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Samsung Takes the Lead In the Smartphone Market 406

Posted by Soulskill from the taking-a-bite-out-of-apple dept.
New submitter landofcleve writes "When the writing is on the wall, you fight harder — or at least that's what we've seen from Apple in recent months. Now we know why: Samsung has reached a market share above Apple's for smartphone sales. 'Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones in the last quarter, taking 23.8 percent of the market ... Apple’s 17.1 million shipments, comprising 14.6 percent of the market, pushed the Cupertino, California-based company to second place. Nokia maintained its third position.'"
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Samsung Takes the Lead In the Smartphone Market More

Samsung Takes the Lead In the Smartphone Market

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  • High-end models? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by TwoOranges ( 994399 )
    How many of those smartphones are high-end models that are comparable to the iPhone?

    • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MadKeithV ( 102058 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:47AM (#37867996)

      How many of those smartphones are high-end models that are comparable to the iPhone?

      None.
      Or according to Apple's lawyers: every single one.

    • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by phayes ( 202222 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:51AM (#37868060) Homepage

      The most interesting questions is rather: "How many of the shipped pones will actually get sold before 2012?" Samsung has shown it can produce phones now let's see if they can actually sell them.

      • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Informative)

        by Idbar ( 1034346 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @11:29AM (#37869316)
        There is no question. Some Samsung models will come out to the market at a more affordable price than an iPhone. And while people in Slashdot screams that iPhones are cheap (which are not), there's still people in many places that cannot afford or will not pay for them.

        So Samsung won't make as much money? who cares if they're putting many devices on the market at similar rates than the iPhone.

        • Agreed. There is absolutely a market for high-end smartphones that aren't iPhones. There are a not-insignificant number of people who won't buy an iPhone because it's an Apple product, but who want a great smartphone nonetheless. Samsung makes great smartphones.

    • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Andy Dodd ( 701 ) <atd7NO@SPAMcornell.edu> on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:53AM (#37868096) Homepage

      Quite a few - Samsung's hottest seller in late spring/early summer was the international variant of the Galaxy S II - a device which was undoubtebly above the iPhone 4 in all regards.

      In fact, in some areas, it's still ahead of the iPhone 4S - the 4S has a nicer GPU but a weaker CPU, and still has a crappy 3.5" screen.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by goombah99 ( 560566 )

        oddly I want an iphone none the less. strange is it not that specs are not everything.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by VMaN ( 164134 )

          You are why people in marketing have a job. But you probably feel good about it, so win-win?

        • oddly I want an iphone none the less. strange is it not that specs are not everything.

          Not strange at all. It would be hard to justify the amount spent on marketing otherwise.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by heathen_01 ( 1191043 )

        ... and still has a crappy 3.5" screen.

        iPhone: 640 x 960 Galazy: 480 x 800

        • iPhone: 640 x 960 Galazy[sic]: 480 x 800

          Galaxy Nexus: 720 x 1280 (4.65" screen 315 ppi)

          Plus, while it may be a personal preference, SAMOLED >> LCD.

          • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Informative)

            by iluvcapra ( 782887 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @12:22PM (#37870030)

            OLEDs have terrible color, its over-saturated and makes people think the image looks better in a subjective way. ((S)AM)OLED is to cellphones as glossy screens are to laptops. Do a Pepsi challenge with a iPhone or even an original Droid, versus a Galaxy Nexus in a dark room, versus watching the image on a proper screen.

            Pentile doesn't help either with the blacks or contrasty images.

            • OLEDs have terrible color, its over-saturated and makes people think the image looks better in a subjective way.

              Since I'm not using my phone to do pre-press for a magazine, or to edit video for a television program, I think that having the image look better in a subjective way is exactly what I want. I don't need hyper-accurate colors on my smartphone.

              I own the original droid phone and I've compared the screen with my friend's Galaxy S. I prefer the SAMOLED.

          • iPhone: 640 x 960 Galazy[sic]: 480 x 800

            Galaxy Nexus: 720 x 1280 (4.65" screen 315 ppi)

            Plus, while it may be a personal preference, SAMOLED >> LCD.

