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.
