[Hands0n]

Oh! I didn't see this coming. Hot on the heels of SE's problems with the Satio comes a software fault on the Aino. In typical corporate style the issue is being played down. But if it is a software problem then the potential is there for it to manifest on all of that particular model.

Still no talk from SE as to how they're going to solve the problem on either or both handsets. Are the early adopters to be abandoned in favour of new customers? Nasty if true.


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A second of Sony Ericsson's new smartphones, key to its strategy for returning to profit next year, has been hit by software problems in Britain ahead of a critical sales period.

A spokesman for the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker said a number of users of the new Aino smartphone, part of the company's Christmas line-up, had experienced problems using the touch screen.

"Obviously we are working as quickly as possible to solve it (the issue)," Sony Ericsson spokesman Mattias Holm said, adding the issue affects only a small number of customers in Britain.

Earlier this week Britain's Carphone Warehouse, Europe's biggest mobile phone retailer, temporarily withdrew Sony Ericsson's recently launched Satio smartphone because of a software problem.

British retailer Phones 4U followed suit.

"Aino and Satio are Sony Ericsson's key products for the final quarter," said analyst Geoff Blaber from British consultancy CCS Insight.

"These problems couldn't come at a worse time -- just as the market approaches the highest volume weeks of the year. They have days not weeks to fix these issues," Blaber said.

Sony Ericsson's Holm said the software problems had only affected a small number of customers in Britain and had not damaged Sony Ericsson's brand.

"At the moment, we don't see any damage or harm done," Holm said. "It is a contained issue affecting only a small number of consumers."

Success in the smartphone market is a key element in Chief Executive Bert Nordberg's plan for returning the firm to profit next year.

Smartphones, with advanced mobile Internet and networking functions, have been the one bright spot in an otherwise depressed handset market over the last year.

While mobile phone makers have been hurt by the global downturn, Sony Ericsson has also suffered because it has lacked a strong smartphone offering to rival Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Sony Ericsson lost 199 million euros ($297 million) in the third quarter and has not made a profit since the first quarter of 2008.


Source: Reuter (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AP3C520091126?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology)

[The Mullet of G]

Oh dear, now that is a bit of a disaster, not exactly an unexpected one, but a disaster none the less. I love how the guy thinks it hasn't damaged SE's brand, to be fair it would be hard to damage it beyond where it is now.

The funny thing is Satio and Aino were the companies attempt at turning things round, you'd think they could have invested a bit more time and effort into getting them right with that in mind. I think its fair to say SE wont be returning to profitability this quarter. I don't think a perfectly working Satio and Aino would have changed that either, as both are unlikely to sell in great quantities, Aino is an overpriced feature phone thats at least a year behind the times, partial touch screen support on a handset of that price is laughable. The decision to use S60v5 on Satio was the beginning of the end, Nokia have managed to sell a fair amount of S60v5 based phones, but SE simply do not have the brand power that Nokia has, Nokia has the power to shift a decent amount of phones regardless of how average they are, I don't think SE have that same luxury.

[Hands0n]

Yes, it is amusing at the denial of brand damage. That the representative of SE even brought that up gives a very strong indication that they are concerned about such damage, even while they are unable to repair it and the handset.

If SE want to avoid further brand damage they seriously need to have a very robust means of identifying all the handsets out in circulation and take steps to recall/repair every single one of them. It will be expensive and won't help their profitability figures. But if all they are concerned about is profit and let the user go hang then they'll be the victims of their own corporate greed.

SE have fallen a long way in reputation, and their product really is mediocre at best. There is so much better, and with better support, that the choice of SE becomes an act of folly (witness the Satio and now this latest example of how not to do it).

[The Mullet of G]

Fixing the problems would go a long way to gaining back some respect from frustrated customers. But I suspect the damage has been done and it'll be hard for them to recover from this.

Unfortunately the problem runs pretty deep, its not just SE but Sony themselves that have quality issues. Sony and SE have been involved in several high profile recalls over the last year or 2, and both the SE and Sony brands have taken a battering as a result.

I personally think Sony need a massive reality check, as its clear their recent poor financial performance hasn't been the slap they needed to improve quality. I suspect Sony will have to get a grip first, before SE can follow suit.

[Hands0n]

Speaking to my son who works for a national mobile phone shop he tells me that SE customers are effectively on their own at the moment.

The choice seems to be to take the handset back to the shop for a refund/replacement or watch out for updates on the Satio's website. That is absolutely useless for the average Joe who probably does not even know that the handset software can be updated.

There was a time that Sony represented quality. I do recall that they used to use mil-spec components in their systems and rigorous quality controls which is why their failure rates were so minimal. The masters of Sony then would be bewildered at the state of the operation today.

[hecatae]

the Aino, is not even a smartphone.

we could make a list of the phones out there that are not sony ericsson's but are sony ericsson branded.

w350, w395, t303, w302, w205, s312, I can go on, point is, Sony ericsson hardly make any phones themselves, so why cant they perfect all these new releases.