If you are like the many of users that just thought Sony phones came with a last name, that being Ericsson — you were wrong. The joint venture that began back in 2001 looks to possibly be coming to an end as Sony is about to close the deal and buy Ericsson’s half of their mobile division according to reports. Sony plans to bring all the operations in house to go along with the TVs, Cameras, Media Players, and more that they’ve produced over the years.
Apparently the Japanese company plans to take the reigns of the mobile division and bring it up to par with the rest in the market. Combining forces from their tablet, smartphone, and handheld gaming divisions into one that will all work together on various levels as they develop future products. According to the Wall Street Journal, the acquisition for the Stockholm company’s half of the team is about to be closed and Sony will take charge.
Obviously this will kill the “Ericsson” part of the brand, and we are unsure if in the future we’ll just see shiny SONY logos on devices or if they’ll continue to use a name like the Xperia. Analysts have valued Sony Ericsson at $1.3-$1.7 billion not to mention all the mobile patents in their portfolio. This could also be a move from Sony to acquire some patents in the process to fend off possible lawsuits like we’ve seen lately. The deal is expected to be finished here soon but no official details or cash values have been tossed around. As soon as we hear the asking price we’ll be sure to update with further details.
Sony has been known to release some pretty quality products over the years so hopefully this will bring them up to par with the likes of Samsung. I’m hoping we see more Sony branded Android offerings here in the states soon.
