Sony at Work on 6 inch Smart Phone?

Start looking for leaks!

AndroidHeadlines

"DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwanese ODMs have already begun work on a 6-inch Android smartphone for Sony, and that it could very well launch later this year. While Sony releases flagships like the Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z3 just six months apart from each other, with the lesser known, less popular devices, Sony often leaves a year or so between releasing newer products. We saw this with the Xperia Z1 Compact which launched at the end of 2013 and theXperia Z3 Compact launched towards the end of last year. As such, this sort of timeframe looks fairly solid for a follow-up to the Xperia Z Ultra and larger devices prove popular in Asia, so it could help them take the premium market in China and surrounding nations."

Sony Mobile aims to ship 38 million smartphones in FY2015, say sources

Daniel Shen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 31 March 2015]

Sony Mobile Communications aims to ship 38 million smartphones in fiscal 2015 (April 2015-March 2016), down slightly from 39.2 million units shipped in the previous fiscal year, according to sources at Taiwan's handset supply chain.

The lower shipment target comes as the Japan-based vendor is still overhauling its handset business and has also shifted its focus to the mid-range to high-end segment, said the sources.

Despite the absence of new orders from Sony Mobile since the fourth quarter of 2014, Taiwan's ODMs have begun shipping some new models to the Japan-based vendor recently, including the Xperia E4 from Arima Communications, Xperia E4g from Compal Electronics and Xperia M4 Aqua from Foxconn/FIH Mobile.

In order to strengthen its cooperation with these ODMs, Hidehiko Teshirogi, senior vice president for product development and management at Sony Mobile, is scheduled to visit Taiwan in April, the sources noted.

Taiwan's ODMs are likely to be required to move upward to focus more on mid-range models instead of the previous focus on entry-level to mid-range products to cope with the policy shift at Sony Mobile, commented the sources.

For example, these ODMs have begun developing 6-inch large-size smartphones for Sony Mobile, added the sources.

DigiTimes