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Sony Ericsson to close Kista development centre

Mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson gave redundancy notices to 130 employees on Wednesday in conjunction with plans to close a development centre in Kista, north of Stockholm.

Published: 19 November 2009 06:37 CET

The announcement came on the same day the company previewed a new touch screen mobile phone.

Negotiations with unions are already underway, according to a statement from the Swedish-Japanese mobile handset maker.

Roughly 100 consultants tied to the development centre are also in danger of losing their jobs.

“The closing of the development centre in Kista is connected to a global restructuring and streamlining programme we launched last year. It encompasses roughly 2,000 employees,” Sony Ericsson spokesperson Gustaf Brusewitz told the TT news agency.

“We expect to have it completed by the middle of next year.”

The news came on the heels of a Wednesday morning press conference during which Sony Ericsson previewed its new X10 touch screen mobile phone, which is set to run on the Google Android operating system.

The company hopes the phone, set to be launched sometime during the first quarter of next year, will catapult Sony Ericsson to the front of the mobile touch screen pack.

Ever since the launch of iPhone, Sony Ericsson’s results have suffered due to a lack of models able to compete with the much heralded Apple handset.

Sony Ericsson said it also plans to launch several additional touch screen mobile phones during the first half of 2010.

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How to choose the right mobile phone plan in Switzerland

Choosing the right mobile phone contract in Switzerland can be hard. Photo: STEFAN WERMUTH / AFP

A comparison of mobile phone offers by comparison portal Dschungelkompass and Switzerland’s Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz has shown which providers offer the cheapest deals in Switzerland.

The research shows that finding the right provider does not only depend on the company in question – but also on what kind of phone user you are.

Infrequent users

Not glued to your phone like a teenager on TikTok? Then prepaid offers are likely to be the best for you.

The study found that the CHF9.90 monthly deal from Mucho Mobile is the most economical deal in Switzerland, netting you a 60 minutes of call time, 10 SMS messages and 300 megabytes of data.

READ: Our readers on the best mobile phone plans in Switzerland

Sunrise, Lidl and TalkTalk also have offers which cost between CHF10 and CHF12 a month.

The researchers however said that paying a bit more will bring users plenty in terms of value for money, particularly if taking a flat rate.

Oliver Zadori, from Dschungelkompass, said “if you are not regularly abroad or make calls abroad, you can do without expensive subscriptions and travel better with a low flat rate, even if additional roaming charges are incurred for a stay abroad.”

Flat rate users

By spending around CHF25 to CHF30 per month, customers can get a flat rate on calls, texts and downloads from several companies – although the larger Swiss telcos seem to be a bit pricer than the smaller ones.

Yallo and Lebara currently offer the cheapest mobile phone flat rates for CHF25 each per month. Conversely, Salt's flat rate costs CHF 39.95 – CHF40 for Sunrise and CH 55 for Swisscom.

Yallo’s flat rate has a minimum for one month and Lebara for two, meaning you don’t need to sign a long-term contract for 12 or in some cases 24 months.

Promotional offers the way to go

The following table shows the findings of the researchers. One major recommendation is to look at which promotional offers are available as these are usually cheaper.

Zadori said consumers should look to find the right promotional offer, although timing was a major factor in finding the best deal.

“Promotional offers have become more important in recent years. If you subscribe to the right subscription at the right time, you can save a lot of money,” Zadori said.

Image: Dschungelkompass

This article has been prepared as a guide only based on research completed by Switzerland’s Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz and Dschungelkompass. The Local Switzerland does not receive a commission from any of the above companies.

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