At the end of October Sony Corporation and Telefonktiebolaget LM Ericsson confirmed the rumours by announcing that Sony will acquire Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson, to make the joint venture a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony.

Speaking to The Times of India, Kristian Tear, executive VP and head of sales and marketing for Sony Ericsson, stated that the Sony Ericsson brand would be phased out as early as mid-year 2012, as the company looked to become a “complete smartphone company”, selling its new smartphones under the Sony label.

"A lot of planning goes into getting the branding right but we will be done by middle of next year. It will also mean that the marketing and advertising investments will go up. We haven't been as fierce as we were a few years back but we will step it up, refocus and invest more in brand-building in select markets and India is one of those markets,” Tear explained.

During its announcement in October Sony said that the Xperia smartphone will serve as a cornerstone to its unique “four screen” proposition, integrating the Xperia smartphone portfolio into its existing tablet, TV, videogame and personal computer businesses. This is intended to deliver a more powerful “four screen” experience enabling a connected PC, TV, tablet and smartphone experience for consumers.

 

In related news SE also recently announced the start of the global roll-out for the Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) upgrade for its smartphones.