It’s January at last – the new smartphone season has begun and Sony must be close to revealing its plans. The first date in the calendar is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from the 7th-11th. It was this time last year that the Japanese company unleashed the Xperia Z to the world and walked out with nearly every smartphone award available.

Sony may be taking a different approach to a few things this year however. Rumours are coming in of at least two major changes to Sony’s strategy this year. It seems that the company may be preparing to release smartphones on a different OS in 2014, breaking from its Android-exclusivity. There is also news on their next flagship plan thanks to a holiday message posted on their website.

Which OS and which flagship? Read on to find out more…

Update – CEO Kaz Hirai has revealed plans about 2014 sales targets, a possible VAIO Windows Phone and more, read here.

Flagship

Firstly, the rumoured new flagship, codenamed Avatar, may have to wait. While the electronics giant has traditionally used January as the launch month of its latest flagship, it seems that they will not replace the Xperia Z1 with a new game-changer at the start of 2014. They posted a new year message on their website and had this to say about the Z1 and the next flagship:

 It is our strongest selling smartphone to date and will continue as our flagship into 2014. 

Perhaps they realized that they were running out of available letters in the alphabet…This will be disappointing to fans of Sony devices that have been waiting for a new ultra device to lead the market once again, as well as industry insiders looking for original designs that set new standards.

But from another perspective, it’s not a bad plan. One common criticism from owners of Xperia flagships has been that the bi-annual release of a new flagship made their hot new device obsolete before the owner’s next birthday. Also, other companies in the market, particularly Samsung, are known to release so many devices so quickly that their product catalogue looked like a video. Sony’s main reason for not replacing the Z1 were best indicated in the message quoted above: “…strongest selling smartphone…” which tells us that the Z1 is so successful that they wouldn’t dream of calling it ‘old’ just yet. Why fix something that isn’t broken, they are saying. Perhaps, like in poker, they don’t want to be the first team to show their ‘hands’ any more, allowing the other manufacturers to alter designs and features. That would be a strategic change.

What else is happening to the 2014 devices?

Remember the angular smartphone design, with the Xperia Arc shape and slight indenture along the sides, the unmistakable Sony symmetry?

 Our OmniBalance design is, and will remain, a key element of what makes our products special. 

OmniBalance is still ‘in’ then. What else?

 2013 was also the year that saw the mainstream acknowledgment that the ‘smart wearables’ category was beginning to represent a serious opportunity. We are leaders in this space and there will be a lot to talk about in 2014. 

So wearables will be a bigger feature of the Xperia catalogue. They are not smartphones, but they fall under the Xperia brand alongside their wireless siblings.

On a sidenote, you can’t miss the same positive response to customers, telling us that they appreciate our feedback – the same approach that won so much praise with the PS4 in 2013:

 We’re listening, we take you seriously, and we are grateful. 

Broadening horizons

There is another major rumour: a Sony Windows Phone in 2014. Sony has exclusively offered Android smartphones since its last major overhaul four years ago, but that may be about to change. This rumour is coming from The Information. The insider suggests that Microsoft is courting other manufacturers to come across to the Windows side and is trying to negotiate whatever it takes to boost support from other hardware vendors. A Sony Windows Phone could be hitting the markets by mid-2014 according to the source.

Is this likely? Microsoft has money to burn, it is exactly the type of company to negotiate a smart, future-thinking deal like this and is in need of other manufacturers to support Windows Phone. Whatever Sony’s past reservations about joining Windows Phone, a deal probably could be found when Microsoft is so keen to attract more partners. Sony is now in a much stronger footing regarding its sales and brand presence and is likely looking to expand in ways beyond adding a few more devices to the market.

Google is mostly composed of engineers and Apple is mostly filled with designers, so the stereotype says. Admittedly, Android has been unlikely to be considered for design awards, with many users and developers grumbling about the black and white colour scheme. Sony has been heralded as bringing elegance and sophistication to the Android table, winning awards around the world and generating mass appeal by fans on the internet. Windows Phone smartphones, ranging from HTC to Nokia certainly keep high standards regarding visual appeal and it would be intriguing to see what the Japanese aesthethes in Tokyo do to differentiate themselves amongst the ‘arty’ Windows Phone company.

But there are possibilities beyond Windows Phone. You may remember that Sony released an ‘experimental’ form of the Firefox OS for the Xperia E in partnership with Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica.

 Firefox OS is a new mobile operating system built entirely upon open web standards, and Sony is interested in exploring this technology with Telefónica to help bring the power of the web to mobile. 

There are some good reasons why Sony may be interested. Firefox OS offers much to consumers and to hardware manufacturers, particularly license-free/open-source software, without obligations for particular apps and software to be included. As users of the Mozilla products already know (Firefox internet browser, Thunderbird mail app) Mozilla is run with a strong committment to privacy, without collecting and selling user data, it’s non-commercial. That is becoming harder to find in the technology world these days. 2013 left us with earth-shaking scandals in privacy and you are no longer considered paranoid for taking an interest in tech. privacy.

Also, as Samsung has highlighted through its own ventures into experimental software, even with successful partnerships such as with Android, there is still a need to spread risk by supporting other options. Firefox OS is said to be especially optimized for budget to mid-range handsets, which could be a road into the lucrative developing markets. All of this could appeal to Sony and smartphone buyers.

So the Xperia Z1 will continue to be the lead product in the catalogue for now, though new smartphones are incoming as soon as CES next week. We now have indications of a possible Xperia Windows Phone in mid-2014. This year will certainly be different.

 

Discuss:

Will Sony Mobile release a Windows Phone or Firefox OS? What would you like to see Sony do differently in 2014?