Sony Ericsson unveils six phones, one with camera
By Lucas van Grinsven, Reuters
05 March 2002
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson unveiled six new mobile phones on Tuesday,
including a handset designed especially for games and one with a built-in camera,
and reiterated it wanted to be market leader in five years.
At least three of the six new phones have colour screens and an always-on Internet
capability - key features for creating, sending and displaying images on a mobile
phone. The industry hopes that such functions will help to drive a new boom in
mobile communications.
Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, does not have any colour screen phones
in shops as yet, although it plans to launch one with a built-in camera in the middle
of the year.
Analysts played down the immediate threat to Nokia, the dominant player in the
market, which makes more than one in three of all handsets sold globally.
"Nokia is not really challenged in any big way because of the relatively small
volumes expected and relatively expensive models from Sony Ericsson," said Mika
Paloranta of Nordea Securities.
Shares in Nokia were down 0.40 at 25.98 euros by 1120 GMT, while shares in
Ericsson were down 1.00 euros at 48.20.
The new phones from the London-based handset joint venture between Swedish
telecoms equipment maker Ericsson and Japanese consumer electronics group
Sony, are the first sold globally to carry the Sony Ericsson logo.
Colour screens, plus easy-to-use functions, better games and new designs, are
what industry experts see as driving mobile phone sales this year and Sony
Ericsson, with an ambition to lead the market in five years, is rushing to grab
market share.
Sony Ericsson also announced it was on course for the launch of third generation
mobile phone handsets at the year end.
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