STOCKHOLM— Sony Corp. will take full control of handset maker Sony Ericsson, ending a decade-old tie-up with Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson of Sweden in a move to boost the Japanese company's strategy to connect its mobile-gadget offerings with an online network of music, videos and games.

Sony will pay €1.05 billion ($1.46 billion) in cash for Ericsson's 50% share in the joint venture, the companies said Thursday.

The Japanese company views smartphones, which consumers carry around with them on a daily basis, as essential to its mobile-device offerings. The deal also includes a patent cross-licensing agreement between Sony and Ericsson, and Sony will take over five "crucial patents" from Ericsson, said the Swedish company's chief executive, Hans Vestberg.

Patents have become a key battleground among smartphone vendors globally, spawning a host of lawsuits and countersuits, and this part of the deal "will help Sony to avoid some of the litigation others are facing," said a Gartner Inc. research vice president, Carolina Milanesi.

At a news conference after the announcement, Sony Chairman Howard Stringer said the Japanese company has struggled to build up the same kind of infrastructure and offerings as U.S. competitors such as Apple Inc.