Sony sold 8.7 million smartphones last quarter

Not far from the 9.8 million units estimated by IDC in January, Sony today reported that the company sold 8.7 million smartphones during the last quarter of 2012. The Xperia Z and Xperia ZL announced last month will probably help Sony sell even more smartphones during the next couple of months. These are high-end models with quad-core processors, full HD 1080p displays with water and dust resistant housings. If IDC's other estimates are correct, this will rank Sony as the fifth most selling smartphone vendor. Samsung sold 63.7 million smartphones, Apple 47.8 million, Huawei 10.8, ZTE 9.5 million and Sony sold 8.7 million smartphones during Q4 2012.

Income from Sony's imaging business segment decreased 4.7% due to lower unit sales of compact digital cameras. The low-end camera market has contracted due to expansion of the smartphones market. For many consumers, the smartphone has replaced the compact digital camera.

As usual, Sony made most of its money from selling life insurance via the Sony Financial Service division. Sony's total operating income was 46.4 billion Yen during the last quarter with loss in the Mobile Products, Home Entertainment and Imaging Products segments. Pictures, Music, Game, Devices and Financial Services could report positive figures. Sony lost 21.3 billion Yen on the Mobile Products & Communication segment while the Financial Services earned the company 34.2 billion Yen.

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