Sony Mobile Head Disputes Prophecies Of Doom
Last month, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai was quoted to have said that the company is not ruling out an exit strategy with regards to its mobile device and TV businesses to focus more on its more profitable markets, like the PlayStation and camera sensors. This inspired many a speculation about the company selling off its smartphone and tablet arm in the near future. After all, it already sold off its VAIO PCs. Things, however, aren't as clear cut as we might think, at least according to Sony Mobile division chief Hiroki Totoki.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro, Totoki made it unambiguously clear that Sony isn't considering selling its mobile division. Of course, that doesn't really contradict what Hirai said. Hirai was merely keeping the door open should that necessity arrive. Totoki is saying that it isn't going to happen yet. Companies have been known to make sudden U-turns and sometimes even division chiefs are caught unawares.
To backup his claim, Totoki says that Hirai is flying over to Barcelona to attend MWC 2015, one of the largest mobile event in the world held there annually. The chief executive will be talking about how important the mobile business is for the company. It could be interpreted in two ways. Yes, Sony's smartphones and tablets may very well be crucial to its business, as is any products that costs a lot of R&D and manufacturing to market. It could also be a pep talk to try and inspire confidence in the products and allay fears about the future of the business.
Totoki does concede, however, that the situation in Sony Mobile is less than ideal. Sony already has a reputable and distinctive mark in the mobile industry, and all it has to do is to emphasize that. But it's not going Samsung's route of inundating the market with dozens of smartphones a year. Quite the opposite, Totoki suggests that it will slim down its overly diverse portfolio and slow down the cadence of its releases.
At MWC 2015, Sony didn't unveil a new flagship smartphone, unlike HTC and Samsung. It did, however, announce the Xperia Z4 Tablet as well as the Xperia M4 Aqua instead, perhaps holding clues to Sony's future streamline product line.
SOURCE: Reuters