It is only inevitable that companies are going to start dropping feature phones from their line-up as smartphones become cheaper and easier to use. Sony Ericsson is looking to do just that during the 2012 year. Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg, says that 80 percent of the companies phone sales are from its Xperia smartphones line, they’ve shipped over 22 million worldwide to date.
This move, while is definitely in the right direction, could be due to the influence of Sony, who is looking to buyout its partner Ericsson. The cost of the investment would be around 1.3 billion dollars, but would give Sony complete control over the mobile division and thus it could compete with Samsung and more importantly, Apple, on equal footing.
It also means a serious devotion to Android, who has thus far help propel Sony Ericsson’s sales and helping them attain a 12% market share in terms of Android phone sales.
Will we see more companies like Samsung or LG jump on the bandwagon and drop feature phones, leaving that market open to companies like Pantech, Sanyo and ZTE?
For now, I doubt it.
Source: PCMag.com