SonyEricsson has second-largest market share in RI

SonyEricsson has second-largest market share in RI

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

SonyEricsson claimed it holds the second largest mobile phone
market share in Indonesia this year, after Finland-based Nokia.

"We have been the second since early this year and by the end
of this year, we believe we will stay in this position," said
country manager Alino Sugianto after the launch of new
SonyEricsson mobile phone models on Monday. However, he
acknowledged that there was no official information available
here on mobile phone market shares.

Worldwide, SonyEricsson is the fifth largest mobile phone
producer.

Alino also said the mobile phone market in Indonesia was still
promising and held out the prospect of huge opportunities for
producers amid a low market penetration of around 8 percent.

"The new comer, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) players,
will also make the market brighter," he said, referring to two
new CDMA operators, TelkomFlexi and Esia.

Given this background, Alino believed the company's sales this
year would grow by 50 percent as compared to 2002. However, he
refused to put his finger on a precise figure.

This year, the company launched 10 different models of mobile
phone, from low-end phones to smart phones targeting the low-
budget market and the high-end market respectively.

"Although the smart phones category still holds a small
percentage of market share, the low-end types account for 50
percent of the company's sales," marketing communications manager
Meiske Surjadinata, told The Jakarta Post.

Smart phones here refers to phones that combine a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) and mobile phone. Sony Ericsson has so
far launched two types, the P 800 and P 900.

On Monday, the company launched four new types of mobile
phone, the P 900, Z 600, Z 200 and T230. With retail prices
varying from Rp 7.4 million (US$823.14) at the top end to Rp 1.5
million at the other end, these new products are expected to
reach a wide range of markets as well as increase the company's
market share.

The Z 600 and Z 200 are Sony Ericsson's first clamshell-type
phones, following other producers who have already been producing
this type, such as Motorola and Samsung.

Sony Ericsson believes the clamshell-type phones will have a
bright future in the mobile phone market here, as well as in
other Asian countries, such as China and Taiwan.

London-based SonyEricsson is a 50:50 joint venture between
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Sony Corporation. They merged
in October 2001.