14 DAY TRIAL // Everyone remembers that Sony had a really rough couple of years regarding its smartphone business, which culminated last month with pretty bleak rumors coming from various sources.
Although the Japanese company hasn't been clear enough about its smartphone business, it did say that it “will continue to explore potential alliances with other companies.”
This short statement sounded exactly like BlackBerry's right at the beginning of its downfall. The more reason for everyone to think that Sony plans to sell its mobile division or merge it with a more powerful company in the smartphone market.
It appears that our conclusion was a bit rushed, as Sony, through the voice of its officials, reassured its fans that it has no intentions of going out of the smartphone business just yet.
During an interview for BBC, Sony's Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai had this to say when talking about the company's mobile business:
“It's fair to say it's a very dynamic, competitive and rapidly changing market. We just couldn't keep up. We need to keep a closer eye on the return on capital, what the competition is doing […] But that’s not to say we’re getting out of the business.”
Sony's chief can't guarantee his company will be in any business in 5 years' time
Another Sony official, head of mobile division Hiroki Totoki, told French daily newspaper Le Figaro that the mere presence of his company's Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai at MWC 2015 trade fair is living proof that the mobile division is still an important part of Sony's electronic business.
“At the beginning of February there was speculation about a sale of Sony Mobile. It's completely untrue,” said Totoki. He also pointed to a slowdown in product launches in order to adapt to consumers.
Basically, Sony will launch fewer smartphones, and as Totoki pointed out, focusing more on design and ergonomics and less on hardware specs.
It will be interesting to see how Sony's mobile division will be able to survive on a market that's already overcrowded with so many companies that want a piece of the pie.