Not a lot of people are aware that Panasonic, known for its consumer electronics, is producing smartphones as well. So it comes as a bit of a surprise when Nikkei reported that Panasonic plans to halt its smartphone business in Japan some time this winter, as well as shutting down its only mobile phone production plant in March 2014.
The Japanese company points to the weak sales of its smartphones during the most recent quarter as one of the reasons. The company attributes this to NTT DoCoMo’s price slash frenzy for Sony and Samsung handsets.
But Panasonic will not leave the mobile phone business entirely. The company will still offer certain models for corporate and foreign markets, most likely the Panasonic Eluga (pictured) or the P51. It will also continue to produce its regular feature phones.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei reports that Panasonic is in discussions with certain companies such as Nokia over potential acquisitions of its cellular base stations.
Source: Reuters
