Sony Mobile is forecasting that 2013 will be a “breakthrough” year for the vendor as it seeks to get back in the smartphone game.

That was the key message delivered by senior execs at a press conference this morning, which also saw it announce wider availability of its flagship Xperia Z smartphone and tablet devices.

The strategy is based on closely integrating its mobile business with the Japanese giant’s other business lines such as music (Walkman), gaming (PlayStation) and photography.

“This means we can offer a proposition that only Sony can deliver,” said Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai. He added that “all our resources are going into our mobile business.”

The Xperia Z smartphone was unveiled at CES last month. Sony says the device is currently the best-selling smartphone in Japan and is now shipping worldwide. The 10.1-inch Xperia Tablet Z will be available globally next quarter.

The firm also claims to have the largest range of NFC-enabled devices with 35 products either “launched or in pipeline.”

It is just over a year since Sony bought out its former handset partner Ericsson for $1.1 billion and rebranded Sony Ericsson as Sony Mobile.

While Sony Ericsson was once the world’s third largest mobile phone maker, Sony Mobile is now a minor player in the global smartphone market. According to recent figures from Gartner, Sony Mobile shipped 7.9 million phones in Q4 2012 for a 1.7 per cent global market share.

According to Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki, the firm is gearing up for its “biggest ever marketing campaign” this year. The campaign will be “deployed in more than 20 markets across TV, print, digital, out of home and retail from March 2013.”