The mobile phone maker dead-zone

Japanese consumer electronics giants Sharp, Panasonic (PC), NEC, and Fujitsu (FJTSY) have been stuck in a mobile phone holding pattern amid a declining domestic market. And none of these corporations' mobile phone groups have substantially expanded beyond Japan, leaving the companies to either make a bold move toward expansion or leave the game altogether.

"By marrying their fortunes to the Japanese market, they're not going to benefit unless someone drops out," says Ramon T. Llamas, senior analyst at IDC.

While Sharp, which sold approximately 9.3 million handsets in 2009, has had a lead over its competitors since 2006, the company's dominance is far from being a done deal.

Fujitsu and Toshiba (TOSBF) announced last month that they plan to merge mobile phone operations by October of this year. Fujitsu, which has narrowed its focus to smart phones in recent years, likely plans to take advantage of Toshiba's engineering talent to give Sharp a run for its money.

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