Samsung Boasts Record High Profit

The South Korean smartphone maker still seems to be going strong, despite the predictions of the analysts that the smartphone market has become saturated. Another record high was established by the operating profit of Samsung Electronics in the July-September quarter. However, as per the experts, this record profit was most probably driven by the robust sales of the mid-range and cheaper smartphones that it’s marketing in developing countries. According to the maker of the Galaxy line of smartphones, as compared to its last year earnings, its operating income had increased by 25%. The result had turned out better than the expectations in the market.

The sales of the third quarter had also shown a record 13% increase. The net income and other related details of its complete financial performance were not disclosed by the South Korean giant. The company will be announcing its complete results later in this month. The analysts were of the opinion that the record quarter had come to be because of the increased profit from the semiconductor business of Samsung Electronics and the high sales of its low-end and mid-range smartphones in emerging markets. It had been expected that the profits of the South Korean firm would be dented because of the slowing growth of high-end smartphones in developed countries.

However, the success of the company’s expansion in the mobile phone market of developing countries was underlined by the latest results. The sales of the current flagship smartphone of the company the Galaxy S4 that was launched in April saw a plunge in the third quarter, but as per the analysts, the company had still managed to sell more smartphones in contrast to the previous quarter as its cheaper smartphones had been snapped up pretty quickly. Last month, the company launched its latest device of the phablet line; the Galaxy Note 3.

Along with the most recent iteration of the Galaxy Note line, the company made another introduction in the form of Galaxy Gear. This is a wristwatch that not only has a touchscreen display, but also has the capability of placing and receiving phone calls through the Samsung smartphone owned by people. While other smartphone companies are struggling to remain stable in the market, Samsung is not facing so much trouble as it is quite diversified. Not only is Samsung Electronics the largest maker of smartphones all over the world, but it is also the largest vendor of TVs and computer memory chips.

In recent years, only two thirds of its overall profit was earned with the contribution of smartphones. There is a tepid demand for personal computers and televisions that are also an integral part of the company. Samsung beat Apple Inc. in the race of introducing a smart watch and has launched its own device in the wearable technology market. The company is expected to expand on its line of watches and introduce better versions, just like its smartphones. So far, it remains quite stable in the smartphone market with its variety of phones at every price point.

LG Takes on Samsung With New Smartphone

 

The smartphone market has grown rapidly in the past few years and has enabled a number of companies to make and break their fortunes while competing. Initially, the market was dominated by the likes of BlackBerry and Apple, but it lasted only until Google launched its Android Operating System. Since then, a myriad of companies have entered the market and have launched their phones. However, it is Samsung Electronics that has made the most of the OS and has reached the top of the smartphone market, even beating Apple Inc. with its Galaxy range of smartphones.

Even though other manufacturers have tried, but none of them have been able to challenge the success and dominance enjoyed by the Galaxy phones. But, now it seems that LG has finally managed to do so. The company has been striving hard to find a foothold in the ongoing smartphone battle taking place between various companies. The South Korean firm is determined to take on the flagship smartphones of its competitors like Samsung, HTC and Sony and has therefore launched its new smartphone called the G2, which boasts a Snapdragon 800 processor and was highly anticipated in the market.

According to the CEO and president of LG, Dr. Jong-seok Park, technology cannot be deemed innovation if it is without empathy. He made this statement at the launch of the G2. This new smartphone of the company has a 2GB RAM and a 2.26 GHZ quad-core processor. Optical image stabilization technology has been incorporated in the smartphone and it also has a 13 mega pixel camera on the rear end. Measuring 5.2 inch, the phone shows off an edge to edge screen. A 24 bit/192kHz sound is offered by the G2 in order to enhance the music and video experience of users. Apart from that, LG has also brought a change in the traditional design pattern by moving the physical buttons on the back instead of the front.

