Sony Mobile Communication India has pressed the exit button on the non-smart phones. Seems like the news of shortage of key components was a precursor to this. According to P. Balaji, Managing Director of operations in India, the decision to phase out the feature phones was taken months back and would be implemented now. The phasing out will be complete till September. Some of the models which include this niche is Sony Ericsson’s Txt, Txt pro, and Mix models. With the buyout of the Ericsson unit, Sony is now looking to step up the profit margins, which didn’t seem much lucrative in the feature phones.
One of the reasons of this decision could be the lack of key components that might be hindering the production of high-end phones that help the company rake in major profits. The smartphone segment holds the growth in future and is currently growing at 70 percent rate annually. Walkman series phones such as Yendo, Spiro Zylo, Cedar are also going to be hit by the decision and will be no more available on the Sony’s smartphone shelves. Sony currently has 1.9 percent market share in the mobile phones market. The major part of the sales comprises of its flagship Xperia-series phones.