Andre Jacquet, head of global marketing business management, said that the message conveyed by the brand names was no longer relevant. He added that as more consumers sought phones featuring a digital camera, music and internet services, sticking with the Walkman and Cyber-shot names was 'wrong'.
Sony Ericsson now plans to roll out an 'Entertainment Unlimited' proposition, which it said would unite the Walkman and Cyber-shot brands under a single name.
Sony Ericsson launched its first music-focused mobile handsets in 2005. Since then, it has sold more than 100m Walkman-branded phones.
Jacquet claimed local consumers would decide whether there was sufficient demand for the brands to be used in emerging markets. 'In some countries, having a mobile phone is a big step forward,' he said.
The manufacturer will continue with the launch of two Walkman handsets this year: the W205 Walkman, and the W995 Walkman.
Next week, the company will unveil its first touch-screen 12-megapixel camera phone with video, games, Google Maps and music services. The handset, called Idou, will go head-to-head with the iPhone.
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