Make or break time for Sony Ericsson

David Swan
Monday, 24 August 2009 03:55

Your IT - Entertainment

The recent financial crisis hasn’t been kind to many, and mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson has been hit particularly hard. Record losses and a series of bland handsets have done little to help the company. But, cue the theme from Rocky, because Sony Ericsson is fighting back, and in a big way.

So, what’s been behind Sony Ericsson's recent hardships? Some would argue that this is due to a series of lacklustre, uninspiring handsets; phones that offer relatively few standout features when compared to the reliability of Nokia’s N-Series or the fashion of chic handsets from LG, Motorola or Samsung.

Economically, Sony Ericsson has really struggled, losing around $1.2 billion Australian dollars since July 2008, as its global market share has plunged to 5.1 percent. New President Bert Nordberg has said, “We need to improve the product design and development processes and we need a different product portfolio to reflect what customers are asking for.” Essentially, Nordberg is saying publicly that he needs new phones, and quickly.

Not all is lost, however. Sony Ericsson is planning a valiant fight back, with its arsenal consisting of a fresh a range of new handsets set to be launched in the next couple of months.

Sony Ericsson’s new magnum opus is the Satio, which, similarly to the other handsets of the new range, breaks the company’s tradition of naming its handsets with a letter followed by numbers (ie. K810, Z600, etc). The Satio is a rather exotic and genteel name, and whilst a clever marketing ploy it may be, it’s backed up by a massive 3.5 inch, 16:9 touchscreen that encompasses essentially the whole front of the device. Most notable, however, is the phone’s 12.1 megapixel camera, which promises to be the first such camera of its type on a mobile phone.

The Satio, with its svelte form factor and colossal screen, which happens to be the same size as the iPhone's, is Sony Ericsson's new pride and joy. Much seems to be resting on its success.

But, what are the other new handsets, and what makes them so different? Read on to find out.

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