Sony Mobile Communications, currently ranked just eighth globally by ABI Research, may abandon the low-end smartphone market and focus primarily on high-end devices as it seeks to re-establish its brand.

“We’re ready to be a premium smartphone provider,” said Stephen Sneeden, Sony Mobile’s Xperia product marketing manager. “The entry level is where you lose the ‘Sonyness’ and it’s where you cannot implement some of these wonderful things from Sony at such a low cost.” He said the company is constantly evaluating its marketing plans but that the “mid to premium tier is the more likely scenario” as features from the Xperia Z make their way down to less expensive Android phones.

FierceWireless: Sony Mobile may quit entry-level smartphone market; TelecomTV content partner.