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Sony Ericsson: Back on track? |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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Sony Ericsson: Back on track?
The manufacturer has had a tough two years, but is Sony Ericsson finally on the mend?
Sony Ericsson’s strategy of streamlining its portfolio, focusing on high-end devices and restructuring its organisation has paid off.
The company is back on track, with a triumphant return to profitability in Q1 this year, well ahead of analysts’ expectations.
Delivering an £18m profit in the first quarter of 2010 was a remarkable achievement after losing £257m in the same period last year, and £147m in the fourth quarter.
However, chief executive Bert Nordberg says the company is by no means out of the woods yet.
‘An operating margin of 1.4% is obviously not where we need to be to build sustainable profit,’ he says, adding: ‘We have never made it a secret that this company should operate at least 10% operating margins, going forward, and that is what we are aiming for.’
With this target in mind, Nordberg says the restructuring programme, which Sony Ericsson began in 2008, will continue.
He warns of another 850 job cuts, which will bring the total number of cuts to 4,000 under the programme.
Lines of management will continue to be streamlined, too, to make the joint venture ‘a flatter, leaner and more responsive company’.
And, not surprisingly, Sony Ericsson will also continue to address quality control, following the disastrous software problems the company faced with the launch of its Satio and Aino handsets at the end of last year.
Sony Ericsson’s R&D division has been overhauled, but more needs to be done. Nordberg says: ‘A focus on quality must underpin everything we do in the organisation, and I have seen positive signs of improvement since I joined the company, but I am not yet satisfied.’
The company has learnt lessons, refusing to rush out new products at the cost of quality (see box, below).
But despite this continuing efficiency drive, Nordberg gives a clear sense that the worst is over, and that Sony Ericsson is on an upward trajectory.
Nordberg points to this year’s Mobile World Congress as a ‘turning point’ for the company, with the new smartphone portfolio winning rave reviews and resulting in ‘a series of positive operator meetings’.
This was followed by the successful launch of its flagship handsets the Xperia X10 and the Vivaz this spring.
Nordberg recounts scenes of massive queues, ‘right around the block’, in Japan and Sweden when the X10 was launched. Sales have been particularly strong in the UK, too (see box, left).
He says Sony Ericsson’s move to streamline its portfolio and focus on high-end handsets has paid off, attributing most of the 12% rise in ASP, to £117, in Q1 to strong sales of the new portfolio of smartphones.
Sony Ericsson has also shifted its OS strategy to focus on Android, although Nordberg insists the joint venture will carry on supporting the Symbian and Microsoft platforms, as well as its own operating system.
He dismisses the view that supporting four platforms is expensive. ‘We look at the total experience, and the operating system is becoming a less important part of that. It isn’t that expensive to keep an operating system up and running – so we have no change of strategy.’
Plans are also afoot to work more closely with Sony, a move which Nordberg flagged up last year but remains coy on, declining to give any details. However, he adds: ‘You will get it soon.’
He also says he is working towards a more stable management structure, replacing the revolving-door strategy that has seen a succession of secondments from both parent companies. ‘It is beneficial to have a stable management team, and I am aiming to get that,’ he says.
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vlotnet
Joined: May 11, 2008
Posts: 88
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"And, not surprisingly, Sony Ericsson will also continue to address quality control, following the disastrous software problems the company faced with the launch of its Satio and Aino handsets at the end of last year."
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This is news to me. Sometimes I'm glad I haven't kept up with the latest tech. You have to wonder what things like this do to brand image and customer loyalty (if there was any to start with).
Why does it take management so long to understand that quality actually means something to people paying several hundred $ for their shiny new phone?
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code28h4p
Joined: Apr 24, 2008
Posts: > 500
From: Republic of Indonesia
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Great  . This is what all consumers need
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gayannr
Joined: Jun 23, 2008
Posts: 499
From: Sri Lanka
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Sony Ericsson coming back with a vengeance, I SE
I bought an Omnia (I have a C902) But I can't ditch the C902 yet, And I will never be able to, such an amazing platform and a simple phone, Omnia is lying on my desk doing nothing 
[ This Message was edited by: gayannr on 2010-04-28 18:02 ] |
eduardo0789
Joined: Apr 22, 2010
Posts: 50
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I'd like SE to change the UI to Symbian.... I love Symbian
Symbian + Cybershot = PERFECTION
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goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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I really hope they keep Symbian on minimally. Android is the way to go AFAIC.
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Bonovox
Joined: Apr 13, 2008
Posts: > 500
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Well I love my Elm. I just replaced my Elm after it was stolen with a sim free silver one today. With trade in I paid £105 And yes they are getting better again Symbian & Cyber Shot erm.....no 
[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2010-04-28 18:50 ] Phone?? What phone?? |
eduardo0789
Joined: Apr 22, 2010
Posts: 50
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On 2010-04-28 19:44:36, goldenface wrote:
I really hope they keep Symbian on minimally. Android is the way to go AFAIC.
With Android, can you also change the order of menu icons and hide them?
I'm sorry, I don't know aything about Android
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goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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You can customise it quite easily.
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eduardo0789
Joined: Apr 22, 2010
Posts: 50
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On 2010-04-28 20:14:33, goldenface wrote:
You can customise it quite easily.
What I like about Symbian is that it's easy while Android looks complicated for me
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Bonovox
Joined: Apr 13, 2008
Posts: > 500
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Well whilst Symbian is far from perfect I have no problems with it. Don't understand people saying it's complicated. It ain't perfect but I tried the X10 Android for 30 minutes & I decided I do not like the Android operates at all. Talk about NOT user friendly. I never ever have to resort to a manual for anything especially phones but with Android
Phone?? What phone?? |
vlotnet
Joined: May 11, 2008
Posts: 88
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What I like about Symbian is that it's easy while Android looks complicated for me
To me they are in completely different classes on another level: phone design.
A phone like Nokia's E63 will never exist on Android, I think. No touch, no big screen and so on.
Android is made for big screen phones, not 320x240 resolution smartphones, for example.
At least that's the way it seems right now (I have seen no hardware using Android that looks like a Blackberry or E63 that is actually selling). I think even if this does happen, the apps to run on it probably won't run properly or look good on it, simply 'cause developers are not targeting smaller screens.
They are cloning the iPhone experience, more than anything.
Big screen phones are nice for certain things but there are advantages and disadvantages with each type of phone (battery life, etc). For a smaller phone with no touch, Symbian is great and minimalist enough to appeal to me.
[ This Message was edited by: vlotnet on 2010-04-29 01:41 ] |
hydro-
Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Posts: 137
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http://www.ukpressreleases.co[....]e-phone-device-of-2010~123.htm
Good news finally!
And if you look to the bottom right of the page, and look towards the top selling phones of today you can see that the X10 is at 1 and the Vivaz at 3!
I think everybody can sigh, and be great full that they didn't go the same way as Motorola and Palm.  |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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Vivaz is selling well on a few mobile affiliate sites I've noticed.
SE are definitely heading in the right direction. If the X10 mini and pro do equally as well then 2010 will a great year for them.
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vlotnet
Joined: May 11, 2008
Posts: 88
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Hate to say this, but that sounds like nothing more than a thinly-disguised advertisement for a mobile phone shop on a DIY-'Press Release' site and all filed under "best phone shop".
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Posted: 2010-04-28 16:33
