Japan's SoftBank is reportedly in talks with Sony to sell its smartphones through Sprint.
According to Reuters sources, the move will allow SoftBank to give a nudge of Sprint's sales, after the U.S. regulators rejected their merger with T-Mobile. It will also enable the company to reduce operation costs and increase its share in the market after facing tough competitions with other carriers such as AT&T and Verizon.
Softbank spokesperson Daisuke Muranaga and Sony spokesperson Mai Hora both declined to comment about the alleged partnership when asked by Businessweek.
In 2013, Sony reported that it only had a 2.1 percent share of the worldwide smartphone market. According to research firm Gartner, Sony's biggest competition are low-priced Chinese smartphones. In the United States, the only company offering Sony handsets is T-Mobile, the fourth-largest wireless provider.
Analyst Masahiro Ono of Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities expressed his support to the reported deal as it will both benefit the two businesses.
"They haven't been able to maintain very good relationships with carriers, unlike Samsung, who has done very well," he told Reuters.
However, there were also a few analysts who believe that the Softbank-Sony partnership will not make much difference.
"Even if they put out a phone on Sprint, Verizon is the priority any way you think about it," Deutsche Bank analyst Yasuo Nakane told Reuters.
Sony is scheduled to launch its new flagship smartphone called Xperia Z3 in the United States, and it is expected to be marketed by Sprint. In Japan, the company will unveil the newest Xperia models in the winter. The device reportedly features a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor with 3 GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch Triluminous display and is quite similar to its predecessor Xperia Z2. Analsyts predicted that it will be unveiled in the upcoming IFA 2014 in Berlin.
