Samsung Aims To Boost Market Share With New Mobile Phone
Barcelona (Dow Jones) Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNHY, 005930.SE) hopes to sell even more of its newest Galaxy S II smartphone than it sold copies of its popular predecessor Galaxy S, as the Korean electronics giant aims to grow market share this year, the group's mobile chief said in an interview Monday.
"It is our goal that the Galaxy S II will do even better than the Galaxy S," JK Shin said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona when asked if he thinks the group's newly unveiled Galaxy S II can top the 10 million that were sold of the Galaxy S since its launch last spring.
Shin, who runs Samsung's mobile division, declined to give a precise sales forecast for the new smartphone, based on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system and which was unveiled at the annual industry gathering on Sunday. It will start selling globally sometime in the first half of 2011.
Samsung aims to sell a total of around 60 million smartphones this year, more than double the around 24 million sold in 2010 as more and more clients around the world shift to smartphones from more basic feature phones. "We will see a fast expansion of the smartphone market, both in developed markets but also in emerging markets."
Samsung expects the global smartphone market to grow between 30% and 40% this year, Shin said. The South Korean company aims to grow its share of the rapidly growing smartphone market. "We wish to see an increase of market share," he said, but declined to give a specific target.
Shin said he is confident Samsung's smartphones stand out from its competitors, notably in terms of the quality of the display, thinness of the design and voice recognition, which will help the group differentiate itself in a market defined by "fierce competition."
It's too early to say what the impact of the alliance announced Friday between Nokia Corp. (NOK) and software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) may be for Samsung or the mobile market, said Shin.
Last Friday, Nokia announced its decision to adopt Microsoft's Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform in a wide-ranging strategic tie-up with the U.S.-based company in a bid to fight back in the smartphone market where it has long struggled against iPhone-maker Apple Inc. (AAPL) and vendors of smartphones based on Android.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," he said. Asked if Samsung plans to continue supporting Windows Phone, Shin said: "Let me just say we support it right now." According to Shin, Samsung currently doesn't consider it necessary to make acquisitions to bolster the mobile division's growth. "If such a need arises, we may in fact consider M&A," he added.
0 Responses to "Samsung Aims To Boost Market Share With New Mobile Phone"
Post a Comment