Sony Ericsson to drop Symbian

Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg confirmed in a Q3 2010 earnings conference call that the handset manufacturer will drop Symbian and produce a Windows Phone handset. Nordberg failed to give any details but confirmed the Windows Phone handset would not be available for the holiday season. This 2011 launch window puts the handset manufacturer behind its competitors, primarily HTC, LG, and Samsung, all three of which joined forces with Microsoft as hardware launch partners and are releasing multiple Windows Phone models later this month.

While it attempts to diversify with Windows Phone, Sony Ericsson remains committed to Android. The handset manufacturer estimates that it now has a 19% revenue share and is aiming to surpass HTC and Motorola as the #1 Android handset manufacturer. This past quarter Sony Ericsson released the Xperia X8, an affordable mid-range Android handset, and pushed out the Xperia X10 to China and the US. Future Android offerings were not mentioned in the earnings call and analyst Carolina Milanesi of Gartner’s U.K. group was quick to point out that “Though they have nice products, competition is very tough as the refresh cycle on Android is very quick and the X10 by now almost seems dated.”

Sony Ericsson plan 2011 Windows Phone 7

Sony Ericsson managed to post a profit this past quarter, largely because of their Android efforts, but the company is also looking to Windows Phone 7 to further feather their nest. CEO Bert Nordberg confirmed Sony Ericsson’s Microsoft intentions during the company’s financial call, though failed to give any specific details beyond a 2011 expected launch window. Sales overall were €1.6bn, with net income of €48m ($68.8m).

According to Nordberg, Sony Ericsson believes it currently has around 19-percent of Android segment revenue, and is focusing on smartphones rather than featurephones which Nordberg sees as in “decline”. Meanwhile conservative production numbers left the company with relatively small amounts of unsold stock, and allowed them to avoid wasteful “fire sales” to clear warehouse shelves,