I first mentioned this hypothesis when I made my personal post on the 28th:
If someone at Sony Ericsson or Motorola offered me a job I would take
it in a heart beat. I think Nokia is in the best position to help make
the ideas I have in the back of my head a reality, but I have no
problem working with an underdog to help them rise to the top. Sony, I
believe, can overtake Nokia in the mid to high end space if they played
their cards right.
Then Charlie Schick chimed in a day later:
I remember when I thought Sony Ericsson, just after the merger, had only a few months to live. And indeed, they basically fell off the map.
But, wow, they’ve methodically delivered and amazed folks with their devices. Now, they are like the Apple of the mobile world – leaders who have fallen so low, only to keep their chin up and become someone who is the model in design and style.
Way to go.
Today (a day after Charlie) DigiTimes is saying the same thing:
Nokia expanded its leadership position in the mobile handset market in 2006, shipping more units than its next two closest competitors combined, according to research firm iSuppli.
However, the biggest waves in the market in 2006 were made by Sony Ericsson, which in the fourth quarter posted the largest on quarter growth of all mobile-phone makers, with shipments rising 61.5% to 26 million units, up from 16.1 million units during the same period in 2005. The joint venture between consumer electronics giant Sony and telecommunications specialist Ericsson enjoyed a great 2006, achieving more than 15% growth in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2006.
"Sony Ericsson is targeting its entire product line at the mid-to-high range of the market and just recently has started entering the emerging low-cost handset market," said Tina Teng, wireless communications analyst at iSuppli. "This has contributed to the company’s accelerated growth in 2006. Plus, Sony Ericsson’s products appeal to every regional market globally, because its camera- and music-enabled phones hit the sweet spot in terms of desirable handset features."
Why are people buying more Sony phones? That’s a rhetorical question, but something Nokia should be asking itself right about now.
Personally I think that some of their models are down right sexier than anything Nokia makes. Touch screens offer an attractive feature set. The Walkman brand is very strong.
Definitely a company to watch.