Key facts about Sony Mobile
As you may already know Sony is currently experiencing financial difficulties partly related to the poor performance of its TV and mobile divisions. Let's look at some key figures that could help us understand why Sony is struggling.
The most popular Sony devices used for Web access are:
- Xperia Z 8.5%
- Xperia Z1 6.4%
- Xperia C 5.1%
- Xperia SP 4.7%
- Xperia M 4.6%
- Xperia Z2 4.4%
- Xperia J 3.9%
- Xperia S 3.6%
- Xperia E 3.6%
- Xperia Z1F 3.0%
Only 2 of the top 10 devices were released in 2014 which indicates Sony does not have a very large fan base unlike Samsung or Apple. According to techradar.com two Sony phones: Xperia Z and Xperia Z Compact made it into the top 10 best smart phones to have. Xperia Z3 is in the same price range as the iPhone 6 whilest featuring more RAM, more CPU Cores, a seemingly better battery with greater Talk and Standby times plus a superior camera. It must be said though since this is a fairly new addition to the market it's too early to tell how much impact it will have on the general popularity of Sony moving forward.
However, hardware is not the only thing that matters, Sony's greatest problem seems to be the software. Sony has recently announced it's ready to upgrade the Android version of its devices to 4.4.4. Whilest this is good news, it has certainly taken Sony a while to release this update. Android 4.4.4 was actually available on the 19th of June 2014 and contains a patch for the OpenSSL man in the middle attack.
It looks like Sony is releasing decent hardware and does system updates, eventually. But this is no longer enough as the mobile market is oversaturated with desirable smart phone devices and achieving significant sales growth has proven to be a tough objective for them, which must be a concern for their shareholders. We will watch this space with interest.