The model is operating on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. A lot of user friendly features have also been installed into the phone by the manufacturers such as the Answer Me sensing that will answer the calls automatically when it’s moved to the ear. No button will have to be pressed. A calendar event can also be created by a text link with the help of a simple text message if it comprises of information like time or location. The quick remote feature of the gadget also allows people to control all their electronic devices with the use of the infrared port.

The plug and plop feature of the G2 is also very useful as the former shows whether the device has been plugged into the right port and the latter shows the icons of the app that are most commonly used. A security feature is also part of the phone that will keep the data confidential when the device is with a second user. All 130 wireless carriers all over the globe will be offering the model in a couple of weeks.

IDC: Apple and Samsung Losing Their Grip

The global smartphone market has undergone rapid growth in the past few years. Beginning with the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, the industry has become extremely widespread with smartphones from various companies topping the charts. However, even though there are several players in the market now, it remains dominated by two companies; Apple and Samsung. The American manufacturer and South Korean giant respectively hold considerable market share and are constantly striving hard to beat each other in the long run. Nonetheless, there have been statements made by analysts that the smartphone market has reached its peak and is now stable after growing rapidly.

However, the industry research outfit, IDC has stated that the two main players of the market i.e. Samsung and Apple are basically losing their grip on the smartphone market because other firms like Lenovo and LG are gaining market share gradually. Apple launched its iPhone 5 and Samsung introduced its Galaxy S4, but neither have been able to break or make records like their predecessors. The fiscal third quarter earnings were released by Apple Inc. this week that showed the company had managed to sell around 31.2 million smartphones in this three month duration. According to Apple, this is a record figure for this quarter.

But, IDC was quick to rain on Apple’s optimism by stating that the figures showed the second lowers growth of year on year, which has occurred in the past four years. In the second quarter, the iPhone maker only accounted for a 13.1% share in the smartphone market globally. With a 30.4% share, Samsung was way ahead of Apple Inc., but IDC still put a negative spin on the position of the South Korean firm in the global smartphone market. According to the estimates of the research firm, 72.4 million smartphones were shipped by Samsung in the second quarter.

Even though this figure seems impressive and was primarily driven by the success of the Galaxy S4 smartphone, it isn’t good enough because in comparison to the last quarter, the market share of the company declined by 2.4%. The research manager of IDC, Ramon Llamas said that a significant share of the market was held by Apple and Samsung, but they weren’t the only vendors. As a matter of fact, more vendors are targeting the high end smartphone market as new devices are being introduced and launches are being made.

He said that people would indeed be comparing the new devices with the iPhone and Galaxy phones, but the competition still refuses to bow out of the market. Some unlikely aspects have caused a slump in Apple and Samsung in the form of ZTE, Lenovo and LG. A larger year on year growth was enjoyed by these three firms quarterly as compared to their rivals. Llamas also ended that the opposite end of the spectrum cannot be ignored either as low cost smartphones have also managed to gain traction in the market. They are another reason why the high end devices of Apple and Samsung are suffering.

Samsung to Launch Galaxy Tab 3 Line on July 7th

Samsung is going to launch its latest Galaxy Tab 3 line tablets in upcoming weeks, as per TechCrunch. The new devices will arrive in 3 different sizes 7.0, 8.0, and 10.1 inches varying in prices, The launch date is July 7th.

Features known so fare are a dual-core Intel processor with Z2560 1.6GHz, 1280x800 display, 1GB of RAM, along with a 6800mAh battery. Screen of Galaxy Tab 3 8.0's uses the same exact resolution as screen of 10.1” model, but comes with the dual-core Exynos 1.5GHz processor of Samsung, and 1.50 GB of RAM. Both the tablets have 16.0 GB of built-in storage and support of microSD card, a pair of cameras, and also they come with Android Jelly Bean (4.2) with TouchWiz.

