Sony Mobile
Top: Sony Ericsson logo used from 2001 to 2012 Bottom: Sony logo used from 2012 to 2021 | |
Native name | ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社 |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Sony Ericsson (2001–2012) |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Ericsson Mobile Communications |
| Founded | October 1, 2001 |
| Defunct | April 1, 2021 |
| Fate | Merged with Sony Corporation |
| Headquarters | London, England (2001–2012) Lund, Sweden (2012) Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan (2012–2021) |
Key people |
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| Parent | Sony Corporation (2012–2021) |
| Footnotes / references | |
Sony Mobile Communications Inc., originally Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, was a multinational consumer electronics and telecommunications company, best known for its mobile phone products. The company, originally a joint venture between Sony and Ericsson, marketed products under the "Sony Ericsson" brand from 2001 until 2012, when Ericsson sold its share to Sony, with products hereafter being branded as "Sony". As part of a corporate restructuring, Sony Mobile was superseded by and integrated into Sony Corporation in 2021.
The alliance between Swedish telecom giant Ericsson and Japanese electronics giant Sony was formed to benefit Ericsson Mobile recover against competitors in the mobile phone market, while for Sony it gave the opportunity to grow in the field of cellular communication, where it had only a minor presence. Products and development was done with contributions from both parties: the company itself was based in London, England, with its design centre in Lund, Sweden, and other research and development facilities in Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; and San Francisco, United States. The Sony Ericsson T68i was the first GSM phone released under the joint venture. After the Sony acquisition, the company, now as Sony Mobile, moved its headquarters to Tokyo, Japan.
Some of the most notable phones produced by Sony Ericsson include the T610, the K800i (Cyber-shot branded), the W810 (Walkman-branded), and the Xperia arc S. Sony Ericsson was also the main user of the UIQ smartphone platform, but beginning in 2010 had switched over entirely to Android. After the end of the joint venture, the Xperia sub-brand of Android smartphones would be the only handsets under the Sony brand, although Sony Mobile also developed tablet computers (Xperia Tablet), smartwatches (Sony SmartWatch) and fitness trackers (Sony SmartBand).
At its peak in 2007, Sony Ericsson, Sony Mobile's predecessor, held a 9 percent global mobile phone market share making it the fourth largest vendor at the time. In 2017, Sony Mobile held less than 1% global market share but 4.8% in Europe and 16.3% in Japan.