Sony Ericsson to go smartphone-only from 2012

Sony Ericsson broke even in its third quarter and announced it will solely focus on smartphones from next year. The fact the mobile handset joint venture made no profit was an improvement on the previous quarter's net income loss of 50m euros ($68.8m, £45.7m). But it was lower than the 49m euro profit in the third quarter last year. The firm shipped 9.5 million handsets over the most recent period, a 9% fall year-on-year. Sony Ericsson blamed the drop on lower demand for its less-advanced models. The company said its Xperia smartphones now account for 80% of its sales. The handsets run Google's Android operating system. "We will continue to invest in the smartphone market, shifting the entire portfoilio to smartphones during 2012," said President and Chief Executive, Bert Nordberg. Split? The earnings come a week after the Wall Street Journal reported that Sony may soon buy Ericsson out of the partnership. The report said the Japanese company wants to integrate the phone division with its mobile games-machine and tablet computer units.