As handset and airtime prices have fallen, and the technology behind wireless becomes more accessible, cellphones have been stripped of the vestiges of exclusivity. Over the next few years, consumers will have access to the raft of wireless-product choices and innovation that only the Japanese and South Korean electronics industry can provide so well. But Sony's move underlines that leadership in wireless products is headed East with a vengeance. For the first time, a European former power in handset manufacturing has had to concede that a Japanese company can build better products. It's not just about making phones cheaper.
History shows that shifting manufacturing to Asia leads to consumer revolution.
Think cars, motorbikes, televisions, shipbuilding and plastics. Now think Walkman with wireless, as products from Sony and other manufacturers start pushing the boundaries of what cellphones or electronic devices can do, given wireless connectivity. The deal coincides with a new generation of digital-wireless networks that enable digital devices to connect with each other, either directly or over the Web. And with a vigour that outshines anything done in the United States or Europe, Japan and South Korea are producing new products incorporating music players, cameras or organizers that will take advantage of the coming era of connectivity. So in the heat of the moment Sony and Ericsson need each other.