Samsung eyes top handset vendor spot

Samsung, the world's second largest mobile phone manufacturer, is confident of becoming number one as the demand for smartphones is growing at a robust pace globally and regionally, but it has no plans to launch Windows 7 phones as of now, said a company official. "We have the strategy and the product line-up to attain number one status, but I cannot give you the time frame," Ashraf Fawakherjii, General Manager for Tele-communications Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the press conference after launching a couple of new products. According to securities consultants Nomura, research firms Gartner and Canalys, Nokia looks set to relinquish its smartphone crown to Samsung and Apple next quarter. "If Nokia's new phones are not well received in the third quarter and [with] the Galaxy S2 ramping up, Samsung might overtake them and become the smartphone leader in the third quarter," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. Article continues below Number one In the US and Europe, Samsung is the number one smartphone vendor. Fawakherjii said smartphones have grown more than 60 per cent globally and regionally. "Pricing is not the key to customers, who demand a smart device that is pushing boundaries, is unique in its offering and can efficiently multi-task. With the launch of our flagship smartphone this year, Samsung Galaxy SII, we expect strong demand and an increase in our market share within the region's smartphone segment." Yesterday, Samsung launched the Galaxy SII and two Galaxy tablets with 10.1 and 8.9 inches running on the Android 3 operating system. Galaxy SII is the world's fastest phone with a 1.2 GHz processor. It is the world's slimmest at 8.4mm and the lightest at 116 grams. It is priced at Dh2,599. HIgh-end smartphones "High-end smartphones contribute more than 60 per cent to total Samsung sales. But in the second quarter we are seeing a change in trend with the low-end segment gaining ground," Fawakherjii said. Samsung's market share of the smartphone segment last year stood at 4.5 per cent in the Gulf (excluding Saudi Arabia) and the company hopes to attain about 30 per cent this year. In the first quarter of this year, Samsung had about 12 per cent of the market. Regarding tablets, he said the company expects to more than double its sales in the Gulf this year. "Applications play an important role in smartphone growth and we have around 30,000 apps including Arabia and this number is expected to touch 100,000 by end of the year," Fawakherjii said.