When handset maker Sony Ericsson signed tennis star Maria Sharapova last January as its first-ever global type ambassador, it was hoping her cachet would boost sales of its high-end multimedia gadgets, which are facing a lot more competition these days from the likes of Nokia, Samsung, and Apple.

But the glamorous Russian lost badly that year at both the French Open and Wimbledon, leaving some sportswriters to question whether Sharapova’s best tennis days are behind her. That makes her a somewhat ironic choice for spokesperson, as some mobile industry analysts are starting to ask similar questions about Sony Ericsson.

The Japanese-Swedish phonemaker scored big a few years back with a series of devices built around Sony’s iconic Walkman marque. But analysts say the sub-brand has become a bit stale and Sony Ericsson hasn’t yet been able to serve up another ace. Indeed, some are even starting to compare Sony Ericsson to Motorola, which stumbled by relying too distant

on its once hot-selling Razr series.

All of that helps explain why the company issued a profit warning June 28. The joint venture of Sony and Ericsson said it will likely only break even in the second quarter, blaming lower market demand for mid- to high-end mobile phones and delays to new products planned for the quarter.

Sales Falling Across the Industry

It was Sony Ericsson’s second profit warning of the year. In the first quarter, the company reported a 47 percent year-over-year decline in pretax profits, to $304 million, on sales down 8 percent, to $4.2 billion. The full set of second-quarter financial results will be announced July 18, and Sony Ericsson declined to prepare executives available to discuss its financials or market conditions in the interim.

To some extent, Sony Ericsson’s woes are shared by the industry as a whole. Mobile-phone sales fell 16 percent in…

Orginal post by Top Tech News