            Galaxy Nexus: 720 x 1280 PenTile. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5000/galaxy-nexus-pentile-discussion-confirmed [anandtech.com]

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Sir_Sri ( 199544 )

        And the galaxy Sii has a replacable battery and survives a drop test much better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw

        Even the Galaxy SI was a pretty good phone compared to the apple equivalents.

        I'm a big guy, so the Galaxy SII being larger is a big plus for me, and certainly not a downside (I have big pockets for it, for example), but not everyone wants a small slate in their pocket.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dwightk ( 415372 )

        a device which was undoubtebly above the iPhone 4 in all regards.

        wait... nope... I just checked. It's doubtable.

      • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Yobgod Ababua ( 68687 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @11:25AM (#37869264)

        "and still has a crappy 3.5" screen."

        I still don't get what's "crappy" about a screen size I can actually fit in my pocket.
        It's all you damn baggy-pants kids complaining, isn't it? Isn't it???

        Get off my goddamm lawn and leave my phone's form factor alone.

        • Because adults where normal size pants and have normal sized human hands. Apple had to make their screen 3.5" so you could fit it in your skinny jeans.

        • "and still has a crappy 3.5" screen."

          I still don't get what's "crappy" about a screen size I can actually fit in my pocket.

          That's not the point. Samsung sells smartphones with 2.8" screens, 3.5" screens, 4" screens, 4.3" screens, 4.5" screens, and 4.65" screens. If you want a big screen, you can get it. If you like the smaller size, you can get that instead.

          With Apple, the screen size that Jobs liked is the only choice you have. The screen size is "just right" only if your tastes exactly matched

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by s73v3r ( 963317 )

            Not really. You may have choice of screen size, but that also dictates the internals you get. If I want the internals of a Galaxy SII, or a Galaxy Nexus, I don't have choice of screen size. I have to take what those models offer. Picking a different screen size can get me vastly different components, which may or may not be what I want.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by s73v3r ( 963317 )

        a device which was undoubtebly above the iPhone 4 in all regards.

        You mean a phone that came out a full year AFTER the iPhone 4 was better than it? Stop the presses!

    • quarterly reporting and reality (Score:4, Insightful)

      by goombah99 ( 560566 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @10:02AM (#37868204)

      Samsung released their Galaxy II s in the previous quarter. apple did not release the overdue and widely expected 4S till this quarter. Combine that with the fact that the smart phone market is expanding (not zero sum) so that apple does not have to sell less for Samsung to sell more, and it's pretty clear this statistic is just an anomoly due to the way sales get binned by quarter. We won't know much about it till a few more quarters have passed to average it out. My guess is the 4s is the hot cake for Q4.

      • According to Samsung, the Galaxy S2 has sold 10 million units. They announced it the same day Apple announced 4 million iPhone units sold the opening weekend. By extrapolation, the 4S should outsell the Galaxy S2 but it's only based on a limited number of data points.
    • rtfa the whole article was specifically about smart phones. Jobs must be rolling in his grave right now.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Tsingi ( 870990 )

        rtfa the whole article was specifically about smart phones. Jobs must be rolling in his grave right now.

        The man knows when to throw in the towel.

      • Re:High-end models? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @11:39AM (#37869436)
        I don't know if Apple or Jobs ever cared about having the most sales. To the loyal fans, they cared about having the best product. To the cynics, they cared about having the most profit.

    • Given the timing, the US release of the Galaxy S II is probably driving those sales. So, high end devices.

    • Got the Samsung Stratosphere on Big Red. Love it. Single core, so phone people will immediately point to that and say that it doesn't compare to the 4s... They're right. My phone has 4g (Apple: 4g? What's that?) and gets 6mbps downstream and peaked out at a whopping 14mbps on one test. It's the network, not the phone people.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jo42 ( 227475 )

        My phone has 4g

        How's your battery life?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Reapman ( 740286 )

          With the 4G on probably less then when he has the 4G off?

          Battery life a Samsung phone with 4G on: I'd say poor
          Battery life a Samsung phone with 4G off: I'd say good to great

          Battery life of an iPhone with 4G on: 0, because you aren't allowed to
          Battery life of an iPhone with 4G off: great

          Yeah, that's Apple winning right there. Let me guess when the iPhone 5 comes out with 4G, 4G will then be awesome?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Flipao ( 903929 )

          My phone has 4g

          How's your battery life?

