Crunch time for Sony Ericsson
29.03.10
It is make-or-break time for Sony Ericsson, more than for most incumbent handset brands. Quality issues have dogged its handsets for the past year.
Analysts from CSS Insight recently expressed their concern, stating Sony Ericsson is the manufacturer they are “most worried” for due to the draining confidence in its products within the sales channel.
Its list of botched launches, undone in early production with various software glitches, is significant: the C905 at the start of 2009 and the flagship Satio in the Autumn.
These were important debuts for Sony Ericsson, and they misfired in their early stages. And retailers have complained of high return rates on much of its broader portfolio.
The trouble is magnified since new-breed manufacturer brands are ingratiating themselves with retailers and consumers, and taking share in the important smartphone space, principally Apple, BlackBerry and HTC.
Incumbent manufacturers have been forced to respond, and certain of them are starting to. Motorola, most notably, appears to have emerged from its wilderness years, thanks in large part to its willing association with Google’s Android operating system; the same means by which HTC has won fans.
Source: Mobile News