Olympus Has Fallen. This was the movie name-checked in Sony's recent financials, where it announced it has slashed its full-year profit forecast by a whopping 40%.
It's an unfortunate title when you consider that one of the giants of the tech world has once again showed with a plummet in profits how volatile the entertainment and technology space is.
The movie's poor showing at the box office was revealed to be one of the many things that has brought Sony slipping back into the red. This alongside an ailing TV and video camera business unfortunately masked an area where Sony is excelling – mobile phones.
As with LG's recent earnings report, smartphones are big business once more for companies that were primarily known for their television output. They are propping up profits, plastering over the cracks other devices are continuing to add to brands.
This is good news for the phone industry, but more importantly great news for mobile phone users. 2013 has been a golden year for mobile phones.
Mobile redemption
No longer are Samsung and Apple the only ones name-checked when someone asks 'what is the best mobile phone?'. The HTC One, LG G2, Nokia Lumia 1520 and Sony Xperia Z1 are all viable alternatives for the 'best phone' crown.
Sony's redemption in the phone market has come at a great time for the company. Without its recent success in this space, where sales of its phones have grown to 39%, Sony's outlook for 2013 would be, well, even more bleak.
And, despite criticism, it shows that at least one of the prongs on CEO Kazuo Hirai's three-pronged approach to the electronics market – mobile, imaging, and gaming – is sharp. But this doesn't mean that he should turn trim this approach into a solitary spike.
Let the games begin
Yes gaming was hit with a loss, because of PS Vita price cuts, but 2014 is certain to be different. The PS4 is launching, along with it better PS Vita functionality.
The PS4 also makes fantastic use of Sony smartphones and offers the 4K functionality that could be key to kickstarting people buying televisions once more, two key things that could finally create the 'one Sony' eco-system the company is currently craving.
Sony is struggling, but its renewed focus in mobile gives it hope. The news that there's a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, does not.
