Sony Confirms Plans to Sell Off PC Business, Shifts Focus to High End Televisions and Smartphones

Confirming a rumor from just a couple of days ago, Sony has confirmed in a press release today that the rumors are true – the company will indeed be selling off its existing PC business citing “drastic changes in the global PC industry.” As expected, the business will be handed off to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), who will continue to offer the VAIO lineup with significant changes expected under a new company name.

While final conditions of the deal have yet to be officially inked , Sony expects all the wrinkles to be settled and that the pen will be put to ink by the end of next March, meaning that sony’s upcoming quarterly financial reports will include figures from the underperforming division. Following their exit from the PC business, Sony will continue to focus their efforts on their smartphone lineup going forward, such as the Sony Xperia Z1.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sony has also announced some significant changes to the way that they’ll be handling their televise business. While Sony has never been exactly known for budget offerings, Sony is confirming today that in an effort to improve the profitability of their television business they will be accelerating focus on a “shift to high-end models, especially in the area of 4K,” a space of which the company has currently “secured more than 75% market share in Japan.” This transition is expected to be complete by July 2014.

So what do you think of today’s big Sony news? Have you a Sony VAIO laptop that you’ll suddenly be looking upon with more kindly, nostalgic eyes, or do you think this is a worrying sign of the continued decline in the PC industry as a whole? Let us know in the comments below!