FollowHaving ended its joint venture with Ericsson about a year ago, Sony has been eyeballing a strategy to shift focus to high-end smartphones.Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai confirmed its plan,stating that the company intends to shift from feature-phones to the high-end Android-based smartphones.
At the CES 2013 held in Las Vegas recently,Sony unveiled a pair of its latest premium Android smartphones –Xperia Z and ZL – designed to compete with the best models of Samsung,and even Apple.The minimalist yet solid design,coupled with top of the line specifications,including the new 13MP Exmor RS sensor,undoubtedly pushed the companyto the forefront.Xperia is expected to land on shelves this February.
The company also hopes that its expertise in cameras and screens will draw consumers to its latest device.It is the maker of the sensors used in Apple’s iPhone.
The Xperia models are capable of producing images that beat even those of iPhone and One X.That said the hardware details of these models make them the highest-end android devices.
Having invested heavily,Hirai believes that Sony still has a lot of scope and that its newfocus on the higher-end segment smartphone devices will drive profits and set the company on track.The company forecasts a sale of 34 million units by March 31, 2013.
The warm welcome for Sony’s latest launch perhaps heralds positive prospects for the Japanese mobile-maker,restoring its faded reputation.However, Sony’s decision to forgo lower-end or entry-level phones and focus its entire attention on super smartphones competing with Apple and Samsung’s unmatched high-end Galaxy range drew some criticism.
With other devices, such as HTC M7 and Samsung’s next Galaxy lining up,Sony may have to introduce more devices to turn the tide.The smartphone market is not getting any easier!
