Can Sony really climb to be the #3 smartphone maker in the world?

They better have a strong plan if they really want to achieve the goals they have set. They don’t have a ton to build on at this point, ranking 9th in the world in the second quarter of 2013.

Sony Corp will move cautiously in tackling key overseas smartphone markets such as the United States and China as it strives to become the third-biggest smartphone maker in the world, CEO Kazuo Hirai told journalists on Friday.

Hirai has identified smartphones as a pivotal product for turning around Sony’s loss-making electronics business, but its flagship Xperia handsets have not yet made much of a splash beyond Japan and Europe, which account for 60 percent of sales.