Price of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is going to be $399, and 8.0-inch tablet will cost $299. Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 utilizes a 1024 x 600 screen display, and it is equipped with a Marvell dual-core 1.20 GHz processor, 1.0 GB RAM, 8.0 rGB of internal storage plus an option to use microSD card. It is run on Android Jelly Bean4.1. The 7.0 tab will be priced at $199 at its launch.

All these Galaxy Tab 3.0 tablets, which will be Wi-Fi only and in brown and white, could be pre-ordered at various stores from tomorrow.

Galaxy NX by Samsung is a Pro-Camera Run on Android JellyBean

Galaxy brand is more than just about smartphones. As per TechCrunch, a professional-level, mirrorless camera along with substitutable lenses has just been revealed by Samsung on Thursday during an event in London. Galaxy NX operates on Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2), adding the capability of posting high quality images to popular social applications such as Instagram directly from within the camera.

While the NX moniker has previously been used by Samsung for its cameras, and the most recently revealed Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom also is a hybrid smartphone 10x shooter, Galaxy NX seems to be made exactly for the professionals. The back of Galaxy NX has a 4.8’’ HD LCD, supported by 1.60 GHz quad-core processor. Offering a 20.3mp APS-C sensor, Galaxy NX is a 4G LTE also, with Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi ready.

The Galaxy NX can be interchanged with the line of currently available NX lenses by Samsung. A 1/6,000 shutter speed per sec and 8.60 fps shooting borders on an expected quality level are found in the DSLRs, but still Samsung hasn’t released any information on its pricing. Apparently, stores in UK will first have the Galaxy NX this summer, but availability in any other regions has not yet been announced.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Reaches 10 Million Sales Mark

Based in Suwon, South Korea, Samsung Electronics is one of the well-recognized companies of the world and has become a force to be reckoned with in the global mobile phone market, rivaling the likes of Apple Inc. It is regarded as the largest information technology company of the world and is also the largest vendor in the mobile and smartphone markets. The company is also dominating in various other industries. Samsung shot to popularity in the smartphone market when it launched its Galaxy line of smartphones. The Galaxy S3 became the best-selling phone of 2012 as it racked up impressive sale figures.

On 27th April 2013, Samsung Electronics introduced its next smartphone in the Galaxy S series, the Samsung Galaxy S4. Before its launch, there had been considerable hype about the successor of the S3 and there had been speculation whether it would be able to meet expectations or not. According to the latest sales figures and reports coming in, the Galaxy S4 has fulfilled the number of predicted sales of the South Korean manufacturer. It was announced by the manufacturer that the device has topped the sales mark of 10 million in record time. It has been less than a month since the smartphone was launched and it has reached its expected sales figure.

The South Korean electronics giant stated that the Galaxy S4 had managed to set a new record for the company as it had managed to generate sales even quicker than all of its predecessors. Also, the company had added that according to its estimates, the device is selling at a very fast rate of four units per second. As compared to the Galaxy S4, its predecessor, the Galaxy S3 had taken approximately 50 days in order to reach the 10 million mark. The same number had been achieved by the S and S2 in seven and five months respectively.

This newest addition to the four-year old Galaxy franchise of smartphones may be useful for the company in maintaining the leadership it has been holding in the $294 billion global smartphone market. This can be useful for the company amidst the rising competition it has been facing from Huawei Technologies Co. and LG Electronics Inc. and even from Apple Inc. that had managed to sell five million units of the iPhone 5 in three days of release of the phone. However, Apple isn’t expected to launch a new phone until the next quarter of the year.

In the first quarter of 2013, Samsung was holding 31.7% of the global market share and was considerably ahead of the 17.3% held by Apple and 4.7% of LG. According to the IDC and other research firms, the market share of Samsung, Huawei and LG improved this year while Apple’s declined. However, the share of Apple in sales value is higher because the company is known for selling high value devices. The Galaxy S4 has received mixed reviews from the critics since its release where most critics are calling the device a disappointment in comparison to S3

$111 Million Deal Between Sharp and Samsung!

