By Chris Chang, posted Jul 19, 2011 at 4:18 PM, 592 views,

Sony Ericsson, China Mobile To Cooperate On 4G Network Capable Phone

While we are still wondering if Apple would work together with China Mobile to develop a 4G network capable iPhone, here we have news telling us that Sony Ericsson will cooperate with China Mobile to develop mobile phones that support China’s domestic fourth-generation telecommunications technology, according to Sony Ericsson’s global president.

Today, China has the world’s biggest mobile phone user population of 900 million, and China Mobile is the biggest mobile operator in the world with 600 million users. While we are seeing a huge amount of mobile phone users in China, the number of smartphone users is still small. As we know so far, China has experienced a rapid increase in 3G and smartphone users in the past two years. According to a report from Beijing-based research firm Analysys International, Sony Ericsson sold 1.38 million smartphones in China in the first quarter this year, accounting 6.9 percent of the smartphone market in the country. That’s a pretty nice record, since we thought mobile users in China would only purchase Sony Ericsson knockoffs or Apple iPhones. With that nice record, the CEO of Sony Ericsson Mobile, Bert Nordberg, is now hoping to work on the TD-LTE technology, and plans to work with partners in China to develop 4G network capable phones. Here’s what Nordberg said in an exclusive interview with China Daily in Beijing:

“It will be beneficial to work closely with partners in China to develop the TD-LTE handset, and then we will have the opportunity to export it to other markets. We are planning to bring the first LTE mobile phone to the market in 2012, when it is expected that 4G chipsets will become more cost-competitive.”

And you may ask, where are the Sony Ericsson’s TD-LTE phones going to be developed? Well, according to the president of the company, the phones are likely to be developed in a new research and development (R&D) center in Beijing. This Beijing R&D center will have almost 2,000 staff, and it will design and develop more than half of the company’s new products worldwide. So, with this Beijing center, the company aims to be the third-largest vendor of Android-based smartphone in mainland China and the second-largest Android phone supplier in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Here’s what Nordberg added,

“The Chinese market plays a critical role for Sony Ericsson, as more than 95 percent of handsets that we sold last year were made in China. We must be the leader in China to achieve its goal.

However, a telecom analyst with Anaylsys International thinks Sony Ericsson may meet difficulties to archive its goal.

“Sony Ericsson has a relatively small role in China’s mobile phone market. The company’s sales in China lag international rivals such as Apple Inc, Motorola and Samsung.”

Looking at the other side, Sony Ericsson’s cooperation with China Mobile may help the company to compete with international rivals. Mike Bastin, a marketing and management academic at Tsinghua University, thinks such cooperation indicates Sony Ericsson is pursuing a far more localized strategy that may enable it to adapt to the Chinese market, And Bastin thinks Sony Ericsson is trying to better understand the Chinese market to archive their goal.

“Many of these big players, for example, Apple and Motorola, are very successful, but they haven’t really tried to understand the Chinese market, whereas Sony Ericsson is trying to do that, which is quite an exciting adventure.”

We know the Chinese market offers huge growth potential for smartphone consumption. A research firm Gartner Inc even estimated that more than 40 percent of handsets sold in China in 2015 could be smartphones. Well, here’s what we are looking forward. If a foreign company wants to take advantage of the growing market in China, this company should work with the local supplier and also get a well-known local Chinese brand involved in their own products. That’s something no Western companies have done. That will really form a very sustainable competitive pact for the long term. Just imagine, Meizu is involved in a product of Sony Ericsson. That will be incredible.

Source: China Daily