Sony smartphone division in serious trouble?

[WelshBloke]

Things are looking really dicey for Sony in the smartphone sector. They are shedding another 1000 jobs on top of the last 1000 they announced a few months ago.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0L02IA20150127?irpc=932

They have already pulled out of NA and are now pairing back in Europe and China.

Getting ready to sell the division?

Who'll buy them? One of the big Chinese firms seems like the obvious choice. It'll give them some IP to help protect them in the western markets and give them a (somewhat) trusted brand to get over the 'OMG! China!' factor that some of the market appears to have.

 

[Skurge]

This is too funny.

 

[Dari]

SONY pulled out of NA? Sounds like you pulled that out of your arse. IIRC, they scaled back in China. And this shedding of jobs is because they are going to be making less phones, which is something they made obvious last year.

 

[isekii]

Well they shot themselves in the foot for being total dbags.
Locking bootloaders then f'ing up the phones when people unlocked it. Taking their sweet time releasing timely updates.
Just churning out crap after crap will not earn you loyalty from consumers.

 

[WelshBloke]

This is too funny.

:sneaky:

 

[Anubis]

Well they shot themselves in the foot for being total dbags.
Locking bootloaders then f'ing up the phones when people unlocked it. Taking their sweet time releasing timely updates.
Just churning out crap after crap will not earn you loyalty from consumers.

that has nothing to do with it

the main reason sony has failed in the phone department is because they have ZERO presence in the US, they have what 1-2 phones on 1 carrier

that is why they have failed,

 

[WelshBloke]

... And this shedding of jobs is because they are going to be making less phones, which is something they made obvious last year.

Seriously though, I bet they are setting up to sell the failing smartphone division. That's why they are cutting it back so aggressively, to try to make it look less of a basket case to a potential buyer.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Well they shot themselves in the foot for being total dbags.
Locking bootloaders then f'ing up the phones when people unlocked it. Taking their sweet time releasing timely updates.
Just churning out crap after crap will not earn you loyalty from consumers.

I assure you that is less than 1% of 1% of the reasons that Sony is not doing well in the Smartphone market.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Well they shot themselves in the foot for being total dbags.
Locking bootloaders then f'ing up the phones when people unlocked it. Taking their sweet time releasing timely updates.
Just churning out crap after crap will not earn you loyalty from consumers.

I wish that was the reason lol.

 

[dawheat]

Seriously though, I bet they are setting up to sell the failing smartphone division. That's why they are cutting it back so aggressively, to try to make it look less of a basket case to a potential buyer.

Agreed, this looks like a cost cutting move to make their financials look better before a sale. It's a shame since Sony finally got it right with the Z3 and Z3 Compact.

 

[Strk]

that has nothing to do with it

the main reason sony has failed in the phone department is because they have ZERO presence in the US, they have what 1-2 phones on 1 carrier

that is why they have failed,

While not having the US market hurts, there is plenty of markets out there.

I think it has to do with they were just turning out crap. Turning out heavily-skinned phones and trying to force people into their ecosystem? Check. Adding proprietary items? Check. Providing a mediocre device with a premium price? Oh, triple check!

Up until the Z2, they were just shipping heavily flawed devices. The simple fact that Sony, a company that has been known for displays for ages, was just putting shit on their devices. The same goes for the skin. Sony is now making it less them and more just Android, which seems to be everyone's direction except Samsung and Chinese companies (I started a thread about one annoying thing I find about the latter).

Could it all be fixed? Who knows. I think the only other recent example of a company that had to do a complete 180 is Motorola and they've been sold twice.

 

[Dari]

Seriously though, I bet they are setting up to sell the failing smartphone division. That's why they are cutting it back so aggressively, to try to make it look less of a basket case to a potential buyer.

We'll see...

 

[WelshBloke]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2015/02/18/sonys-smartphone-surrender-abandoning-the-xperia/

 

[ChronoReverse]

Well, the writing was on the wall already. I still don't understand why they never (seemed) to even try to push the North American market.

 

[ponyo]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2015/02/18/sonys-smartphone-surrender-abandoning-the-xperia/

Misleading headline.

 

[WelshBloke]

Misleading headline.

You reckon that Sony are going to be expanding their efforts in the smartphone sector?

Because I've not seen any reports that would suggest that that would be true.

 

[ponyo]

You reckon that Sony are going to be expanding their efforts in the smartphone sector?

Because I've not seen any reports that would suggest that that would be true.

Sony's Smartphone Surrender As It Abandons Android And Xperia

When and where did Sony say it was abandoning Android and Xperia? CEO said they would no longer pursue sales growth in area such as smartphones. That's not abandoning Android and Xperia.

 

[Sable]

Disappointing IF true. The Z3C is simply the best phone of it's size. And if I wanted a monster phone I'd have gone Z3.

 

[WelshBloke]

When and where did Sony say it was abandoning Android and Xperia? CEO said they would no longer pursue sales growth in area such as smartphones. That's not abandoning Android and Xperia.

Whats your take on the practical meaning of his statement?

 

[poofyhairguy]

When and where did Sony say it was abandoning Android and Xperia? CEO said they would no longer pursue sales growth in area such as smartphones. That's not abandoning Android and Xperia.

Actually it looks like they are abandoning all consumer electronics, or at least they plan to sell off those divisions.

 

[dawheat]

When and where did Sony say it was abandoning Android and Xperia? CEO said they would no longer pursue sales growth in area such as smartphones. That's not abandoning Android and Xperia.

I don't know - "no longer pursue sales growth in area such as smartphones" tends to be as strong as you ever hear in corporate speak. It's not like they'll ever say - we've failed or we're giving up. It's always we're focusing somewhere else, etc.

 

[ponyo]

Whats your take on the practical meaning of his statement?

They will focus on profits over market share. Maybe that means only focusing on the high end phone market and giving up the low end to the Chinese. Or that could mean spinning off or selling the entire phone business. We just have to wait and see. The article headline made it sound like Sony had completely given up on Android and its Xperia line. Only thing Sony has done is slowed down their 6 month Xperia product cycle to the annual one year standard industry refresh cycle.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Or that could mean spinning off or selling the entire phone business.

That seems likely:

Today [Sony's CEO] continued breaking Sony apart, announcing that it would spin off its audio and video business into a wholly owned subsidiary. And he told investors that the company had to consider the possibility of selling off its smartphone and TV business entirely, leaving it to focus on its more profitable units

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8061703/sony-spin-off-audio-and-video-business

The fact that they are openly considering it basically means it is a done deal probably. And it is easy to see why:

The writing is on the wall.

 

[WelshBloke]

Only thing Sony has done is slowed down their 6 month Xperia product cycle to the annual one year standard industry refresh cycle.

And the announcements, and scaling back of the department. Honestly you can't be looking at their actions and stated actions and thinking that they are thinking about reinvigorating their high end.

There's no way Sony is in a position to concentrate on the high end. That's an expensive area to be in when you have little brand recognition.

 

[ponyo]

And the announcements, and scaling back of the department. Honestly you can't be looking at their actions and stated actions and thinking that they are thinking about reinvigorating their high end.

There's no way Sony is in a position to concentrate on the high end. That's an expensive area to be in when you have little brand recognition.

Well, I'm torn. The nerd side of me wants Sony to keep trying with the smartphones and TV. I think they made great strides in the past year and close to making the killer phone. And I will always associate Sony with TV.

The investor side of me wants Sony to dump the smartphones and TV before it's too late. Chinese is going to own this market in the coming years. Sony needs to get out now while the units have some value and potential buyers.