Handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson is pinning its hopes on its latest model, the Z1010, to win it market share in the nascent 3G market and return it to the black. The clamshell dual mode phone, which has been launched at the Cannes 3GSM World Congress this week, can be used on both 2G and 3G networks and is capable of taking still photographs and making live video calls. The handset, which will become available in the second half of this year, will be priced at around EUR750.
The loss-making Japanese/Swedish joint venture is hoping to return to profit this year by cutting its prices by up to 10%, in a bid to garner a larger share of the market. Rather ambitiously, it hopes to become the world’s largest supplier of handsets by 2006, overtaking the ‘big four’ currently headed by Nokia. Sony Ericsson points to strong sales of its T-100, T-200 and flagship P800 camera phone in the last quarter of 2002, which helped it secure approximately 6% of the total market. It estimates it needs to achieve a market share of between 7%-10% in order to return to profit.