Sony Mobile may leave the entry level tier, says exec

Having finished 2012 a distant third behind smartphone giants Apple and Samsung, Sony is very keen on being in the big leagues. In fact, we're told by Stephen Sneeden, the Xperia product marketing manager, that ideally, the company wants to do this in two years.

To do so however, requires some strategy, and the company may just abandon entry level smartphones such as the terribly bad Xperia J.

"We're ready to be a premium smartphone provider, logically then, at the very entry level is where you lose the 'Sonyness'. And it's where you cannot implement some of these wonderful things from Sony at such a low cost, we might leave the very entry tier to some other manufacturers," Sneeden said.

He added, however, that Sony is continually evaluating the different markets, and said that the "mid- to premium tier is the more likely scenario" as features from flagship devices would likely trickle down to its midrange products.

"Maybe it's not the flagship product, but I can still aspire to this other phone that has a number of these same characteristics."

Sneeden followed up by saying that the company "cannot compromise on the experience that the company is trying to show to the customer", and added that even if it's a product with a lower price point, it still must have a "story to resonate".

The story, of course, refers to Sony's latest flagship device, the Xperia Z, and how its feature set--a 5-inch full-HD display, quad-core processor, and the 13-megapixel Exmor RS sensor--will play an important part in Sony's attempt to be a bigger player in the mobile space.

Sneeden also highlighted the new power button is a key aspect of the Z's design, and wants consumers to be able to recognise a Sony smartphone based on that. A Sony PR representative told CNET Asia's Jacqueline Seng in Singapore that subsequent models will feature a similar take.

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