Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, HDTV

With the markets tanking, banks imploding, and the massive bailout seemingly having no effect, it’s safe to say that the economy is in dire, dire shape. People are cutting back on everything from vacations to vaccinations, yet are apparently still quite willing to open their wallets for new electronic goodies — if you believe the group that represents all those goody makers, at least. The Consumer Electronics Association is saying that sales of gadgets and the like are surging compared to this time last year, with flat-panel TV sales alone up 40-percent. The explanation is that people are staying home more often to save funds, so are investing in home entertainment systems, videogames, laptops, and other miscellaneous toys to stave off cabin fever, particularly when they can find good deals online. Maybe that explains HD-DVD’s continued success?

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Filed under: Cellphones

“Planned” and “executed” are two very different things, and while we knew Sony Ericsson was mulling the idea of hacking 2,000 jobs, the hammer has finally fallen in Research Triangle Park, NC. The company will soon be axing 450 employees at its North American headquarters as part of a large reorganization, with most everyone knowing by the week’s end whether they’ll stay or go. According to Aldo Ligouri, Sony Ericsson’s head of global communications and public relations, the RTP cuts are “part of company-wide changes that Sony Ericsson announced in July,” and in whatever context, he added that “this is our map of how we see things moving forward.” Just to put things in perspective, the outfit only has about 750 workers in the North Carolina-based facility, which is primarily seen as an R&D hub. Tough news to hear, no matter how you spin it.

[Image courtesy of Flickr]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Sony Ericsson warned the world just over a fortnight ago that things wouldn’t be too rosy when it came time to announce Q2 results, and rosy things are not. Even though the handset maker was hoping and praying to break even at the end of the quarter, net profits ended up falling through the floor to the tune of 97%. As predicted, weak sales of mid-to-high-end mobiles were blamed for the bulk of the bad news, and it did affirm that conditions would remain rough for the rest of the year. Granted, the looming launch of the Xperia X1 should help matters a bit, but without a new stable of low-end cellies to send to emerging markets, it’ll be a long road back to the top. Unfortunately, SE’s sagging position in the market has left it slashing 2,000 jobs across the globe, though it didn’t say exactly where the cuts would be made. It’s okay SE, there’s only one place to go when you’re laying on the bottom… or something like that.

[Image courtesy of Flickr]

Read - Sony Ericsson’s Q2 earnings
Read - Sony Ericsson plans job cuts

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