Sony's Smartphone Surrender As It Abandons Android And Xperia

[Anorion]

yep.
Some brands have cornered the market when it comes to the components. In fact, there may well be fewer companies making components than there are Phones.
camera is mostly sony, sometimes omnivision and nikon. Flash memory is almost always samsung with the oddball using toshiba. CPU is ARM or ARM licensed. Everything else is shared between Qualcomm, Broadcom and Texas Instruments. So underneath it all, most phones are really pretty much the same.

 

[quicky008]

Does that mean they have quit the phone business completely and have discontinued the manufacture of smartphones based on the android platform?Then whats gonna happen to those who already own xperia phones?Will they receive any support or after sales service for their handsets from sony in the foreseeable future?


[MENTION=288626]polupoka[/MENTION]:can you tell us what exactly your problem was and why did you suffer a staggering loss of Rs 40000 because of Sony?I'm really intrigued by your comment and would like to know more about this matter,provided of course you don't mind discussing it here.

 

[kg11sgbg]

In fact using XOLO Q600s.
Much satisfied with its performance.
While I purchased ,it was on Android 4.2.*(Jelly Bean) but after 1.5 month or so, XOLO provided update to Android-4.4.*(KitKat)
Awaiting for more Windows based Tablet by XOLO.

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yep.
Some brands have cornered the market when it comes to the components. In fact, there may well be fewer companies making components than there are Phones.
camera is mostly sony, sometimes omnivision and nikon. Flash memory is almost always samsung with the oddball using toshiba. CPU is ARM or ARM licensed. Everything else is shared between Qualcomm, Broadcom and Texas Instruments. So underneath it all, most phones are really pretty much the same.

+1, for this very good logical explanation.

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I think Xolo has a better chance if any,MMX only rebrands phones
Xolo does stuff to change design or even make their own stuff from time to time

MMX should start making their own phones instead of rebranding or partner with other brands which are trying to get a foothold in India such as Xiaomi(After sales of MMX is better established even if quality etc is bad) imho

MMX are going that way...
I don't know whether YUREKA smartphones from MMX have any quality issues??!!!

 

[sujoyp]

I was waiting for Sony Z4

 

[$hadow]

Z4 is getting bench-marked and there are pop ups every now and then but it's launch is still a question.

 

[lywyre]

Sony failed primarily because they were slow to launch in the US and did not tie-up with any major carriers like AT&T, Verizon etc. By the time they launch in the US, they are 4 to 6 months late.
Imagine if Z3 compact is available on contract for $200 on launch with any major carrier!

 

[Desmond]

Its possible that they might sell their business to someone else and they could handle the launch of the Z4.

 

[kkn13]

MMX are going that way...
I don't know whether YUREKA smartphones from MMX have any quality issues??!!!

they do have quality issues just like other MMX phones
only thing is they are a bit better thanks to CM,Snapdragon and the Sony Exmor camera

its a rebranded coolpad F2 4G,not made by MMX

 

[amjath]

This will pose bad news for the other Sony product if they exit smartphone.

HTC was seeing loss after loss every quarter, but they didn't quit.
Samsung is seeing low profit they are not reducing the number of devices they launch, then why Sony.
People will lose trust on Sony.

BTW i never liked their android UI

------------------------------------

BTW snapdragon 810 has no heating issues
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810: Android vendors can relax, heat issues fixed | BGR

 

[REDHOTIRON2004]

A lot of people here are discussing about xiomi, mmx, lava etc. TBH I don't consider these cheap brands to come even close to the brand value of something like a Sony or apple. It doesn't matter whether your xiomi or mmx is costlier than Sony. It still is going to be a cheap brand that have a cheap image in consumer minds.

People buy cheap brands because they can't afford brands like Sony and Apple. As far as quality goes, the cheaper brands might have improved. But, With big brands like Sony you didn't have to think about quality at all.

Brand value and image is quite important to a lot of people. And someone holding a costly micromax cannot ever be compared with a guy holding a cheaper Sony or Apple.

 

[Desmond]

A lot of people here are discussing about xiomi, mmx, lava etc. TBH I don't consider these cheap brands to come even close to the brand value of something like a Sony or apple. It doesn't matter whether your xiomi or mmx is costlier than Sony. It still is going to be a cheap brand that have a cheap image in consumer minds.

People buy cheap brands because they can't afford brands like Sony and Apple. As far as quality goes, the cheaper brands might have improved. But, With big brands like Sony you didn't have to think about quality at all.

