Sony is looking to leave the entry-level handset market, with the company stressing that it's ready to become a "premium smartphone provider".
"We're ready to be a premium smartphone provider, logically then, at the very entry level is where you lose the 'Sonyness,'" Stephen Sneeden, Xperia product marketing manager, told CNET Asia during an interview.
"And it's where you cannot implement some of these wonderful ideas from Sony at such a low cost, we might leave the very entry tier to some other manufacturers."
That said, he added that the Japanese technology company is continuously evaluating the different handset markets, noting that the "mid- to premium tier is the more likely scenario" due to features from flagship devices being incorporated into its midrange products.
During CES, Sony, which expects to sell 50 million Xperia smartphones during 2013, revealed the waterproof Xperia Z smartphone.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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ronch79 I have an Xperia Sola and I read Sony doesn't plan to roll out Jelly Bean for it like they do for their other mobile phones. I guess this is what I get for choosing the Sola over something more expensive from them. Sony (and other Japanese) products are usually more expensive than competing products from Samsung, LG, or other non-Japanese companies, and I guess they either really want to bother only with high margin products or they have a cost disadvantage. Sony knows they have the brand value to price high but its clearly causing lots of folks to buy from the other guys instead.Reply -
ToKiiNz i just told my friend to in Australia that a Xperia J was a good choice for $150 in AustraliaReply -
Vatharian So they're basically looking to drop mobiles production at all? Because the 'high end' Sony phones behave like cheap Samsungs or HTCs. Dashing through current lineup Sony left me with deep dissatisfaction - they're all so sloooowReply