Sony Mobile is aiming to be the third largest global smartphone player according to Reuters. Sony currently sits in fourth place in the smartphone league table, sandwiched in between Chinese rivals Huawei (3rd) and ZTE (5th) according to research company IDC.
Kunimasa Suzuki, President and CEO of Sony Mobile, hinted at a roundtable briefing in Tokyo that it plans on altering its smartphone development according to each region. This could imply that it plans on launching cheaper models for emerging markets.
Evidence of this recent strategy can be seen in the recent announcement that the company is planning to release a new smartphone running Firefox OS in 2014. However, it would generally go against recent comments that CEO Kazuo Hirai has made in its focus on the premium segment, epitomised by the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z.
What do you think is the right strategy for Sony’s smartphone domination? Carry on with premium products or take a broad-brush approach to all segments including entry-level models.