Sony Ericsson launches new device, seeks to rise profitability (South Korea)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After posting its first quarterly net profit in the three months ended March 31, Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan’s Sony Corp. and Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson aims to maintain profitability on the basis of lower costs and new product launches.

The handset maker’s new application, “Timescape,” allows users to simultaneously see a record of their call. It also announced that it will partner with SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest wireless services operator by revenue, to offer the smartphone. The new device offered by SK Telecvom will have an 8.1-megapixel camera and a 16-gigabyte memory card and will be sold for around KRW800,000-KRW900,000 ($751).

While speaking on the sidelines of a product launch in Korea, Hirokazu Ishizuka, head of the company’s Asia-Pacific region hoped that its high-end line of smartphones including Xperia and Vivaz will help improve its bottom line in the quarters ahead. Korea has been described as one of the most important markets for Sony Ericsson with great potential for Sony Ericsson’s future as the number of smartphone users has nearly doubled from the end of last year to 2 million in May.

Analysts feel that world’s fifth vendor in terms of mobile shipments globally; Sony Ericsson has an uphill battle in South Korea to compete with local vendors such as Samsung and LG Electronics as well as Apple, which launched its iPhone in the South Korean market in November.

According to analysts, Samsung and LG will aggressively launch their Android-powered smartphones this year; it seems highly unlikely that Sony Ericsson could succeed in Korea with its new device and added that Sony Ericsson faces challenges because it has a big exposure to the European market which has been suffering from the economic turmoil in Greece and Spain.