Despite recent rumors about a possible split between Sony and Ericsson in its joint cellphone venture, Sony Ericsson's senior marketing manager, Richard Dorman, is countering the claims. "The relationship between Sony and Ericsson is a strong as it ever has been, and neither plan to walk away," he says in a Wednesday TechRadar report. Recently, Sony was believed distancing itself from the partnership by allegedly refusing to let Ericsson have a hand in developing a PlayStation-branded handset.

Dorman is also quick to shrug off assertions that Sony Ericsson's 2008 losses, which amounted to $71 million, are an indication of a forthcoming break-up. "Before the partnership both Sony and Ericsson's handset divisions were losing money, but we proved a partnership can work," Dorman says.

Sony Ericsson is due to show new products at next week's Mobile World Congress, including the C903 and W395 media phones as well as the 5-megapixel C901.