Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Historical Stock Chart
3 Anos : February 2009 para February 2012
Sony Ericsson hopes that its coming Xperia X10 flagship mobile phone, its first based on Google Inc's (GOOG) Android open-source operating system, will help the company return to profit after several loss-making quarters, but it won't be available until after the end-year holiday season and faces stiff competition.
The new high-end smartphone, which will cost around 6,000 Swedish kronor ($879) in stores, will be available in the first quarter 2010 in a number of markets including Sweden, press spokesman Gustaf Brusewitz told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Wednesday, adding that more phones in the same product family will follow in the first half of next year.
Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Sweden's L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC) and Japan's Sony Corp. (SNE), has seen its sales and market share decline for some time, in part because of its reliance on mid-end phones that focus on either a camera or music player, just when consumers want low-cost phones or advanced high-end devices with multiple features.
In the third quarter 2009, Sony Ericsson's net loss widened to 164 million euro ($245 million) from EUR25 million as its sales fell 42% from a year earlier to EUR1.62 billion. The handset maker, which hasn't made a net profit since the second quarter 2008, saw its market share almost halve to 4.3% in the third quarter from 8.1% a year earlier according to research firm Gartner Inc.
The company's new devices, including the Xperia X10 and the recently launched Satio, Aino and Yari phones, will give the company's high-end portfolio a well-needed boost, said Analyst Neil Mawston at research firm Strategy Analytics.
The Xperia X10 has plenty of good features and a nice four-inch screen, although the price is rather high, Mawston said. Also, the phone may be rather late to market as it won't be available until after the important end-year holiday season.
He said it might also be perceived by some consumers as slightly outdated because it is based on the 1.6 version of Android. U.S.-based rival Motorola Inc. (MOT) has just started shipping its Droid device based around the newer Android 2.0 platform.
Sony Ericsson also faces stiff competition as existing manufacturers plan a raft of product launches before the end of the year, increasing numbers of which also run on Android, while other companies previously focused on PC manufacturing also get in on the act.
According to Gartner, Apple Inc. (AAPL) sold 7 million iPhones in the third quarter as the device was launched in new markets, giving the company a 17% global market share in the smartphone segment. Market leader Nokia Corp.'s (NOK) new N900 device offers further competition in the high end of the market.
Brusewitz said the Android platform will allow a good range of services for users because there is a large developer community creating applications for the system.
The phone also offers functions such as Timescape and Mediascape which let users organize contacts and media content and integrate social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, said Rikard Skoglund, Sony Ericsson Business Manager, Nordics.
With the exception of smartphones, handset sales have so far in 2009 been hurt by falling consumer confidence in the wake of the global economic downturn. However, sales returned to modest growth in the third quarter and are expected to recover further next year.
Company Web site: www.sonyericsson.com
-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099; gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com