Brand value and image is quite important to a lot of people. And someone holding a costly micromax cannot ever be compared with a guy holding a cheaper Sony or Apple.

Butt hurt much?

For a majority of people on this forum, performance to price ratio is more important than brand value.

Brand image is in the eyes of the beholder. Mere fugazi.

 

[Anorion]

nah there is no perception like that, if anything these off brand phones are considered more vfm and the branded phones have nothing more to offer but the logo stamped on the product.

sure, Sony did follow some design trends of Apple (at least all smartphones promote and advertise their design for some reason), but not as thoroughly as Apple does, which is a particular design philosophy that can be seen in the manufacturing process, the ecosystem and the device itself. Inside the device also, not just the outside. Those who don't want to see, will call it "luxury", but bizarrely the trick is to not overstate the value of the device, like say a Lava Iris does. What makes Apple tick, and unlike anything else out there are the apps and services, not how much better the device is than an mmx, which frankly, is not that much better. At least the gap has reduced considerably.

 

[polupoka]

Does that mean they have quit the phone business completely and have discontinued the manufacture of smartphones based on the android platform?Then whats gonna happen to those who already own xperia phones?Will they receive any support or after sales service for their handsets from sony in the foreseeable future?


@polupoka :can you tell us what exactly your problem was and why did you suffer a staggering loss of Rs 40000 because of Sony?I'm really intrigued by your comment and would like to know more about this matter,provided of course you don't mind discussing it here.

Sure! I can tell here @quicky008
I CAN STILL REMEMEMBER THAT DAY!!!
IT WAS 6TH OCTOBER,2014 1.35am-I WAS CHECKING WHATSAPP AND SUDDENLY PHONE LIGHT GONE! I PRESSED POWER BUTTON BUT NO RESULT! I thought the battery just drained but then i tried charging it but it only showed red light. I also did the hard reset.... even pressing the power button and the volume up(force restart)*cdn3.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/confused.gif but still it's not opening!!! I tried to repair it using PC COMPANION but my pc cannot recognize it. After that Whenever i unplug it the red light goes off! without external power no light is showing !
worst case is i had activated msc(mass storage mode-only external memory card can be seen) mode before that **** happened! !!!

Bought the phone on 5th october,2013@39800+100/-. so no warranty

Then on the next morning I got the real SHOCKKKK!!! there was a hairline crack on the left bottom part of my screen!!!! I loved my phone so much that I bought 4 cases for it! never let it drop a single time...gave it bath every week ... I wonder how the screen cracked.. I searched the xda forum,digit forum and found the self cracking issue!!!

8th october I travelled kolkata and went to my cousins place...he works on CTS,we both went to the SONY SERVICE CENTRE.
A guy took it inside and came after 25 odd minutes and replied..the motherboard and screen is gone.. I have to repair it and have to bear approx 28K !!!!!!

Result: Its my alltime most expensive paperweight now!

I had doubt when I saw my Z1 has 6 months accidental protection!ITS NOT AN OFFER...RATHER THAN A DISGUISED MARKETING STRATEGY!!!! TO HIDE FAULT AS WELL AS WAY TO INCREASE SALE(FOOL PEOPLE)!
My xperia z1 SUDDENLY died . repair cost including screen 28k. so no ***king repair! they ask me to give it for 6K. I said no. Cos I RATHER HAVE A PLAN. I WILL SHOW THIS FAULT TO OTHERS AND MAKE ATLEAST 10 TIMES LOSS(THAT IS 399000/-) OF SONY . I think If all consumers start doing this all companies will stop fooling us!!!!

Till now I have managed 34K loss of sony



N now they r exiting!!!

 

[SaiyanGoku]

A lot of people here are discussing about xiomi, mmx, lava etc. TBH I don't consider these cheap brands to come even close to the brand value of something like a Sony or apple. It doesn't matter whether your xiomi or mmx is costlier than Sony. It still is going to be a cheap brand that have a cheap image in consumer minds.

People buy cheap brands because they can't afford brands like Sony and Apple. As far as quality goes, the cheaper brands might have improved. But, With big brands like Sony you didn't have to think about quality at all.

Brand value and image is quite important to a lot of people. And someone holding a costly micromax cannot ever be compared with a guy holding a cheaper Sony or Apple.

Value For Money factor is the reason lower priced Sony/Samdung/HTC phones will always be crap compared to Xiaomi and Yureka. Even mid rangers from samdung are crap.

