Sony Xperia Z2 not coming to any U.S. carrier, available only on Sony's website

posted by Alan F. / Apr 25, 2014, 11:34 PM

Sony Xperia Z2 not coming to any U.S. carrier, available only on Sony's website

At first, it was expected that the Sony Xperia Z2 would be an exclusive for T-Mobile in the states. After all, the nation's fourth largest carrier had the Sony Xperia Z in its lineup, and now carries the Sony Xperia Z1. Then came a rumor that Sony's latest flagship handset would be an exclusive for Verizon. But on Friday night, a published report cites Sony itself as saying that no U.S. carriers will get their hands on either the Sony Xperia Z2, and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.

U.S. citizens will get a crack at the Xperia Z2 later this summer when the unlocked version of the phone becomes available via Sony's U.S. online store. As far as the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is concerned, U.S. consumers will need to go overseas for this one. Not only won't the highly spec'd mini be seen on the shelves of any U.S. carrier, it also will not be offered online.

Considering Sony's plans to offer its newest flagship handset every 6 months, by the time U.S. smartphone buyers have the opportunity to buy the Sony Xperia Z2 from Sony's website, it might be close to the unveiling of the Sony Xperia Z3.

via: Engadget

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60 Comments

1. KillerKeyboard

Posts: 372; Member since: Nov 21, 2013

Something's wrong. There's gotta be a reason which makes business sense that Sony can't grab a hold on US carriers.

posted on Apr 25, 2014, 11:38 PM 10

3. Sharky

Posts: 259; Member since: Jun 24, 2008

Exactly what I was thinking. But what could it be? As far as I can tell Sony's devices have been fairly well rated.

posted on Apr 25, 2014, 11:46 PM 8

39. PunyPoop

Posts: 752; Member since: Jan 18, 2013

What PA?? You're title is misleading! "U.S. citizens will get a crack at the Xperia Z2 later this summer when the unlocked version of the phone becomes available via Sony's U.S. online store." not coming really??

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 11:31 AM 2

40. Alan01

Posts: 578; Member since: Mar 21, 2012

Read the headline...not coming to any carrier...and that is the truth. Regards, Alan F.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 11:40 AM 3

50. PunyPoop

Posts: 752; Member since: Jan 18, 2013

http://www.xperiablog.net/2014/04/26/unlocked-xperia-z2-to-see-summer-launch-in-united-states/ "TechCrunch is reporting that deals with US carriers are still ongoing..."

posted on Apr 27, 2014, 2:13 AM 0

41. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

So what do you have to say for yourself now after talking all that smack?

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 11:58 AM 1

51. PunyPoop

Posts: 752; Member since: Jan 18, 2013

Don't act like a smart kid Smurf, you're always trying to put up a fight, what's the matter with you? If you're really a Med student act professionally. You're not acting your age Smurf.

posted on Apr 27, 2014, 2:15 AM 1

58. Teja171 unregistered

He is probably a mentally retarded person. He should seek the help of a psychiatrist or he would become a psycho himself, bashing others all the time. He is a PsychoSmurf.

posted on Apr 28, 2014, 12:19 AM 0

42. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

Just because you put it out on the shelves it doesn't mean people will buy it. There are plenty of good products only available outside of North America. The reasons can range from logistics to budget to Apple patenting everything. Who knows the reason. All we need to know is that the Sony investors are not willing to make the Z2 available on every carrier. My guess is because they probably lost too much money on previous Xperia flagships trying to push it in the US and want to concentrate in the areas where they KNOW for sure people will buy the Z2.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:28 PM 3

47. buccob

Posts: 2952; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

Yeah I agree... plus they probably make more money bypassing carriers, at least in the short term which is the way they do things apparently. But my issue is that even on Sony store, they lack stock quantities... the variety is very limited... My mom travel last year to Florida and she was going to get the Xperia SP which seemed to fit her needs, and budget price.. but after some visits to Sony Stores, she ended up getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini (for a good price) since it was wildly available... Sony is not making much effort in the US... that is the truth

