Sony Ericcson hops on Android Bus

Two bits of probably unrelated data came out today: HTC is kicking butt thanks to T-Mobile’s G1 and Touch Diamond phones and Sony Ericcson (SE) confirmed they are going to make a Google Android OS based phone. Unrelated? Maybe, but probably not. Phone makers are scrambling to bring up sales in a plateauing market that is proving software, and not necessarily design, owns the day.

What’s a Walkman?

Still believing their Walkman brand has relevance in today’s marketplace,

“We believe Sony Ericsson can bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Alliance drawing on the successes of the Walkman and Cyber-shot sub-brands.” said Rikko Sakaguchi, CVP and head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson.

App store for me please

SE hopes to bring the Android 3rd party application fun to their phones and drive sales. As estimates roll in that Apple will bank $300 million dollars just in the 30% they collect for “operational costs,” other manufacturers want to give their users functionality they didn’t have to come up with and push through the telecoms. This approach allows manufacturers to let the market decide and pay for functionality they desire.

This is a good move for SE and proof that manufactures see the test fire of the G1 as a success and something to emulate.

Read [SonyEriccson]