Panasonic is expanding its smartphone business into Europe and the U.S., as the ailing company looks to reverse its fortunes in a competitive mobile market.
The phone will run on Google's Android OS and eventually release in the U.S. and Asia. The manufacturer hopes to sell 9 million devices outside of Japan by March 2016.
"We are well aware of our powerful competitors," said head of Panasonic's mobile communications division Toshinori Hoshi. "However, markets shares are changing dramatically and if we launch into this fast-changing market, we believe we have a chance of a hit."
Panasonic is optimistic, but it enters the smartphone business outside its home market at a time when the overall health of the company is in steep decline. The manufacturer, which is about to post a $5.5 billion loss, is hedging all its bets on having success in a mobile market where it has struggled to perform in the past.
The company pulled its feature phones out of the U.S. and European markets six years ago after failing to gain any traction.
Now, Panasonic will enter into a market that is more competitive than ever before as it slashes its TV division and refocuses on smartphones to stay afloat. Apple, Samsung, HTC and Motorola are all major players in the markets Panasonic is hoping to step foot in, and each company has an established following of its products.
Meanwhile, Sony is planning to increases its smartphone business moving forward after buying out the mobile portion of it joint venture partner Ericsson, and the China based ZTE is also looking to bring high-end smartphones to the U.S. next year.
Both companies are entering the market in far better shape than Panasonic, and they face an uphill battle to enjoy sustained success.
Panasonic believes entering new markets with a high-end smartphone is a good way to jump start falling revenues, but the high-risk/high-reward plan may prove too formidable to a company already losing billions.
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