Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001[1] by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones. The stated reason for this venture is to combine Sony's consumer electronics expertise with Ericsson's technological knowledge in the communications sector. Both companies have stopped making their own mobile phones.

The company's global management is based in Hammersmith, London, and it has research and development teams in Lund, Tokyo, Mexico City, Beijing, and Redwood Shores in the US. By 2009, it was the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world after Nokia, Samsung and LG.[5] The sales of products largely increased due to the launch of the adaptation of Sony's popular Walkman and Cyber-shot series. In 2010, its market share had dropped to sixth place behind Research In Motion and Apple.
Recent performance

Sony Ericsson has struggled since the arrival of Apple's iPhone in the third quarter of 2007. Its handset shipments have dropped from a high of 30.8m in Q4 2007 to just 8.1m in 1Q 2011, according to its financial reports.[7] The company had made net losses in six of the 15 quarters and seen its cash pile shrink from €2.2bn to €599m, after taking a €375m cash injection from its joint owners. The eclipse of the Symbian operating system, initially by the iPhone and then by Google's Android, has affected Sony Ericsson's position in the market.

While it is based in Scandinavia, its South Korean rival LG Electronics overtook it in Q1 2008 due to the company's profits falling significantly by 43% to €133 million (approx. US$ 179.6697 million[8]), sales falling by 8% and market share dropping from 9.4% to 7.9%, despite favourable conditions that the handset market was expected to grow by 10% in 2008. Sony Ericsson announced another profit warning in June 2008[9] and saw net profit crash by 97% in Q2 2008, announcing that it would cut 2,000 jobs, leading to wide fear that Sony Ericsson is on the verge of decline along with its struggling rival, Motorola.[10] In Q3 the profits were much on the same level, however November and December saw increased profits along with new models being released such as the C905 being one of the top sellers across the United Kingdom.

Sony Ericsson has, as of July 18, 2008, approximately 9,400 employees and 2,500 contractors worldwide. Bert Nordberg is the president of the company since October, 2009. Sir Howard Stringer, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, is chairman of the board.