With the demise of Ericsson, Sony now seems prepared to take on the mobile smart phone space with full gusto. The company has announced a new range of Sony branded phones dubbed the XPERIA NXT range of phones. The long-standing marriage between Sony and Ericsson had stalled Sony from fully deploying its marketing mojo for the mobile phone unit but this is all set to change.
At the Mobile World Conference, Sony announced it would be shipping the Xperia P and Xperia U, two Android phones that will be targeted at the medium to low market segments. The two phones will come together with the previously released Xperia S to form the Xperia NXT range of phones.
The Xperia P has a 4 inch 720p screen and will be the immediate alternative to the higher end Xperia X and will be able to play HD video with much ease. The phone will also sport a new technology called White Magic which Sony says will make it easy to use the phone outdoors in the sunlight. The phone will also come with a dock that when plugged in will display the phone’s display on a TV or monitor. This, Sony says, is the first truly seamless synchronization between a smart phone and a large visual display unit.
The Xperia U on the other hand will be targeted to the lower market and will not come with too many bells and whistles. Sporting a 3.5 inch display, the phone should appeal more to the less-eccentric range of the market especially with phones such as the Galaxy Note blurring the line between smart phone and tablet. The small phone will also be cheaper and this will help Sony appeal more to a broader range market, something it did not do very will with its previous Sony Ericsson range of phones.
Sony has a good marketing pedigree and the iconic brand will be leveraging heavily on its successes in other areas of consumer electronics to push its Sony smart phone brand. Whether this works will be another story especially in a market where the big dogs such as Samsung and Apple are tearing the market to pieces with their tactical and merciless assaults on the broader cell phone market.
