Sony Mobile
Sony Mobile Communications Inc. (Japanese: ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Corporation and Ericsson. It was originally incorporated as Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and headquartered in London, England, until Sony acquired Ericsson's share in the venture on February 16, 2012. On April 1, 2021, Sony integrated its electronics businesses including Sony Mobile into one company called Sony Corporation.
Native name | ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社 |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Sony Ericsson (2001–2012) |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Ericsson Mobile Communications |
| Founded | October 1, 2001 |
| Defunct | April 1, 2021 |
| Fate | Merged with Sony Corporation |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | Kenichiro Yoshida Mitsuya Kishida Kimio Maki |
| Parent | Sony Corporation |
| Footnotes / references | |
Prior to April 1, 2021, Sony Mobile exclusively created Android-powered smartphones under the Xperia sub-brand name; it also developed tablet computers (Sony Tablet), smartwatches (Sony SmartWatch) and fitness trackers (Sony SmartBand), alongside accessories and software for the devices.
Sony Mobile had research and development facilities in Lund, Sweden; Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; and San Francisco, United States. At its peak in 2007, Sony Ericsson, Sony Mobile's predecessor, held a 9 percent global mobile phone market share making it the fourth largest vendor at the time. In 2017, Sony Mobile held less than 1% global market share but 4.8% in Europe and 16.3% in Japan.