Sony aiming for the third place in the smartphone maker business

I remember a time in the final months of SE when they said they were aiming to be the largest Android OEM, wonder what happened to that pipe dream then if im not mistaken just last year they said they would focus on the high end high margin category, NOW they want to beat BOTH Huawei and ZTE, meaning they'll HAVE TO make mid to low end smartphones, WTF is going on at Sony exactly??? Has there been multiple changes in their management as it just isn't consistant, strategies changing more often than Chelsea change managers.
On the other hand Huawei are not just aiming to settle for 3rd, they are looking to topple both Samsung and Apple:
http://www.phonearena.com/new[....]ple-and-Samsung-anyway_id40419
Sony has quite a challenge up ahead, Huawei are not only huge in their home country of China but they are quickly taking over here in Africa, the next major growth area for mobile with Kenya and South Africa being one of many major growth points for them, here in South Africa Sony do still have good brand recognition, but Huawei is beginning to make quite a name for themselves, and when you go further up into the African continent that Sony recognition quickly fades in favour of companies like Huawei and ZTE.
Goodluck to Sony, they will certainly need it.

They won't do it concentrating on high end alone

I do not see the connection here. It should be possible to increase sales without just selling cheap nine dollar phones. The high-end smartphones just has to be very good. It will also help to have a lot of money spent on a large marketing campaign. Quote Sony Mobile: Largest marketing campaign to date to support Xperia portfolio *

The connection is that the High end smartphone market is quickly saturating, that's why companies like Apple and HTC who both sell phones at pretty high prices are finding it hard to keep market share.
Huawei and ZTE are growing at a seriously fast rate with each quarter, not only do they make well specced high end phones that go for much lower prices than the competition but they also have a whole lot of low ends that are aimed at emerging markets, some of them are specially customised for that market in the case of Huawei in places like Kenya.
To go up against these two it is necessary to begin focussing on mid end and low end, a marketing campaign works wonders in the high end, yes, but when you begin targeting a market where people aren't concerned about specs and status, price and value for money are much more important.

Why is it so important to have a high market share? Even though the market share is constant or a little lower over time, both these companies are increasing the number of sold devices from one quarter to the next.

I agree that Huawei and ZTE has some high end devices available and some of these are good. But these two Chinese companies will have to compete with known brand names such as Samsung and Apple. The price for a high-end Huawei device is often 20%-30% lower than similar equipped Samsung smartphone. Huawei does not have known brand name, so they have to compete in other areas. Such as a lower price.
Apple does not have a chance in the entry-level market. They will not be able to make and sell a phone for USD 100 like Huawei, Nokia, Samsung and ZTE are able to. I to not think we ever will see Sony or Apple selling a $66 Android smartphone any time soon.
I still do not see why Sony has to make cheap entry-level phones. Sony does not need to compete in the same market as Huawei or ZTE. Neither do Apple. Apple is a premium brand and that's also what Sony want to be.

I'm not saying Sony or Apple will have to make $66 phones. Apple is a freak of nature in the business world, they have the strongest loyal fanbase, so they won't have to drop prices that much, the way Apple has to get into emerging markets is through mid end devices e.g. the iPad Mini in the tablet market, which has already proven to be a great success.
Sony on the other hand are not as lucky, they wont have to make $66 phones either BUT will have to make $150-$180 phones that are value for money, this will help them in attaining their goal of being the 3rd biggest smartphone maker.
WRT Huawei not having a known brand name, as we speak Huawei are racking up quite a lot of brand recognition especially in emerging markets where there's major growth, Huawei is currently almost exactly where Samsung was 8years ago, on top of all that Huawei is VERY well known in the world's largest mobile market, China.
So what im saying is that, Sony will have to create low to mid end smartphones, they will not be as cheap as Huawei and ZTE phones, no, but they will have to be priced competitively. When i say Sony has to make mid to low end im saying they have to make phones like the Xperia Mini and Xperia Ray again.

Hi Laffen,
I've edited your post to highlight/paraphrase specific points that i can rebut.
Apple actually "does" sell a phone for USD 100 - its last years model the iPhone 4S on-contract in-house or via their provider contractual agreements in provider stores. This is something that is hugely overlooked ad the IP4S still has great value; there is nothing the iPhone 5 can do that the 4S cannot except: LTE! Everything else is capable (screen size incremental increase aside).
Regarding the need to compete with low end market place ....
Take a look at the Indian blogs (India & Pakastan users) complaining about the exhobitant pricing for the BB Z10! That kind of market doesn't have so many high-rollers or middle income earning people to purchase large enough Z10 stock to be reflective on the bottom line! This is why Samsung grew so big beacuse they have 15 versions of the "Galaxy" line-up with varying screen-sizes and price ranges!!! Nokia did the very SAME thing with S40/S60 as well ... its a 2 time proven formula across varying era's! Marketing 101 ... target your audience, place advertisements WHERE and THAT will appeal to them! Also price it at an affordable and attractive price point where they can purchase it; finally delight your users for their purchase by thanking them with great support and features/add-ons (software is always cheaper than software).
ZTE & Huwaei also did something that Nokia, Ericsson, and SE did before ... they make Rocket Sticks and Modem pucks ... business users purchase these in bulk irregardless of the price. This equals volume and higher return on cost/R&D/production for such products. This fills a company's coffers.

It sounds so deja vue.
Focusing on the high-end market is the best choice a company can make, sadly it took /sony 10 years to realize that while the fans/easto members knew that a long time ago.
The mid level market shouldn't be left aside, some more daring products should be launched in that segment, an ip67 phone, a phone with 2 screens (like the Yota), ...
Edit: the low end market is good when it comes to emerging markets, the idea of using a firefox OS might not be all that bad, if its got enough aps
Sony has got a name to rebuild, ever since they desided to cut back on R&D (the day they killed Aibo) everything went down hill.
Products that didn't stand out in terms of design while costing abit more the others. Lack of real innovation, managers that don't leave the office to see how the real world works.
In my country Sony used to be the biggest player but because they put some french speaking guys on top the brand is now considerd to be the same value of those unknown brands that you find in discount stores. Sony mobile doesn't even have a website written in the language of the majority of the people here.
For me personally that, and the lack of a cell phone that stands out has kept me from buying a new one. I'm still using a P1.

Huawei are already one of the largest manufacturers across the globe now not just in China. One area I think Huawei and ZTE could improve is cameras

@Hardened
I do not agree with you. Apple does not sell iPhone for $100. You are buying more than a phone when you pay 100 USD for an iPhone. You are buying commitment to one of the three carriers Verizon, Sprint or AT&T. They are lending you money if you spend the money on their plans. In the UK, a study showed that mobile phone users are overpaying by £200 per year.