          I'd turn that one right around. My 3 year old Nokia N95 lasts longer tethering data to my laptop than my 3GS does on standby, and from what I've seen the iPhone 4 isn't much better. Does a 4S even last the day?

      • What good is 4G when you can't get it. I have a 4G hotpot for work because I travel. You know the number of places I get 4G? Major metropolitan areas. Unfortunately, my travels take me to a lot of places where I'm lucky to get 3G. I can't even get it at all the airports I use. The current estimates is that it'll be years before 4G is deployed wide enough for it to matter. Until then it's a marketing gimmick by the wireless carriers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by X.25 ( 255792 )

      How many of those smartphones are high-end models that are comparable to the iPhone?

      And why would that matter?

    • How many of those smartphones are high-end models that are comparable to the iPhone?

      We are talking about smartphones here which implies a certain minimum (touch screen, installable apps, etc). Smartphones are the high-end of the general phone market and a suppose you could say that there is a high-end of the high-end, but that is always a moving target which each new release leapfrogging to become the new high-end. Some of Samsung's smartphones are comparable with iPhone 3GS (which Apple still sells by th

      • some are comparable with the iPhone 4 and it's upcoming releases will be comparable with the 4S.

        The Galaxy S2 has been out for some time outside the USA and is available now in the USA. Spec wise it surpasses the iPhone 4S. So, it isn't a matter of leapfrogging, but Apple catching up (almost).

    • Mine is (Samsung Infuse).

  • How is this news? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Apple didn't release a phone last quarter. Wait 1 quarter.

  • Welcome to today's oblig. apple/android throwdown (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jeffmeden ( 135043 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:45AM (#37867954) Homepage Journal

    With articles like this, you would think it really mattered who made more of what in a quarter... Never mind that geographies are different, carriers are different, and features are different. Time to buckle down for the hordes of apple and android gang-bangers to fill another thread with vitriol and made up words.

    • Re:Welcome to today's oblig. apple/android throwdo (Score:4, Funny)

      by ArcherB ( 796902 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:50AM (#37868028) Journal

      With articles like this, you would think it really mattered who made more of what in a quarter... Never mind that geographies are different, carriers are different, and features are different. Time to buckle down for the hordes of apple and android gang-bangers to fill another thread with vitriol and made up words.

      Well, according to Apple and Samsung, these guys are stealing so many of each other's ideas they are practically selling the same phones, if you believe the testimony.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      pardon this frudilation, but i think it a incorrect alataic memfarma to suggest that there are any words that aren't made up or otherwise rumpusted.

      it's that or someone's been secretly mining them with sharing such impetitude.

      • Hmm. I think shall have to impovisate Bitword, the new Libertarianistic alternativialistic language. But we'll have to freedomate the creation of words to make sure that it doesn't get devalumated by word inflation.

    • So I'll end this discussion right now:

      Only Hitler would own a smartphone.

    • Why the jab against the fanboys? Fanboys will also look at such information with a more critical eye and help dispel the sensationalism in these articles.

      • and help dispel the sensationalism in these articles.

        And replace it with new, more-persistant sensationalism!

    • With articles like this, you would think it really mattered who made more of what in a quarter... Never mind that geographies are different, carriers are different, and features are different. Time to buckle down for the hordes of apple and android gang-bangers to fill another thread with vitriol and made up words.

      Or the fact that one is estimates of shipments to outlets and another is actual sales reported.

  • Price them so close to cost that you make basically no profit, but sell a lot...

  • Units Shipped != Units Sold (Score:3, Interesting)

    by AoF.Squall ( 818234 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:48AM (#37868008)
    And neither one represents number of active users. I can imagine that Apple has a much better sell-through rate of stock, and Samsung supplies a lot of models to a lot of retailers & service providers.
    • Judging by majority of polls etc... I'm inclined to theorize that apple's units sold numbers are more inflated then samsungs (both probably are). Apple tends to sell best to people who "price is no object", and apple products down to the mac-books have had some of the worse resell potential (Tiny scratch on the outside of the case, nobody will consider buying it). So I'd imagine apple fans are more apple fans likely to upgrade from a perfectly functional phone that is a year out of date, to the newest model
      • I can't agree with your assessment of apple resale value. In my experience apple hardware holds its value much better than non-apple hardware.

