According to Thomas Waldner, Senior Design Manager at Sony Mobile Communications, Sony has been a pioneer in pushing the smartphone space beyond the tradition of drab black and white handsets. While the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC were persisting with monochrome handsets, Sony, with the likes of the Xperia Z1 and Z1 Compact was experimenting with purple and yellow devices. Although the company might not have a colour pallet as vibrant as that of the now Microsoft-owned Nokia Lumia line, Waldner believes Sony has helped make networks and retailers more open to a variety of handset colours.