In Beijing on May 15, 2007 Sony Ericsson Developer World announced the set-up of its first regional developer support and business operations with the official launch of a Chinese-language website section. Establishing regional presence in China is important to better support Chinese developers and ensure that Sony Ericsson's growth in the region is fuelled with attractive mobile content and applications for Chinese end-users.

Mobile content market in China
China is one of the world's most dynamic mobile markets, and mobile content and applications are playing an increasingly important role. There has been a strong growth in non-voice services in China. The use of smartphones is growing rapidly. Reports show that mobile music revenues today are greater than traditional music sales. There is huge interest in content and Sony Ericsson is committed to actively supporting the growing Chinese developer community.

"Sony Ericsson is not only committed to the development of easy to use mobile phones and accessories with attractive design and innovative functionality, but also attaches significant importance to providing fun, practical and innovative content, applications and services with our products. By doing so, Sony Ericsson can offer key operator customers an attractive value proposition and consumers a rich multimedia lifestyle experience," said Gunilla Nordstrom, President of Sony Ericsson China. "Sony Ericsson Developer World has been very successful globally and important in order to stimulate and support applications development. Its official launch in China further showcases the company's long-term commitment to the China market."

Developer World resources in Chinese
Sony Ericsson Developer World will target a broad range of developers in China and provide dedicated services and support in the local language. The mission is to equip strategic content partners in China and the Chinese developer community with the tools, information and support required for them to be able to effectively deliver top-tier content for Sony Ericsson GSM and UMTS mobile phones.

The new Chinese web section on the global Sony Ericsson Developer World portal offers technical documentation, tools, go-to-market and application certification information in Chinese. There are already close to 20 different Developers' Guidelines, special interest papers and tutorials available for download in Chinese. Check out it out here www.sonyericsson.com/developer/china

Register for monthly newsletter in Chinese
By registering as a Community member, you can subscribe to the Chinese monthly developer newsletter. As a registered member, you will also have the opportunity to be evaluated as a Premier partner and get more dedicated partner support including prototypes for application development and testing, dedicated tech email support, third-party certification support, and face-to-face meetings with partner and content acquisition managers to receive early market information etc.

Over time, more interactive community features in Chinese will be introduced, like a Wiki, discussion forums and other fun and useful tools, today available on the global, English portal. It is free of charge for developers to join the program.

Chinese content distribution channels Sony Ericsson is actively exploring different content and application distribution channels in China. Opportunities for Chinese developers include: preloaded applications on China-specific phone versions; Sony Ericsson's own PlayNowover-the-air download service which is featured with China Mobile and offers music, games and video content; a business content and application portal and retail distribution models; China Mobile's Web based service MIDC, showing a fast growth rate in revenues for themes, ringtones, pictures, video and games, supporting 26 Sony Ericsson phones as of April 2007. There are also global opportunities for skilled Chinese developers to be evaluated as global partners and bring something creative and unique to the European and American markets, for distribution through Sony Ericsson Fun & Downloads, Application Shop or preloading on global handsets. The China telecoms market is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and a key market for Sony Ericsson. Since August 2002, when the company first established operations in China, Sony Ericsson has turned China into a strategic base that includes research, design, development, manufacturing and regional sales and marketing.

Sony Ericsson Z558 with touch screen for Chinese character input.

More information:

• Chinese developer resources on Developer World>>
• Register for Developer World monthly newsletter in Chinese>>