Panasonic Corp is finalizing plans to pull out of the consumer smartphone business in Japan and has approached potential buyers for its cellular base station business, the Nikkei reported.<\/p>\n
It will end production at its only smartphone factory by March 2014, the daily said.<\/p>\n
The company told NTT DoCoMo Inc that it would stop supplying new smartphone models from this winter, Reuters reported this month, citing the Kyodo news service.<\/p>\n
Panasonic, however, will still provide specialized models for corporate users and outsourced models for foreign markets. Production and domestic sales of conventional cell phones will continue as well, the Nikkei reported.<\/p>\n
The company has also approached potential buyers for its cellular base station business, including Finland’s Nokia, the Nikkei said.<\/p>\n
Panasonic said in July that its mobile phone sales decreased sharply in the April-June quarter due partly to NTT DoCoMo’s adoption of a new marketing strategy offering bigger discounts for smartphones made by Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Co.<\/p>\n
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