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 4:18 PM 1

13. Tizen007

Posts: 575; Member since: Jan 07, 2014

If they release it in the US they have to spend millions of dollars for marketing. They can't just roll it out cause if they can't do better marketing than its competitors they will not only sell less devices but it will also have a negative impact on their brand image. For this I go with Sony. Sony is already famous for their premium high technology. Sony's TV, game counsels, and home appliances are doing well. It's better to keep up with the smartphone tech competition while concentrating on those products that sell well Just my opinion.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:34 AM 3

16. Fluxman

Posts: 51; Member since: Jun 03, 2010

Try billions. Samsung's marketing budget last year was $14 billion, and I will bet you over half that was in US alone.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:35 AM 0

21. Tizen007

Posts: 575; Member since: Jan 07, 2014

Exactly. Plus its competitor Galaxy S5 had a head start in gaining momentum in the US market. There is no way with Sony's current financial strength that it can make the Z2 sell better. LG G3 is coming out Only a few months till the iPhone 6 is announced Galaxy Note 4 is also a highly anticipated phone with its "new form factor" Sony's production problems just messed it up for the US release.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:43 AM 2

54. LGisgood

Posts: 833; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

SONY NOW A DAY IS NOT GOOD! ITS A JAPAN MANUFACTURER BUT ITS PRODUCTS(SMARTPHONES) ARE ALL MADE IN CHINA! AND EVERYTHING PARTS OF ITS HARDWARE ARE CHINA -MADE TOO... LG MOBILE IS BETTER ITS MADE IN KOREA( HOME LAND)

posted on Apr 27, 2014, 10:38 AM 0

55. LGisgood

Posts: 833; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

R.I.P. Sony! Sony Viao sold! Sony Playstation will soon to sell sony tv's poor sales... sony mobile poor sales...

posted on Apr 27, 2014, 10:39 AM 0

56. PunyPoop

Posts: 752; Member since: Jan 18, 2013

Are you okay? Are you reading the news regarding Sony's sales?

posted on Apr 27, 2014, 11:39 AM 1

14. Droid_X_Doug

Posts: 5993; Member since: Dec 22, 2010

Maybe Sony thinks they are above negotiating wholesale pricing terms with U.S. carriers? That is as bad as (actually, I think it is worse than) a carrier exclusive. Now, no carrier is pitching Sony phones to their customers. Sony marketing executives must have OD'd on stupid pills.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:34 AM 1

15. Fluxman

Posts: 51; Member since: Jun 03, 2010

US is a huge market, but extremely difficult to penetrate. You have to have a model the will work for each of the US carrriers, support those models, and bring the marketing dough to compete with Samsung and Apple. Sony doesn't feel like they are in a good position to risk it right now, and are focusing their efforts on the markets where they already have influence and penetration (Europe and Asia). Also, in general, you only need one or two models of phones to cover that entire region. HTC is a perfect example. They make solid phones, but every year they are in the red, bc they can not compete with the big guys. I am actually impressed that Sony is at least making the phone available to sell in the US. It appeases the people who really want the Sony Z2 without having to make the huge risk to try and penetrate until they are ready.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:34 AM 0

22. NokiaFTW

Posts: 2072; Member since: Oct 24, 2012

I personally think Sony did a good thing by not releasing the Z2 in the US. The only smartphones on the mind of most US consumers are the iPhone and a Samsung Galaxy. Sony anyways wouldn't have sold much. And the US is pretty much saturated. They should concentrate on marketing the phone in countries where they are popular and sell the Z2 there. This would increase their brand recognition in emerging markets.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 1:01 AM 4