Apple will always be overpriced and not cheap.

Being able to afford it and not choosing to buy them are two different things.
Right now Xperia SP and C are selling for 12-13k but compared to Yureka they are utter crap. Same with Xperia E and its iterations when compared to Redmi 1s.
Why buy an iphone 4 for 20k when you can get way better Oneplus One or Mi4 for the same price?

 

[kkn13]

Value For Money factor is the reason lower priced Sony/Samdung/HTC phones will always be crap compared to Xiaomi and Yureka. Even mid rangers from samdung are crap.

Apple will always be overpriced and not cheap.

Being able to afford it and not choosing to buy them are two different things.
Right now Xperia SP and C are selling for 12-13k but compared to Yureka they are utter crap. Same with Xperia E and its iterations when compared to Redmi 1s.
Why buy an iphone 4 for 20k when you can get way better Oneplus One or Mi4 for the same price?

quite agree
i must add,parts etc are also a concern along with quality etc which is where most chinese phones(and samsung) fail
Nokia,Blackberry,Apple etc excel in terms of parts ,apple has pathetic after sales however and in India,they try to cheat/blame the consumer(same goes for samsung and Blackberry)

though I will say iphones are pathetic in terms of button failures,any new iphone above the iphone 5 carries a massive risk of buttons going bad within a week,my aunts phone(iphone 5) was replaced 4-5 times then she gave in and got a 1520
same with my cousin(her son) and uncle(her husband) who sold their 5S and 6+ respectively and got One Plus One's now

but with these fancy badges and "top-notch" companies ,you are assured atleast quality control and trust as compared to a newbie company which doesnt research/test their own (rebranded) stuff properly

these matters can be very iffy,you can get scr*wed with either type of company
In the end,you yourself are the victim/benefactor and must weigh pros and cons with each company before investing your hard earned money

A reason why I dont stick to a single brand/product/OS

 

[Mr.Kickass]

Spoiler

Sure! I can tell here @quicky008
I CAN STILL REMEMEMBER THAT DAY!!!
IT WAS 6TH OCTOBER,2014 1.35am-I WAS CHECKING WHATSAPP AND SUDDENLY PHONE LIGHT GONE! I PRESSED POWER BUTTON BUT NO RESULT! I thought the battery just drained but then i tried charging it but it only showed red light. I also did the hard reset.... even pressing the power button and the volume up(force restart)*cdn3.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/confused.gif but still it's not opening!!! I tried to repair it using PC COMPANION but my pc cannot recognize it. After that Whenever i unplug it the red light goes off! without external power no light is showing !
worst case is i had activated msc(mass storage mode-only external memory card can be seen) mode before that **** happened! !!!

Bought the phone on 5th october,2013@39800+100/-. so no warranty

Then on the next morning I got the real SHOCKKKK!!! there was a hairline crack on the left bottom part of my screen!!!! I loved my phone so much that I bought 4 cases for it! never let it drop a single time...gave it bath every week ... I wonder how the screen cracked.. I searched the xda forum,digit forum and found the self cracking issue!!!

8th october I travelled kolkata and went to my cousins place...he works on CTS,we both went to the SONY SERVICE CENTRE.
A guy took it inside and came after 25 odd minutes and replied..the motherboard and screen is gone.. I have to repair it and have to bear approx 28K !!!!!!

Result: Its my alltime most expensive paperweight now!

I had doubt when I saw my Z1 has 6 months accidental protection!ITS NOT AN OFFER...RATHER THAN A DISGUISED MARKETING STRATEGY!!!! TO HIDE FAULT AS WELL AS WAY TO INCREASE SALE(FOOL PEOPLE)!
My xperia z1 SUDDENLY died . repair cost including screen 28k. so no ***king repair! they ask me to give it for 6K. I said no. Cos I RATHER HAVE A PLAN. I WILL SHOW THIS FAULT TO OTHERS AND MAKE ATLEAST 10 TIMES LOSS(THAT IS 399000/-) OF SONY . I think If all consumers start doing this all companies will stop fooling us!!!!

Till now I have managed 34K loss of sony



N now they r exiting!!!

Well, that was deep. The decision to ditch water proof ZR was a good one, on my part. I always wondered if I would end up with a brick. Sony designs really well, but doesn't do too well in other areas. Pricing has been horrible lately.

I thought their Xperia M was a game changer, but despite a good start, their game didn't last.

