| Author |
Sony Ericsson Plans More Specialized Phones |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
PM |
Sony Ericsson Plans More Specialized Phones
After an enthusiastic consumer reaction to Walkman-branded cell phones, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is planning more handsets that are focused around a single, major feature, the company’s president said in an interview in Tokyo this week.
The company put its first Walkman handset on sale in August 2005. Several more models, all of which have more of an emphasis on music than a conventional handset, have followed and sold "way beyond our expectations," said Miles Flint. From launch to the end of 2005 the company sold 3 million Walkman handsets and sales in the first quarter of this year totaled 2.5 million phones.
In designing the phones the company sought to leverage the power of Sony’s Walkman brand name, which despite being bruised by competition from Apple Computer’s iPod is still very widely associated with portable music.
"We are trying to build our reputation on being the leader in mobile music and it seems to be working," said Flint.
The brand name gives Sony Ericsson an advantage over its competitors, he said.
"If you look at the other four handset makers I’m not sure any have been able to establish a brand with their phones that make them stand out as music devices. Motorola clearly had the first attempt to link up with Apple and it seems initially that hasn’t proved hugely successful and with the other three it isn’t clear how they can brand their phones to make them stand out to consumers," he said.
"If Sony hadn’t let us use Walkman -- and there was never any doubt they wouldn’t -- it would have been much more difficult," said Flint.
The phones are also being well received by carriers, he said. Over-the-air downloads help drive usage of networks and increase revenues so mobile music is an area in which many network operators are interested, he said. Sony Ericsson is finding the same with two other lines of phones it plans to push this year.
The K800, launched earlier this year, is the first model to borrow another famous Sony brand name: Cybershot. Flint said its digital still camera functions are a notch above other handsets and the phone includes a link with Google’s Blogger service that allows users to quickly upload photos and messages to their blogs. It’s another example of a handset more tightly focused than a traditional model and also something operators are welcoming because it drives up data traffic, he said.
Sony Ericsson’s third area of interest this year, after Walkman and Cybershot handsets, is Blackberry-enabled models for the business and corporate market, he said.
"Most operators say our phones are among the biggest ARPU drivers," he said, referring to the industry abbreviation for average revenue per user.
As new handsets come out users are likely to see more phones that combine several functions but are tuned to one primary use, Flint said.
"I don’t think we’re heading to the Swiss Army knife that does everything," he said. He likened the handset market to the digital camera market, where video cameras can take still images and still cameras can do video but no single device does both very well.
As for the future of mobile music and the much-rumored iPod phone, Flint said it could be good for Sony Ericsson’s business if such a device is developed.
"If there was one, it would probably accelerate the whole music on mobile [market]," he said. "With the head-start we’ve got, I think we can compete with anyone else whoever they may be."
-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service.
What I got from the article was that handsets will be designed tuned in to one major feature" e.g either imaging, music or business.
This means that one killer handset doesn't seem to be on the horizon.
|
|
|
Ruudfood
Joined: Jun 21, 2005
Posts: 34
PM |
That all makes perfect sense from a strategic business point of view.
However, the only way phones can realistically compete with the iPOD and other specialised music devices is by including more memory. At present they aren't even on a par with the iPOD Nano in that department.
Camera phones, on the other hand, are likely to be more popular sellers because they are so useful in so many circumstances and don't need as much storage space. |
Jamin
Joined: Jul 14, 2004
Posts: 168
From: Uk
PM |
Well the W850i is coming with 1gb memory so that a start |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
PM |
Well I had this discussion the other night with a mate of mine.
He was saying that although it is nice to be able to store your entire music collection on a 40gb iPod, for most people 10-15 albums or 150 tracks is enough for passing the time of day - he's after a W810i.
|
SloopJohnB
Joined: Oct 28, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: the blue planet
PM |
Yeah but an ipod is also an external hd, thats why the mem is so big |
Nebbs
Joined: Jul 04, 2005
Posts: 145
From: Newcastle, UK
PM |
So if SE are really happy with with their "specialised" phones in the walkman for music, cybershot branded phones for photography and the buisness P series phones, what are the chances of expanding their diversity to a gaming orientated phone based upon a PSP?? Maybe a wild far fetched idea but what an addition to a range of phones it would be! |
mcrosser
Joined: Oct 11, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Peru
PM |
I think it's also great that they do specialized phones, but they shouldn't forget the 'swiss knive' phone, considering they get very popular and sell well too. cheers.
