Rumours broke earlier this week that Sony Ericsson was working on a couple of Windows Phone 7 devices, the Xperia X7 and the Xperia X7 Mini. Assuming for a moment that these are genuine, it may be a while before we see these devices on the market. The CEO of Sony Ericsson France confirmed that his company was in discussion with Microsoft about using the new mobile OS but added that Microsoft’s device requirements limited product differentiation. “With Windows 7 we run the risk of standardising our smartphones. We would be obliged to compete only on design on price, which we want to avoid,” he told Les Echos, a French newspaper.
It appears that Sony Ericsson will continue to focus on Google Android and its greater leeway for differentiation. For example, Sony Ericsson bundles its Mediascape and Timescape apps with its Xperia X10 devices and highlights these features in some of its marketing.
Perron also confirmed that Sony Ericsson does not currently have plans to release a tablet device: “We will not release the 24th tablet on the market,” he said, suggesting that we will see an overabundance of Android tablets in the near future.