MAYBE MY FUTURE PHONE WILL JUST BE SONY WITH NO ERICSSON

In a sign of the central role smartphones will play in its future consumer-electronics strategy, Sony Corp. is nearing a deal to buy out Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson's stake in their mobile-phone joint venture, people familiar with the matter said.
By wresting full control of Sony Ericsson, a 50-50 joint venture created in 2001 that is the world's sixth-largest cellphone manufacturer, Sony aims to integrate its smartphone operation with its businesses in tablets, hand-held game machines, and personal computers to save on costs and better synchronize development of mobile devices, the people said.
The joint venture's two parent companies have held regular discussions over the years about Sony Ericsson's ownership structure, the people said, but Sony is pushing for a deal as competitors such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. forge ahead with closely coupled strategies for smartphones and tablet computers.
One of the people said the talks are ongoing and could break apart at any time. A Sony spokesman declined to comment. Stockholm-based Ericsson and Sony Ericsson also declined to comment.
The amount Sony would pay Ericsson remained unclear because of the complexity of a possible transaction that could involve Ericsson's mobile-technology patent portfolio. But analysts estimated that Ericsson's stake in the venture could be valued between €1 billion and €1.25 billion euros, or roughly $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion.
A deal would be the latest transaction to shake up the mobile-handset industry. Google Inc. in August struck a deal to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s cellphone business for $12.5 billion, lured by Motorola's patents.
The push to regain control of its mobile-phone business is in line with Sony's efforts to close the gap on Apple and others after falling behind in the rapidly growing smartphones and tablet segments. Sony's management sees smartphones as essential to its mobile-devices mix. The smartphone is the one device that consumers carry daily and the segment could accelerate Sony's strategy to connect its mobile offerings with an online network of music, videos and games. Sony introduced its first tablet computer last month, nearly 18 months after Apple's sold the first iPad.
Sony's inability to oversee mobile-phone development directly has become a hindrance as the cellphone has evolved from a simple communications tool to become a multifunction electronics device. By moving phone operations in house, Sony would maximize its technology strengths to develop new innovative handsets more quickly.
Finding an answer to questions surrounding Sony Ericsson is one of the biggest issues facing Chief Executive Howard Stringer. People familiar with Mr. Stringer's thinking said he wants to settle the matter as soon as possible. Asked whether the joint venture still makes sense, Mr. Stringer earlier this year responded, "We talk a lot about this and we continue to talk."
Sony Ericsson for years wanted to offer a phone featuring Sony's PlayStation videogame brand, people familiar with the matter said, but Sony executives dragged their heels over handing control of one of the company's leading brands to the joint venture and relinquishing half of the potential profit.
Sony Ericsson this year started selling a new smartphone with a slide-out controller to play more sophisticated PlayStation games, but advanced videogames had already become a regular feature in competing smartphones.

For Ericsson, handsets no longer are as important as a way to entice mobile-phone operators to buy its telecommunications-network equipment. The consumer-focused cellphone business also runs contrary to Ericsson's engineering-heavy, business-to-business focus.
Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg said in an interview last week that the company has "more in common" with Sony than Ericsson.
Sony Ericsson's track record has been mixed since it was formed by combining Ericsson's telecommunications know-how and Sony's consumer brands.
It struck gold several years ago with Walkman-branded phones but the venture was slow to catch the smartphone boom. Sony Ericsson returned to a profit last year with an overhauled lineup of high-end phones. The venture posted a net profit of €90 million ($120.1 million) on revenue of €6.294 billion last year.
Since taking the reins in 2009, Mr. Nordberg has shifted the company away from low-end handsets while forging deeper ties with its Japanese parent.
Negotiations between Sony and Ericsson to unwind the venture have broken down in the past as the two sides struggled to reach an agreement over price, the people familiar with the matter said. It was difficult to quantify the value of Ericsson's mobile patents or establish a valuation for the venture as a whole, which is typically based on a multiple of earnings, while the project was in the red in 2008 and 2009. The chance for a deal improved when Sony Ericsson turned a profit last year.
Also, Google's planned acquisition of Motorola and a deal by a consortium that includes Sony, Apple, Microsoft Corp. to buy a portfolio of technology patents belonging to Nortel Networks Corp. for $4.5 billion helped to clarify the value of Ericsson's mobile-phone patents.
The strength of the Japanese yen, which is near decade-year highs against the euro, is another incentive for Sony to reach a deal now.
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Sony is quit a success in Africa and the rest of the emerging of the countries that Sony Ericsson is trying to penetrate. This will give it a chance to be a wholesome player in the industry buy utilising its pre-existing distribution network just as LG and Samsung have been able to be quit a success in this markets. I bet we all have heard of the insane technology in japan check this out.
Click here to see what sony has to offer when it comes to mobile computing and imagine what will happen if they had a phone....