      • Re:Units Shipped != Units Sold (Score:4, Insightful)

        by coinreturn ( 617535 ) on Friday October 28, 2011 @11:10AM (#37869048)

        Judging by majority of polls etc... I'm inclined to theorize that apple's units sold numbers are more inflated then samsungs

        No. Apple easily sells every single unit the make (also, they release SALES numbers, not shipped numbers). I suspect there's a reason Samsung doesn't release sales numbers.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          No. Apple easily sells every single unit the make (also, they release SALES numbers, not shipped numbers). I suspect there's a reason Samsung doesn't release sales numbers.

          Apple tries to prevent channel stuffing - but they also tend to sell everything they make.

          Additionally, Apple's profitshare of the mobile sector (including dumbphones and the like) was a whopping 66%. Yes, two thirds of all profits made went to Apple. Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC, RIM, Nokia, etc. are fighting over the remaining pie, with s

  • It's a deserved market position.

    Samsung does nicely both in the budget segment (Samsung Gio [wikipedia.org], for example) as well as in the high range Android market, the Galaxy S2, Vibrant, etc.

  • This is based on analysts guesses. Samsung didn't release any numbers.

  • Maybe they have to sell them at too low a price in order to try to keep volume up?

  • ...to be the #1 phone vendor.

  • Shipped vs Sold... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28, 2011 @09:54AM (#37868100)

    Android "ships" phones, Apple "sells" phones -- this misleading comparison of apples and oranges continues. When will Android manufacturers start quoting "actual sales"?

    Lets see how Apple recovers in "sales" figures now that their newly released phone is out, the last quarter was expected to dip due to anticipation of many wanting to purchase the new model.

    • Apple has only lead in smartphone sales for a single quarter. Ever. And "shipped" and "sold" mean the same thing. Smasung didn't release these figures BTW, they are analyst guesses.

      And while I haven't been following Apple (at all), my understanding was a lot of people were expecting an iPhone 5. The 4S may not garner as many sales as a completely new version would have.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by dzfoo ( 772245 )

        Ship and sold mean the same thing, uh? So, devices sitting in a warehouse somewhere, waiting to be sold, count as much as those in consumer's hands?

        I'm sure it's comforting to all those app developers to know that they are reaching a mass market of... er... fork-lift operators, stevedores, and store clerks.

        Have you ever heard of channel stuffing?

                  -dZ.

  • Based on my experience with Samsung phones, I would be very surprised if they can hold that market share. In my family of 4 we had 4 Samsungs (various models - 3 smartphones). 3 of the 4 crapped out within the first 6 months of use (only the dumbphone continued to work). One of them had to be replaced 3 times. Samsung obviously does not care about quality control, so I'll never buy another Samsung product again... ever.

    I know several friends that have had similar experiences and have come to similar conclus

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ErikZ ( 55491 ) *

      Samsung is one of my favorite companies, but to my surprise, they're absolutely terrible at making smartphones.

      I was really interested in the new Galaxy Nexus, until I saw it was made by Samsung.

  • So just to be clear, it's a quarter in which one of the two companies didn't release a phone and before what is their best quarter. It's using estimated numbers for one of them (since actual numbers weren't given). It's comparing "shipped" to "sold" units.

    Was there any purpose to this at all except to get cheap hits with the flamebait?

  • It is true is that Apple is competing. We see this in that for the first time Apple is making a phone, not a computer. What was interesting to me, not being a person who likes spending hours talking on the phone when I could be talking and having fun in person, is that Apple made a small computer and not a phone. I have never really kept a cell phone primarily as a way to talk all day. My Razr was not a great phone, but it was small and let me communicate when I needed to. So Apple is fixing one big pr

  • Which is it, sales or shipped? I know we've seen this game time and time again. We also see iPhone sales take a nose dive before they release a new model.

    Interesting from a tech perspective, but I'm more interested in longer term than a quarter where Apple released a new model.

  • seems like you just get a lot more for your money with Android.

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