After a decade together, one of the mobile industry’s largest remaining joint ventures has come undone. Sony agreed to pay Ericsson $1.49 billion to acquire its 50% share of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.

With the long-expected deal finally behind it, Ericsson exits the mobile handset business and can focus on its core infrastructure business. And now as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, the mobile division can make better use of the Sony brand, which has always been stronger in consumer circles.

Sony has some semblance of a renewed opportunity to better integrate its mobile offering with its wide range of consumer electronics. It also gains an IP-cross licensing agreement and ownership of five patent families related to wireless device technology. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

BARCELONA – Sony Ericsson put on a media soiree here in an incredibly packed night club on the beach last night to announce a suite of new devices and strategies.

Not one executive hid from the incredibly tough slog the company has had of late, but each offered changes – both philosophical and tangible – that will improve market share and revenue if everything goes to plan.

“I’m feeling a new wave of minor euphoria,” Sony Corp. CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer said, adding that three years have passed since he last attended Mobile World Congress due to his disappointment with the joint venture’s performance through that period. Read more

I have serious commitment issues when it comes to my mobile phone. Early termination fees don’t scare me as much as a phone that’s just gotten plain old boring for me. And believe me, I always find a way out.

It might be dropped calls, crap voice quality and pathetic download speeds that drive me to the edge one time. The next time, I might just get sick of the color or maybe I don’t like the way it looks at me or fits in my pocket. Either way, I’m bound to jump and run — it’s just a matter of when. Materialistic? Sure. Overindulgence? You bet.

Like any commitment-phobe, I’m all about multiples. Whether it’s the carrier(s) I do business with or the mobile device(s) I carry, I just can’t settle down and tie the knot with one or the other. I’m one of those types who has two phones usually. Although I try to keep them from knowing about each other — work and personal don’t always belong together — they inevitably cross paths. Read more