Sony Ericsson
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Head Office: London, EnglandIncorporated:  Sweden |
| Key people | Miles Flint (President), Anders Runevad (EVP) |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | Mobile phones Mobile music devices Wireless systems Wireless voice devices Hi-Tech accessories Wireless data devices |
| Revenue | €10,959 million (2006) |
| Net income | €997 million (2006) |
| Employees | ~8,000 |
| Parent | Sony Corporation (50%) Ericsson AB (50%) |
| Website | www.sonyericsson.com |
Sony Ericsson is a joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make mobile phones. The stated reason for this venture is to combine Sony's consumer electronics expertise with Ericsson's technological leadership in the communications sector. Both companies have stopped making their own mobile phones.
The company's global management is based in Hammersmith, London, and it has research & development teams in Sweden, Japan, China, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, India and the United Kingdom.
Sony Ericsson has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. With a 43% annual growth rate, it became the fastest-growing mobile vendor in Q3 2006 compared to Motorola with a rate of 39%. Today, Sony Ericsson is the second-most profitable phone maker behind Nokia and has achieved this status because of its growth in high end handset market.
The company's current President is Miles Flint and the Corporate Executive Vice President is Anders Runevad. The company's global advertising agency is Saatchi & Saatchi.
History
Ericsson, which had been in the cellular phone market for decades, decided to divest this business in 2001 following huge losses. Ericsson had decided to source chips for its phones from a single source, a Philips facility in New Mexico. In March 2000 a fire at the Philips factory contaminated the sterile facility. Philips assured Ericsson and Nokia (the other major customer of the facility) that production would be delayed by less than a week. When it became clear that production would actually be compromised for months, Ericsson was faced with a serious shortage. Nokia had already begun to obtain parts from alternative sources, but Ericsson's position was much worse as both production of current models and the launch of new ones was held up.
Sony Ericsson acquired UIQ Technology, a Swedish software company from Symbian Ltd. in February, 2007. UIQ will remain an independent company, Miles Flint announced.
Sony Ericsson's three main areas of interest are:
- The Walkman-branded W series music phones, launched in 2005. The Sony Ericsson W-series music phones are notable for being the first music-centric series mobile phones, prompting a whole new market for portable music that was developing at the time. Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phone are endorsed by pop star Christina Aguilera across Europe.
- The CyberShot-branded line of phones, introduced starting in 2006. Sony Ericsson kicked off its global marketing campaign for Cyber-shot phone with the launch of ‘Never Miss a Shot’. The campaign featured top female tennis players Ana Ivanović and Daniela Hantuchova.
- The UIQ smartphone range of mobiles, introduced with the P series in 2003. They are notable for their touchscreens, QWERTY keypads (on most models), and use of the UIQ operating system. This has since expanded into the M series and W series phones.
Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and works with the Association to promote the Tour in over 80 cities.
Phone series description
Sony Ericsson categorizes its phones as Talk and Text phones, Camera phones, Music phones, Design phones and web and email phones.
- D series – Low-mid range mobile phones. T-Mobile network operator exclusive. ("Deutsche Telekom") (D750)
- F series – Low-mid range mobile phones. Vodafone and Vodafone partner network operator exclusive. ("Vodafone") (F500)
- J series – Low end candybar mobile phones. Do not feature cameras. ("Junior") (J100-J300)
- K series – Low to high end candybar mobile phones. Feature cameras with dual front design. Certain models are branded under the Cyber-shot name. ("Kamera") (K200-K850)
- M series – Mid range Symbian OS smartphones. ("Messaging") (M600)
- P series – High end Symbian OS smartphones. ("PDA") (P800-P990, P1)
- S series – High-mid end swivel and slider mobile phones. ("Swivel"/"Slider") (S500-S700/S710)
- T series – Low to high-mid end candybar type mobile phones and a carryover from the former Ericsson line of mobile phones (Fashion). (T68-T650)
- V series – Mid to high end mobile phones. Vodafone and Vodafone partner network operator exclusive. ("Vodafone") (V600-V800)
- W series – Low to high end mobile phones branded under the Walkman name. ("Walkman") (W200-W960)
- Z series – Low to high-mid end clamshell mobile phones (Fashion). ("Clamzhell") (Z200-Z1010)
Financial information
Sony Ericsson posted its first profit in the second half of 2003. Its sales of phones were:
According to the Swedish Magazine M3's issue 7/2006 Sony Ericsson is the best-selling phone brand in the Nordic countries, followed by Nokia.
According to the IT research firm Gartner, in the third quarter of 2006, Sony Ericsson was the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world after Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. It held a 9% global market share.
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