericsson’s move comes as little surprise. Industry analysts agree that smaller handset makers will fail against larger manufacturers that can sell hundreds of millions of phones a year across all market segments.