In a rare move, Sharp, the Japanese firm, announced that it has entered into a $111 million worth capital tie-up deal with Samsung Electronics, the South Korean manufacturer, which simply underscores the declining fortunes of the electronics giants. According to Sharp, Samsung will be purchasing shares of the company that are worth 10.4 billion yen. The Japanese company is currently attempting to repair its balance sheet and has therefore allowed Samsung to become the biggest foreign shareholder with a three percent stake in it. The shares of Sharp went soaring with the announcement of the deal and ended at 14% higher. Samsung’s share price was also increased by 0.65%.

Sharp has stated that this deal will do a lot to alleviate its troubled finances and will also give ‘mutual trust’ between the two companies a boost. This is because Samsung Electronics is looking to make use of the liquid-crystal display technology of Sharp, which is leading the market and can be used for its mobile phones and tablet computers. As opposed to its Japanese competitor, the South Korean company has moved several steps ahead in the market and has become the top information technology company of the world. A record profit of 7.04 trillion won was reported by Samsung in the last quarter of 2012.

In regard to the deal, the South Korean giant said that the deal with the Japanese firm will be a strong foundation for ensuring the steady and continuous supply of LCD panels from a number of sources. Sharp has also entered into a separate deal with US chipmaker Qualcomm for the purpose of capital injection that will be around 4.94 billion yen. Moreover, the Japanese company is also the supplier of LCDs for Apple Inc., the direct rival of Samsung Electronics in the mobile phone and tablet market. According to the reports last month, an expected investment by Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan in Sharp had been shelved. The Taiwanese company makes gadgets of Apple Inc. in China.

However, a spokesman of the company had said that the negotiations were still under consideration. Chief economist with SMBC, Hiroshi Sakai said that the acceptance of capital injection by foreign firms is a major downfall for Sharp and also other Japanese manufacturers. He said that it is very shocking news for Japan because Sharp had retained the position of leader in the panel industry, but it had fallen behind whereas its competitor, Samsung had moved quite ahead.

He further asserted that the deal did not come as a surprise in regard to Samsung, which is dominating the global electronics market. The chief also added that such deals were likely to increase as other Japanese manufacturers were also struggling in the market. Sharp is being hammered by rivals in its liquid-crystal display business because they are offering products at a lower cost. Last year, Sharp obtained bank loans by putting up its Osaka headquarters as collateral. Likewise, its rival Sony is also being forced to sell its headquarters in Manhattan for the purpose of raising cash.

Apple Objects To Lawsuit Delay With Samsung!

http://www.onzinearticles.com/2013/03/apple-objects-to-lawsuit-delay-with.html

The global smartphone industry is expanding gradually on a consistent basis. The market has the potential of providing huge returns to individuals due to which several companies have ventured into it. Nonetheless, currently, there are two companies that are dominating the market and are vying for the top position. They are Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics. The former is an American multinational corporation, which is headquartered in Cupertino, California and is one of the most valuable companies of the world. The latter, on the other hand, is a South Korean multinational firm, which is the largest technology company of the world in terms of revenues.

The success of Apple’s iPhones has been threatened by the immense popularity of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones that are powered by Google’s Android operating system. The two companies are not only competing in the market, but their battles have also moved to courts where they are fighting lawsuits over patent infringements. One of the patent lawsuits between the two companies was scheduled for a trial in the next year, but there is a possibility that it might be delayed. This is because the August verdict of an earlier case will be reviewed by an appeals court. However, the iPhone maker has objected to this possibility.

Apple Inc. filed the objection in San Jose, California after a last month hearing inquiry was done by US District Judge Lucy Koh. The judge had stated that because the first case was being appealed currently, she felt skeptical of the need for both cases to be conducted at the same time. Furthermore, on March 1, the judge also reduced the amount of damages that Apple Inc. had received from a verdict in the August case. A jury had granted the US giant $1.05 billion in damages that were to be paid by Samsung for infringing the company’s patents.

