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The launch of the new flagship model comes amid
a painful restructuring at the Japanese consumer electronics
giant which has thrown the future of its smartphone division
into doubt, with top executives saying an exit cannot be ruled
out.
But as the company focuses on cutting costs rather than growing
its mobile market, the division still needs investment in new
products and marketing to maintain Sony's brand and hold off a
more rapid deterioration.
Sony said the Xperia Z4 would be available in Japan around the
middle of the year, though it did not provide a launch date,
details on carrier partners or price. The handset would be
available in four colours and was slightly thinner than the
previous Z3.
Hiroki Totoki, who was appointed last year to turn around the
mobile unit, said Sony was targeting the upper end of the market
where rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc
dominate.
"There's a broad variety in the prices of smartphones, from
around $100 to $1,400 at the upper end," he told a news
conference. "We want to focus in the upper half of that."
Sony's mobile division has fallen far behind high-end rivals
such as Samsung and Apple, while at the low end it is battling
pricing pressure from Asian manufacturers such as China's Xiaomi
Inc.
The company whose Walkman and Trinitron TV once played a
critical role in the global entertainment industry has struggled
in recent years to come up with trend-setting gadgets.
Sony announced in February that it would scale down its weaker
operations such as TVs and mobile phones to focus instead on
more successful products such as video games and camera sensors.
Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai has not ruled out an exit from weak
operations, amid a restructuring that has so far seen the
company sell off its personal computer division and spin off the
TV business.
In February, he said the Japanese consumer electronics firm
would no longer pursue sales growth in smartphones.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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