Walkman: old brand gets new life in mobile world

Sony Ericsson just announced its 1Q06 results, claiming it had sold 13.3 million handsets, among which 2.5 million were Walkman-branded phones. A year ago, the number of shipped phones was 9.4 million, but they did not have a Walkman-branded handset a year ago.

Obviously, the 42% increase of shipments can be attributed to the successful marketing of Walkman brand, which was almost forgotten, but luckily, it got a new life in the mobile world. Now, Sony Ericsson has a total of eight Walkman phone models announced or shipping.

The initial success of the Walkman phone made the company to develop a Cybershot imaging phone, which is going to hit markets in near future. What comes with the old brands is distinct differentiation for Sony Ericsson's handset portfolio -- a thing many handset vendors struggle to create. Can you tell me the dedicated music phone of Nokia without googling it first, for example? Motorola, which does not have the legacy of Sony brands, partnered with Apple to market iTunes phone, its dedicated music phone. When handsets offer the same pack of multimedia features it becomes extremely difficult for consumer to choose one. A handset's look (slim Razr) and well-known brand (Walkman) will play an important role in getting customers' attention along with the affordable pricing. So, what should we expect next from Sony Ericsson? Maybe, a Playstation phone?