However, the amount of the damages was reduced by Koh by nearly $450.5 million. Koh had ruled that the award for around 14 of Samsung’s products had been ruled by the jury based on an incorrect theory. The judge said that before any further damage trial was conducted, the companies should give a thought to appealing her decision. In the filing, the Cupertino, California based company stated that the case had to proceed in order to put a stop to Samsung’s existing and upcoming devices because they infringe the patents and continue to harm Apple.

A joint report was filed by Samsung with Apple and the South Korean giant said that in order to ‘promote judicial economy’ the other case should be put on hold. It was last year that the case was filed and is focused on the technology that can be found in new smartphones of both the companies. This includes prominent devices like the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III. A decision made by Judge Koh is being challenged by Apple Inc. The company says that even though Samsung’s products were found guilty of infringing patents, they are still being allowed to be sold in the market. 

HTC Taking on Samsung with Revamped Smartphone Software!

There are several players in the global smartphone market that are working to get a dominant position in it because of the potential it offers. One of them is HTC Corporation, which is a Taiwanese manufacturer of both tablet computers and smartphones. Initially, the company launched smartphones that were based on the Windows Mobile Operating System of Microsoft, but it later adopted the Android operating system of Google Inc. HTC has a small share of the market and it has launched various models of smartphones. However, the company is not contented with the share it holds and is willing to expand it. That’s why it has released a new smartphone called HTC one.

The company is hoping that this new smartphone will set it apart from the host of Google Android devices that are available in the market. HTC is aiming to gain back the ground it has lost to powerful rivals like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics. New software has been used by the Taiwanese manufacturer in HTC one in order to distinguish it from the other devices. BlinkFeed Feature is the software that has been incorporated in the phone and this software removes the items on the home screen and uses a personalized stream of photos, social networking updates, videos and news article for replacing them.

The Taiwanese manufacturer is also calling the smartphone the first of its kind to actually have a built-in remote control function. This feature will open a world of windows for cable TV operators and phone vendors and offer them a new profitable business model. HTC is having discussions with cable operators in a variety of countries because it is planning to offer its consumers with a more interactive package. The company can accomplish this by transforming its smartphones into proper remote controls for set-top boxes, TVs and receivers. This information was released by analysts who attended the talks with HTC, but the company itself did not make any comment regarding them.

An analyst for Gartner in Taipei, CK Lu said that new imagination is inspired by the new feature of TV connectivity and it shows how the TV space as well as the smartphone can evolve. He added that deep collaboration could be possible in this manner. Lu mentioned some of the possibilities such as bundle-selling by both cable operators and smartphone makers and co-development of apps that could give sales channels a major boost.

HTC was a successful and early manufacturer of smartphones using the Android operating system. However, its success had been eclipsed by the shine of Samsung Electronics, which made around 42% of the smartphones in the last quarter of 2012. Last week, Gartner said that in smartphone operating systems, Android is expanding its lead because the latest statistics show that 70% of the market comprised of devices based on this operating system. It is only days before the biggest gathering in Barcelona of the mobile phone industry that HTC Corp had launched its new smartphone that features a quad-core processor and a 4.7 inch screen. 

Galaxy S IV Debuting In March!

Since 2009, Samsung has earned the title of being the largest IT Company of the world by its revenues. The company is also the largest mobile manufacturer of the world, a title it snatched from Nokia who had held it for 14 years. The company is also dominating other key markets around the globe that include memory chips, television market and LCD panels. It is also powerful in the tablet computer market as it has released the Galaxy Tab based on the Android operating system.

What helped Samsung Electronics in becoming the largest vendor of mobile phones was its Galaxy line of smartphones. Amongst these phones, it was the Galaxy S III that broke sales records for the company. Termed as the iPhone killer, Samsung Galaxy S III became the best-selling smartphone of the world in quarter three of 2012 and thus overtook the iPhone 4S. According to the latest speculation, Samsung Electronics is working on the successor of Galaxy S III. Some new information has come to light regarding the Samsung Galaxy S 4 as it will be called.

