The company's global management is based in Hammersmith, London, and it has research and development teams in Lund, Tokyo, Mexico City, Beijing, and Redwood Shores in the US. By 2009, it was the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world after Nokia, Samsung and LG. The sales of products largely increased due to the launch of the adaptation of Sony's popular Walkman and Cyber-shot series. In 2010, its market share had fallen to sixth place behind Research In Motion and Apple.
Sony Ericsson products have universal appeal and are different in the key areas of imaging, music, design and applications. The company has launched products that make best use of the major mobile communications technologies, such as the 2G and 3G platforms, while enhancing its offerings to entry level markets.
Sony Ericsson undertakes product research, design and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, distribution and customer services. Global management is based in London, and R&D is in Sweden, Japan, and China. The management team is led by President Bert Nordberg, a former senior executive of Ericsson.
Product lines
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Sony Ericsson currently concentrates on the categories of: music, camera, business (web and email), design, all-rounder, eco-friendly, and budget focused phones. Its six largest categories 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 new market segment for portable music that was developing at the time. The main feature that can be seen in all of these Walkman phones is they all have a 'W' button, which when pressed opens the media center. Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones have formerly been commercially endorsed by pop stars Christina Aguilera and Jason Kay across Europe. Walkman branded phones are also produced for the Japanese market.
The Cyber-shot-branded line of phones, launched in 2006 in newer models of the K series phones.
This range of phones are focused on the quality of the camera included with the phone. Cyber-shot phones always include a flash, some with a xenon flash, and also include auto-focus cameras. 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 Hantuchová. On February 10, 2008, the series has been expanded with the announcement of C702, C902 and C905 phones. Cyber-shot branded phones are also produced for the Japanese market.
The BRAVIA-branded line of phones, launched 2007 in the Japanese market only.
Until now, five BRAVIA branded phones have been produced. Sony Ericsson (FOMA SO903iTV, FOMA SO906i, U1, S004, and S005) uses the BRAVIA brand. BRAVIA branded phone are able to show 1seg terrestrial television.
The UIQ smartphone range of mobiles, introduced with the P series in 2003 with the introduction of P800.
They are notable for their touchscreens, QWERTY keypads (on most models), and use of the UIQ interface platform for Symbian OS. This range has since expanded into the M series and G series phones.
The XPERIA range of mobile phones, heralded by the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 in February 2008 at the Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM) held in Barcelona Spain, was the first trademark promoted by Sony Ericsson as its own and is designated to provide technological convergence among its target user base. The first model, X1, carried the Windows Mobile operating system with a Sony Ericsson's panel interface. The Xperia X10 model features the Android operating system. Additionally, Yahoo! News reported that Sony would align with Google to run Android on its upcoming smartphone.
The GreenHeart range of mobile phones, first introduced in 2009, heralded by the Sony Ericsson J105i Naite and C901 GreenHeart.
It is focused on an environmentally friendly theme, but still featured with recent mobile technology and multimedia capability. It mainly uses eco-friendly materials and features eco-apps.
Industry accolades As new products are introduced to end user acclaim, existing products continue to receive accolades and Sony Ericsson is today accepted as a world leader in design and innovation. The globally acclaimed T610 and later generations of the company’s product portfolio frequently win awards. The GSM Association voted the V800 as Best 3G Handset for 2004, a fully-featured phone made for Vodafone with the full range of mobile entertainment features and multi-directional camera, and the K750i received the TIPA Award 2005/2006 for ‘Best Mobile Imaging Device’, chosen by 31 leading European photography/imagining magazines and judged on quality, performance and value for money. In February 2007 the GSM Association presented Sony Ericsson with the ‘Best 3GSM Mobile Handset’ award for the K800 Cyber-shot phone.
Compatibility
During E3 2007 Media and Business Summit, Phil Harrison, Sony CEO showcased a Sony Ericsson phone using the PlayStation's XMB. A select group of phones are also said to integrate into PlayStation Home (final product)
During the announcement of Sony Ericsson K850, W960 and W910 some review sites have shown that those mentioned phones and future mid-range or better phones will have Media to replace the standard File Manager which will be moved to the Organiser of the phone. The Media manager possesses a UI that resembles the XMB interface found on Sony TV, PS3, and PSP products. The mobile developer site confirmed from their spec sheets and white papers that the XMB media manager is standard to the phones running Java Platform 8 also known as A200 Platform and Symbian devices like Sony Ericsson Satio and Sony Ericsson Vivaz.
Operations
In 2009 Sony Ericsson announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Research Triangle Park, North Carolina to Atlanta. The headquarters move was part of a plan to reduce its workforce, then 10,000 employees, by 20%. As of that year Sony Ericsson had 425 employees in Research Triangle Park; the staff had been reduced by hundreds due to layoffs. Stacy Doster, a spokesperson of Sony Ericsson, said that the proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's flights to Latin America and the operations of AT&T Mobility influenced the decision to move the USA headquarters. Sony Ericsson will close the Research Triangle site.
Environmental record
Sony Ericsson ranks 2nd behind Nokia out of 18 leading electronics makers in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics that assesses companies' policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. It is the first company to score full marks on all chemicals criteria in the ranking. Sony Ericsson is ahead of many of its competitors in eliminating chemical substances in its products and is currently finalizing the phase out of antimony, beryllium, phthalates and the very small remaining use of BFR.
Greenpeace criticises Sony Ericsson's limited take-back and recycling programme, as well as its limited use of recycled plastic in its products. However, in June 2009, Sony Ericsson launched its first GreenHeart series device, the C901, which indirectly emits a 15% less of CO2 during its fabrication and usage, compared to other SE phones. It is also packed in a small box without paper manual, includes an eco-charger, and its cover is made of recycled plastic.
Sales
Sony Ericsson's sales figures for Q2 2010 showed a significant decline. Their phone sales volume grew over the first quarter a modest 4.8 percent. However, it was well up to the 2009 quarter volumes varied between 13.8 and 14.6 million units.[40] (Chinthaka Dheshapriya)
Marketing campaigns
Social media
During 2010, in 11 months, Sony Ericsson's Facebook fan count rose from 300,000 to 3.9 million to become the 40th-largest brand on the social networking site. The company aims to capitalise on this fanbase and increase engagement by profiling these fans and matching them to dedicated content. It will also analyse the top commenters on the Facebook page and ensure engagement through special content and offering these fans the chance to visit Sony Ericsson offices.
Sports sponsorship
As of 2011, Sony Ericsson sponsors the UEFA Champions League and the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Miami. According to the head of global marketing partnerships, Stephan Croix, “our sport sponsorships allow us to promote our phones in a subtle and authentic way to our fanbase. Our promise to fans is to enrich their experience during the game but also before and after.”
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