You know all those Sony-Ericsson handset phones that have been kicking around for a while? Forget Ericsson. Sony paid 1.05 billion Euros (that’s a lot of money) to take over the whole project. This clears the way for Sony to get a lot more assertive with folding in all the music, movie, video game, and entertainment properties it controls into a smartphone.

Reuters says that this is all about creating a Sony alternative to the iPhone:

“Sony is looking to do the same as Apple and meet users’ demands through linking various devices with similar interfaces and operating systems,” said analyst Nobuo Kurahashi of Mizuho Investors’ Securities in Tokyo.
“Smartphones look to become more important products for Sony … and they will probably become the main device people use to connect to the Internet.”