According to the early rumors, codenamed Altius, the SamsungGalaxy S IV was expected to be launched in April by the South Korean giant. However, the fan website called SamMobile has made another announcement; as per the report, the device’s unveiling is going to take place on March 15^th of 2013. On that date, Samsung Electronics is holding its special Mobile Unpacked event and that’s when it will make the announcement. The venue of the event hasn't been confirmed as yet. The blog has cited a trusted insider and states that its information is both confirmed and accurate.

Nevertheless, there has been official statement made by the South Korean company. But, as rumors of the new devices have started pouring in, it is expected that an announcement will be made soon by Samsung to put a rest to the rumors. The blog has stated that the device will be made available by early April. However, it will be the eastern countries from Europe that will get their hands first on the new device. At the end of February or at the beginning of March, Samsung Electronics is expected to send invites after the Mobile World Congress event.

The remaining parts of Asia and Europe will get the Galaxy S 4 by the end of April. However, people in Australia, United States and Africa will be able to get the device somewhere in May-June. This is mostly due to the scheduling needs and carrier testing of the devices done in these countries. The company has high expectations regarding the sales of the new Galaxy device as the anticipation is quite high after the success of the Galaxy S III. Samsung is aiming to sell around 10 million of these devices and plans to meet this target on a monthly basis. 

Samsung NOTE II; the Phenomenal Phablet by Samsung

Almost one year back Samsung released a device which has been dubbed by many as ‘Phablet’ Galaxy Note. This nickname has been given to the device due to its characteristics which resembles it to a tablet while being a phone. Galaxy Note came with a stylus and a larger, wider screen that made it look like a tablet. It was intended towards the users who are looking for a tablet as well as a phone in a similar device. It caters the needs of both the professional as well as personal users in a single go.

Nearly 10 months after releasing Note, Samsung is back with its sequel device, the Galaxy Note II. Galaxy Note marked immense sales and profit for Samsung. People loved it and embraced the unique and innovative idea warmly. Now it’s the time to go one step ahead with Note II.

Following the huge success of Note, there is a lot of optimism among the users prior to the release of its successor. Galaxy Note II will be the first device to be released with Android OS 4.1 Jelly Bean. Currently no other device comes with Jelly Bean preloaded. However, the option of upgrade is there in most of the high end android devices.

If we look at the design of Note II, one can say that it resembles Galaxy S III. However the screen size is bigger. The new Note II will feature a 5.5 inch super AMOLED screen which will boast 16 million colors and 720 x 1280 pixels resolution. The capacitive touchscreen with multi touch functionality will come with the protection of Corning Gorilla Glass 2. The enormous screen size of Note II offers a two in one functionality of a smartphone as well as a tablet.

Galaxy Note II will also include a stylus as with the Note which they call it the S pen. However this time it will be slightly thicker and longer to go with the increased screen size. Despite being a Phablet, Samsung have managed well to make it as slim as possible with just a thickness of 9.4 mm. It also features superb shooting capabilities with 8 MP rear camera with a complementary LED flash and autofocus. The camera easily supports 1080p of full HD video shooting. A secondary front facing camera of 2 MP will do an excellent job for video calling. Skype would be a joy with this device.

AS far as the processing power is concerned the Note II has a very strong 1.6 Ghz quadcore A9 Cortex processor that comes with a supportive Exynos 4 Quad chipset. This is one of the most powerful processors that we have seen on any android device so far. The memory of Note II consists of 2 GB of fixed RAB and an option between 16, 32 or 64 GB of storage. That’s not all, you can still expand the memory of your Note II device via memory card.

To add the pompous, exquisite and very impressive list of features the Samsung Galaxy Note II will also showcase some very exciting features such as Air View, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Proximity sensors and a built-in Compass.


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