The 2001 merger of Sony Corporation and Ericsson’s mobile-phone businesses created the joint venture Sony Ericsson.
Sony contributed consumer electronics, entertainment expertise, and a strong design and brand heritage. Ericsson contributed telecommunications engineering and mobile-network experience. The venture was announced in 2001 and began operations later that year, aiming to compete in a rapidly expanding mobile-phone market.
Sony Ericsson became especially known for camera-focused Cyber-shot phones and music-oriented Walkman phones. Its products combined Sony’s consumer brands with Ericsson’s mobile technology and helped establish the company as a major handset maker during the feature-phone era.
This was a joint venture rather than a complete merger of the two parent companies. Sony acquired Ericsson’s share in 2011, making the business wholly owned by Sony. It was then renamed Sony Mobile Communications, so Sony Mobile describes the later company rather than the original 2001 venture.