AVAILABLE - advertise here!!  |
scapevlocity
Joined: Sep 18, 2005
Posts: 290
From: the far reaches of the cosmos
PM, WWW
|
the w800 was what got me interested in phones again. now i'm utterly disappointed that SE's changing its route.  |
rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: > 500
From:
PM, WWW
|
no theyre not.. theyre makin another one... so.. why the long face? this a nature of this business.
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
jasond
Joined: Dec 31, 2005
Posts: 408
From: Australia
PM |
It pains me when I look at the K800 and see that the only difference between it being an excellent Walkman phone (in addition to camera phone), is software.
SE has withheld Walkman Player 2.0 from this model for the very annoying reason outlined in the above article. It would cost nothing extra, no extra hardware or otherwise to bring these camera phones up to the Walkman standard, but SE choose against this.
Why on earth do posts sometimes go to really small text when edited?
_________________
T65> K700i> K750i> Mars.
[ This Message was edited by: jasond on 2006-05-26 06:58 ] |
scapevlocity
Joined: Sep 18, 2005
Posts: 290
From: the far reaches of the cosmos
PM, WWW
|
there are a select few who tend to the users' needs/demands and hold the consumers' interests quite highly. however rare, those kind of businesses, i believe, retain the most loyal customers and prosper not only through garnering financial benefits, but also through the respect and loyalty of their customers. having a successful business doesn't necessarily entail taking advantage of people. (i'm speaking in general here, not necessarily referring to SE.) |
rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: > 500
From:
PM, WWW
|
yes quite ugly... and sumtimes duhrty... but this has been the rules of the game as ive said... break it and youll be broke for the rest of your business life.
mind you, we are not lookin at Non-governmental organizations here... these are big C O M M E R C I A L companies..they live to earn and be on the mainstream as long as they can, regardless.
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
shaliron
Joined: Jan 15, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
PM |
Well I never did expect SE to come up and say, "We've finally decided to combine all of the features from every range of our phones and we've now create the A series. Now you can have a good camera, music player, video recorder and smartphone in one package!"
Pure marketing strategy guys. SE is a business, and this is the most effective way of making money.
It doesn't mean that I agree with it.
A wooden spoon is a spoon made from wood. Source: WikipediaWinner of: Best Thread (Huge SE Portfolio) 2007, Best Post (Huge SE Portfolio) 2007, Best Signature 2007, and 2nd Best Nickname 2007. |
chriswg85
Joined: Aug 16, 2004
Posts: 210
PM |
Yes, it's good and all to offer one great feature to specialized groups to make money off each of them...BUT you can also make money by creating one phone with everthing and slapping a premium price on it. I would rather pay more to have everything in one place than have to buy several cheaper products. That's the whole idea behind this "convergence device" concept -- to put all the features and things you want into a single place. This new idea that SE says they will be following does not seem to follow this path.
This plan looks like it caters to casual mobile phone users with entry-level models. It is similar to what automotive manufacturers do by trying to build brand loyalty with an entry-level car to get new buyers interested in the brand with a lower price point. Then the idea is for these new buyers to eventually trade up to a better model. The problem in SE's situation, however, is that they will be lacking a phone that is upmarket. The automakers offer flagship models with all features included. This is where SE falls short. Hopefully they realize this and will introduce something special, because if they continue with their current plan, then many users will be forced to look elsewhere for the best phone. Anybody agree?
[ This Message was edited by: chriswg52 on 2006-05-26 09:24 ] |
ares
Joined: Dec 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Coimbra, Portugal
PM |
Once they get a 3mp camera and wifi on a w950 type phone, then i don´t need nothing more, and they will do it for sure
SE w880 + Iphone 4 16gb |
|
|
Posted: 2006-05-25 15:11
