Sony Ericsson is a joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make mobile phones. Both companies have ceased making their own mobile phones. The reason for this merger is to combine Sony's global consumer marketing expertise with Ericsson's technological leadership (see Ericsson Mobile Platforms) in the communications sector.
The company's global management is based in Hammersmith, London. It also has research & development teams in Sweden, Japan, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Sony Ericsson has approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. The current President is Miles Flint and the Corporate Executive Vice President is Ericsson veteran Jan Wäreby.
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History
Ericsson decided to divest its mobile phone business in 2001 following huge losses. Ericsson had decided to source chips for its phones from a single source, a Philips facility in New Mexico. In March 2000 a fire at the Philips factory contaminated the sterile facility. Philips assured Ericsson and Nokia (the other major customer of the facility) that production would be delayed by less than a week. Nokia began buying available chips from alternate sources and when it became clear that production at the Philips factory would be compromised for months, Ericsson was faced with a serious shortage. This compromised Ericsson's ability to compete by preventing the launch of new handsets and production of current models.
Products and services
Sony Ericsson announced its first joint products in March 2002 and now has a full product portfolio covering all target groups. Sony Ericsson introduced the Walkman-branded W series music phones in 2005 (ten models to date, W300, W550, W600, W700, W710, W800, W810, W850, W900 and W950). The Sony Ericsson W-series music phones are notable for being the first music-centric series mobile phones, prompting a whole new market for portable music that was developing at the time. Sony Ericsson is also starting to incorporate its Cybershot brand to its 2006 line-up with the introduction of the 3.2 megapixel camera phone, the K790/K800. The K800 is the latest flagship model for Sony Ericsson, competing directly with Nokia's S60 devices in the N-series.
Phone series description
- F series - Mid range mobile phones. Vodafone and Vodafone partner network operator exclusive.
- J series - Low end candybar mobile phones. Do not feature cameras.
- K series - Mid to high end candybar mobile phones. Feature cameras with dual front design.
- M series - Mid range Symbian OS smartphones.
- P series - High end Symbian OS smartphones.
- S series - Mid to high end swivel mobile phones.
- T series - Low to middle-high end candybar type mobile phones. Later evolved into the K series.
- V series - Mid to high end mobile phones. Vodafone and Vodafone partner network operator exclusive.
- W series - Low to high end Walkman mobile phones. Feature more sophisticated media players.
- Z series - Low to high end clamshell mobile phones.
Sources
Wikipedia.com
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