 

[kg11sgbg]

they do have quality issues just like other MMX phones
only thing is they are a bit better thanks to CM,Snapdragon and the Sony Exmor camera

its a rebranded coolpad F2 4G,not made by MMX

Ohh!! Mistake Friend, my bad.It is actually a rebranding.

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Value For Money factor is the reason lower priced Sony/Samdung/HTC phones will always be crap compared to Xiaomi and Yureka. Even mid rangers from samdung are crap.

Apple will always be overpriced and not cheap.

Being able to afford it and not choosing to buy them are two different things.
Right now Xperia SP and C are selling for 12-13k but compared to Yureka they are utter crap. Same with Xperia E and its iterations when compared to Redmi 1s.
Why buy an iphone 4 for 20k when you can get way better Oneplus One or Mi4 for the same price?

+1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.................................................................................

The best explanation given by our brother, [MENTION=145143]SaiyanGoku[/MENTION]
You've read my mind and touched my heart buddy.

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quite agree
i must add,parts etc are also a concern along with quality etc which is where most chinese phones(and samsung) fail
Nokia,Blackberry,Apple etc excel in terms of parts ,apple has pathetic after sales however and in India,they try to cheat/blame the consumer(same goes for samsung and Blackberry)

though I will say iphones are pathetic in terms of button failures,any new iphone above the iphone 5 carries a massive risk of buttons going bad within a week,my aunts phone(iphone 5) was replaced 4-5 times then she gave in and got a 1520
same with my cousin(her son) and uncle(her husband) who sold their 5S and 6+ respectively and got One Plus One's now

but with these fancy badges and "top-notch" companies ,you are assured atleast quality control and trust as compared to a newbie company which doesnt research/test their own (rebranded) stuff properly

these matters can be very iffy,you can get scr*wed with either type of company
In the end,you yourself are the victim/benefactor and must weigh pros and cons with each company before investing your hard earned money

A reason why I dont stick to a single brand/product/OS

Your valid points of discussion are also agreeable.
Just one thing that is known by all of us, the big shots SONY,HTC,LENOVO.LG,SAMSUNG didn't start themselves ( their companies)just a few years ago. It took them decades of Hard work and Money to reach where they are.
Chinese cos. along with LAVA,XOLO,MICROMAX are very young players in market.It seems to be wholly unjustified to compare between Goliaths versus Davids.
Eventually though David has won,Goliaths still rule the market,undoudebtdly.But they are getting the kicks from the so called Davids.
The small players need some extra more time to be more powerful and matured. It doesn't matter for Micromax or XOLO or LAVA or KARBONN,how many people within this @TDF,buys their product or not. The outer Huge world(buyers/users outside this @TDF) is the actual market for them. Thus Micromax has exceeded Samsung regarding sales in smartphone category ...............

 

[kkn13]

Ohh!! Mistake Friend, my bad.It is actually a rebranding.

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+1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.................................................................................

The best explanation given by our brother, [MENTION=145143]SaiyanGoku[/MENTION]
You've read my mind and touched my heart buddy.

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Your valid points of discussion are also agreeable.
Just one thing that is known by all of us, the big shots SONY,HTC,LENOVO.LG,SAMSUNG didn't start themselves ( their companies)just a few years ago. It took them decades of Hard work and Money to reach where they are.
Chinese cos. along with LAVA,XOLO,MICROMAX are very young players in market.It seems to be wholly unjustified to compare between Goliaths versus Davids.
Eventually though David has won,Goliaths still rule the market,undoudebtdly.But they are getting the kicks from the so called Davids.
The small players need some extra more time to be more powerful and matured. It doesn't matter for Micromax or XOLO or LAVA or KARBONN,how many people within this @TDF,buys their product or not. The outer Huge world(buyers/users outside this @TDF) is the actual market for them. Thus Micromax has exceeded Samsung regarding sales in smartphone category ...............

very true!! I quite agree!!
ultimately our money,utility etc at stake,consumers must always weigh the entire pros and cons properly,not buy any brand (big or small) blindly

 

[mohit9206]

Damn i will miss Sony in smartphones category even though i had never owned a Sony phone
But i will not miss them as much as i miss Nokia
Sony pricing their phones like Apple killed their sales in India. I mean WTF Z3 @50k and Z3C @45k launch price!!
Next turn is for SamDung/CrapSung/CrapDung/Samshit/ShitSung/ShitDung to go because they are actually the worst.

 

[amjath]

A ray of hope!

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet apparently leaks ahead of MWC | The Verge