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Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, the 50/50 handset venture between Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Sony Corp., started its operations on Monday.
“I am proud to announce that we have received the final approvals and we can start operations according to our initial plans,” Katsumi Ihara, president of the London-based Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, said in a statement. “We are 3,500 committed employees who are very much looking forward to creating a great company and to launching our first products during next year.”
Sony Ericsson plans to overtake Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. in the handset space, officials said.
Collaboration in the handset space is an ongoing trend. In August, NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. Ltd. announced an alliance to co-develop mobile handsets.
NEC and Matsushita, which sells consumer products under the brand name Panasonic, are the top two cell phone sellers in Japan.