Sony is easily one of the most prestigious electronics companies in the world, but that hasn't ever really helped their mobile division out. Their smartphones, while good, struggle with marketing and competitive pricing, and just never seem to have that “it” factor to compete with heavy hitters from Samsung and Apple.
Sony doesn't really have a solution to that, but they are about to try and sweep it under the rug for investors.
A new shakeup in Sony's structuring will have their mobile division merged with their TV, audio, and camera divisions. This new conglomerate will be called Sony Electronics Products and Solutions and will effectively keep Sony from having to disclose how good or bad the mobile division does individually. Those numbers will be hidden and potentially offset by some of their other more profitable divisions.
Xperia phones have lost nearly $1 billion over the past year, and quarterly they tend to lose more money than Sony's gaming division makes, which really shows how much of a money sink this game is for the company. It sounds a lot like HTC, except HTC at least had a really good run in the smartphone market before falling off a cliff.
I'll be honest, I do like some of Sony's phones. The Xperia 1 has me excited, if nothing else just because it's weird, and for all their shortcomings I think Sony delivers something slightly unique with their services integration and designs that you'll never mistake for Apple. But with all of the bad news lately, it's hard to see Sony staying in this market forever.
source: Wccftech
