A joint venture established in 2001 by Japanese technology giant Sony and Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones, Sony Ericsson has always had a rather troubled life. While the company has managed to create a few great phones, especially in the camera department, most Sony Ericsson products have failed to have a serious impact on the mobile market. That may be all set to change, as recent reports suggest that Sony are preparing to take full control of the mobile phone company.
At sixth place in the cellphone industry, Sony Ericsson has suffered from not being able to fully integrate the rest of the Sony brand with the mobile arm. In fact, some rumors even suggest that Ericsson were against the launch of a PlayStation phone back in 2005 – something that could possibly have been very successful. Sony finally made some inroads this year with the launch of the PlayStation Suite on the Xperia Play, but even that had numerous shortcomings. Additionally, the buy out will allow closer integration with Sony’s Tablet range – a rapidly expanding market which Sony has been slow to respond to.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “people familiar with the matter” confirmed that a deal for Ericsson’s half of the venture is nearing completion. However, properly valuing the company and agreeing on a price for the $1.3 to $1.7 billion worth of mobile technology patents is still to happen.
Should the deal be finalized, phones with the PlayStation brand are sure to be far more likely – and far more successful. With that in mind, would you like to see Sony take full control of their mobile division?
[Thanks for the tip skypeonps3!]
