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Consumer research has played a key role in eight new phones, including a Walkman that Sony Ericsson has revealed. However what is unusual for a phone company is that it has admitted that some of the phones have fewer features due to demands by users.
The company, a joint venture between Stockholm-based LM Ericsson and Japan’s Sony is already well known for its high-end line of phones, including the ubiquitous Walkman that plays music, as well as its camera phones.
While four of the new models the company unveiled in London had fewer features, it said they still packed enough to lure new customers.
Sony Ericsson also unveiled its W880 and W888 third-generation phones, products designed to take on Finnish rival Nokia Corp. and Illinois-based Motorola Inc. in the high-end market.
The UMTS phone, just 9.4 millimeters thick, can store as many as 900 songs on a one-gigabyte memory stick and has a two megapixel camera for taking photographs. It comes in a stainless steel finish and is expected to be available before spring.
The company also released its latest Walkman phone, the W880i (RRP $899), a candy bar style phone that can store as many as 470 songs on a 512-megabyte memory stick. Like the W880, it has a camera but also features TrackID, that lets the user record a sound clip of a song and have it identified by name, artist and album. The phone will use the EDGE network, meaning it will work most anywhere in the world. It’s expected to be released during the second quarter of 2007.
“Our Walkman phones have proven to be phenomenally attractive to our consumers — we have sold 20 million Walkman phones since launch — and we are continuously developing the portfolio to extend their appeal,” said Steve Walker, Sony Ericsson’s head of product marketing.
Sony Ericsson added that it had extended its Cybershot camera phone range with the K810i (RRP $799) and K550i (RRP $299) models. The company said its first Cybershot phone, the K800, has already sold more than 4.5 million units worldwide.
Sony Ericsson will launch four new basic, low cost entry level phones in the second quarter, including the K200 and K200 camera phones, one of which includes FM-radio popular among users in Latin America and Asia.
It is also launching the J110 and J120 candy bar style phones, which offer basic talk and text functionality.
Walker told reporters in London that the new phones were aimed at “hitting the right price point” and would be sold in emerging markets, as well as Australia, Europe, North America and Asia.
“There are millions and millions of users across the world saying this is the type of product they need,” said Walker. “This is part of our strategy to take growing market share as we go forward.”
The new phones are scheduled for release this quarter,with the exception of the K810i, which will appear in quarter 2..
