The Present iPhone Competitor or a Patent Infringement Opportunity
Sony Corporation is currently planning to release a line of products to compete for a share of the Apple-dominated smartphone market. The word is that they are working on a smartphone that can support the downloading and playing of video games. Additionally, it seems they may be working on a device that includes netbook, e-reader, and gaming functionality. It seems that both of these unconfirmed devices would also take advantage of the company’s online media platform. Another potential competitor for Apple’s iTunes Store, it is slated to open before April 2010.
A smartphone venture at this point may, in part, be a result of the less than spectacular response to recent Sony Ericsson cell phones, which saw sharp losses, throughout 2009. Though the PlayStation Portable (PSP) is still a popular product, it doesn’t currently provide the multi-purpose functionality that many mobile computing users look for in their new gadget purchases. No specific date for release has been provided, which is no surprise since neither of the products have even been officially confirmed. The unspecified sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, though, indicate that something will be seen before 2010 comes to a close.
With regard to the unofficially named “Sony Online Service”, users will be able to purchase and download, directly to the device, movies, television programs, and music. What could separate Sony from Apple, in the services department? If the offerings include both old and new PlayStation console games, as speculated, Sony might actually have a shot at recapturing some of their lost market share. By adding a netbook-like device, in addition to a smartphone device, Sony may also be able to offset the less than huge response to its Sony Reader.
Any venture into the smartphone market now, though, is a risky one, since any Apple iPhone competitor has to possess at least partial touch-screen functionality. The immediate answer may be the Xperia X10, which is reported to use the Google-driven Android platform. With a speculated release date of April 2010, Sony would be remiss not to wonder what response Apple may have planned. With the recent filing of patent infringement legal action by Apple, against HTC (and by proxy, Google Inc.), Sony should probably prepare for the possibility that they’re next in line. The success of Sony’s venture into the smartphone market may depend heavily upon any court decision regarding the validity of Apple’s claims against HTC. Hopefully, Google Inc. is preparing to defend its partners, HTC and Sony Ericsson, by mounting a unified defense that ensures all three companies come out as winners.