Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

CES 2012: Sony renames phone unit to Mobile Communications

By | January 9, 2012, 5:30pm PST

Summary: Sony announces a major shift for its mobile phone unit as it tries to ramp up brand awareness in North America.

LAS VEGAS — Say goodbye to Sony Ericsson, and hello to Sony Mobile Communications.

It was only a matter of time, but Sony Corporation executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai announced the name change rather suddenly during the Sony press conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday evening.

See also: CES 2012: ZDNet’s news and product coverageCES 2012: CNET’s news and product coverage

Last October, Sony and Ericsson decided not to renew their 10-year relationship, instead to go their separate ways.

While that decision could prove to be detrimental for Ericsson, it opens up more potential for Sony as it gives the global entertainment giant the initiative and power to take full control of its mobile phone strategy, which hasn’t been able to catch up to most other Android mobile OEMs nor Apple.

Hirai told hundreds of audience goers at the event that the shift in direction “sets the stage for us to greatly increase” awareness as well as build a foundation for Sony’s mobile phone brand in North America.

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Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

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RE: CES 2012: Sony renames phone unit to Mobile Communications
sarahtmpson Updated - 10th Jan
Great move by Sony - now they need to back it up by bringing some quality mobile phones to market quickly! http://www.mobi-city.co.uk
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Great move by Sony - now they need to back it up by bringing some quality mobile phones to market quickly! http://www.mobi-city.co.uk

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