Sony Ericsson kills off Walkman phone
Sony Ericsson will be dropping their flagship Walkman and Cyber-shot brands in its handsets in developed markets such as the UK.
Andre Jacquet, head of global marketing business management, said that the message conveyed by the brand names was no longer relevant. He added that as more consumers sought phones featuring a digital camera, music and internet services, sticking with the Walkman and Cyber-shot names was ‘wrong’.
Sony Ericsson now plans to rebrand under ‘Entertainment Unlimited’, which it said would unite the Walkman and Cyber-shot brands under a single name. The first music-focused mobile handsets were launched in 2005 and since then more than 100m Walkman-branded phones have been sold.
Next week Sony Ericsson’s first touch-screen 12-megapixel camera phone with video, games, Google Maps and music services will be launched, dubbed the Idou, and is aimed at going head-to-head with the Apple iPhone.