23. fanboy1974

Posts: 1345; Member since: Nov 12, 2011

It's why I can't take Sony serious in the smartphone game. Such a great name and presence that you would figure that they could easily rival Samsung across the market. At a time Sony was much bigger than Apple in name alone. If I was Sony I would make a flagship game phone with either attachable or slide out controls with spec's that rival Samsung and HTC flagships. Not that miserable attempt with xperia play a few years ago. To fight piracy just add extra hardware for game authentication and add a Sony game store along with Google play. Sony should be using the PlayStation brand to their advantage.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 1:28 AM 0

43. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

That sounds good but you need money and stuff to do things

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:31 PM 0

29. Kylesforza

Posts: 8; Member since: Apr 26, 2014

Actually , Check Xperiablog. There's a new post on this. PhoneArena is just trolling

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 6:15 AM 0

33. akki20892

Posts: 3902; Member since: Feb 04, 2013

Sony announced z2 in January ces, so they should have been release in February before s5 and HTC one m8 announced. So they can get dam good sell numbers, idk what happened, but they had perfect timed but didn't use time perfectly.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 8:18 AM 2

34. Ashoaib

Posts: 3269; Member since: Nov 15, 2013

Even chinese are spreading their wings to enter US market... how come sony cant do that? Chinese doesnt have more financial strength than sony... I think there is some other problem with Sony... may be production problem... they are keeping my words so far "Sony is always good in fu*king something in their phones"

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 8:20 AM 0

2. ocilfa

Posts: 334; Member since: Aug 03, 2012

That's a load of bull. I was looking forward to picking mine up on Verizon.

posted on Apr 25, 2014, 11:45 PM 2

4. iqjumpuw

Posts: 62; Member since: Nov 09, 2013

I'm pretty sure this is due to vendor problems...

posted on Apr 25, 2014, 11:47 PM 2

10. maherk

Posts: 6715; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

Exactly, there is no other reason why it won't be available at least with t-mobile. I can't but laugh at Sony fans and how delusional they were thinking that a Sony fan will beat an HTC/Samsung flagship in sales.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 12:22 AM 4

26. Roeshak

Posts: 38; Member since: Apr 17, 2013

Please spare me the bull. Sony outsold htc last year without the us market. Htc are minnows, a company slowly going out of business. When was the last time they actually made a profit? Please only htc fanatics and American techblogs think htc is anything. They have a bit of sales in America but elsewhere they're literally dead compared to other brands. Back to the topic at hand, let's be honest many Americans have issues buying Japanese products. It goes back to wait and pearl harbour etc. You can see it from the disinterest many techblogs over there show to Sony products. They always pick on them downplaying their strengths and exaggerating their weaknesses. Against that sort of backdrop you can't blame Sony for being so tentative when it comes to the US. They have a greater presence in Canada after all! Sony if they can dominate the European and Asian markets can very easily consolidate their place in market share producing healthy profits which is their stated objective. Well, if they keep putting out devices as fantastic as the z2, then that aim is very achievable. Sorry for all the Sony lovers stateside but you guys are in the small minority. US techblogs treat Sony products with a lot of bias and that's probably put Sony off. Nobody wants to create a device as awesome as the z2 only to see it ridiculed by incredibly biased idiots. It'll be available unlocked though so guys start saving up for it. It's an awesome device. I've had it for over a week now and rust me, it's the best smartphone ever built. The camera is truly amazing!!!

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 4:43 AM 4

28. refillable

Posts: 1071; Member since: Mar 10, 2014

In Short: 'Sony is not serious about the US as they think that the US market isn't profitable'. In Asia, despise their lack of popularity in the US, they sell pretty well.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 5:46 AM 1

31. giani

Posts: 269; Member since: Nov 13, 2012

So yr saying all the tech sites worldwide that are praising HTC phones are bull, but then yr saying HTC fans are the fanatic ones ?! There are two important markets where HTC are outselling Sony, USA and UK and possibly the rest of Europe. But numbers are NOTHING! As for me, nothing against Sony phones, but I'll take HTC over Sony. But that's my personal preference.

posted on Apr 26, 2014, 7:42 AM 1

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