Samsung

Samsung’s iPad mini contender caught naked in the wild

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2013

As expected, Apple's $329 iPad mini has taken off in a big way and is now arguably the company's best-selling iPad. Apple experienced supply constraints of the device throughout the holiday quarter and it immediately sold out upon its arrival to China last week. Cook in a conference call following earnings report attributed the 22 percent year-over-year iPad growth to strong sales of the lower-margin tablet.

Samsung, on the other hand, has been swarming the market with mobile devices of all shapes and sizes. The strategy has earned the South Korean company a distant #2 spot in tablet sales as it tries to keep pace with Apple. The firm is apparently working on an eight-inch Note device designed to challenge the iPad mini and now an image has leaked revealing a sleek form factor encased in a plastic enclosure...

How Samsung came up with iPhone-mocking ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2013

When it comes to Samsung's Galaxy devices and competition with Apple, you could say its advertising approach is overly abrasive.

It doesn't shy away from likening Apple fans to iSheep, poking fun of those who'd wait in line for an iPhone and targeting the latest iPhone 5 in print, on Facebook and Super Bowl.

The South Korean firm buys expensive ad slots to spoof Apple on prime time TV, with a simple goal: isolate Apple fans from the 'others' by painting them as brainwashed drones who happily swallow whatever Apple happens to shovel down their throat.

As far as general public is concerned, Samsung's negative campaign has put it on par with Apple as people started talking more about its products. If you ever wondered how they came up with the risky iPhone-mocking idea in the first place, here's your answer...

Another reason for budget iPhone: China’s tiny Coolpad outselling Apple

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 23, 2013

Those encouraging Apple to introduce a less-pricey iPhone to compete against Android in places such as China have even more ammunition.

In a David and Goliath tale, a tiny Chinese company armed with a sub-$100 smartphone is outselling Apple's iPhone, prompting some local observers to wonder whether the California-based gadget maker can ever overcome inexpensive rivals.

From analysts to former Apple CEOs come recommendations that the company do more to attract China's middle class, now drawn to Android devices. While Apple reportedly considers offering a cheaper iPhone starting at $99 later this year, the Android-based Coolpad is already outselling the iPhone in China and at one-fifth the price of current iPhones...

Gartner: Samsung supplants Apple as #1 chip buyer

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 23, 2013

South Korea's Samsung has another reason to crow. After enduring talk that rival Apple would drop its rival for TSMC, demand for Samsung smartphones and tablets made it the largest customer of chips in 2012, replacing the iPhone and iPad maker in the worldwide chip eating challeng, reports said Thursday.

A Gartner report on semiconductor purchases also gives a rare glimpse into how much Apple is spending on chips for its smartphones and tablet devices. According to the researcher, Samsung increased spending on chips nearly double that of the Cupertino firm...

More research shows Apple leads in US with 51% of smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 22, 2013

Apple's iOS has more than 51 percent of the US smartphone market, leading Google's Android, which claims just over 42 percent of the American market share, according to new figures released Tuesday. The numbers are just the latest prior to Apple's quarterly sales report expected later this week. Handset sales research firm Kantar announced Apple gained 6.3 percent of the domestic smartphone market, fueled largely by demand for the iPhone 5. Meanwhile, Android sales in the US slowed lightly, shedding 0.6 percent from the same 12-week period in 2011...

Reality check: despite FUD talk, Apple demolishing Android in all metrics that matter

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 21, 2013

Now that Apple's stock price appears to have regained some sanity, rising this morning to $500 from last week's low, perhaps its time to introduce some reality into the Apple vs. Android discussions which lately have resembled Chicken Little's adaptation of the Mayan Calendar. Before "The Sky is Falling: Apple orders are down" mania, there was the "Android has the market share and Apple's a has-been" debate.

The core argument and evidence of Android's dominance over Apple was right out of Circular Logic 101: Android has the Market Share. But look behind the curtain and the end of the world does not seem so close - at least for Apple...

New Samsung ad says iPhones are not for work, blasts BlackBerry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fcUf4d-Y3s

You can't blame Samsung for amping up its anti-everyone advertising as it's worked out so well for them thus far. In this new commercial aired during tonight's NFC championship game and subsequently published on Samsung's YouTube channel, a bunch of hipsters working for a mobile games developer are depicted using Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In one instance, the clip highlights multitasking capabilities of these gadgets where you can set the video to play while continuing to browse the web or sort through your email.

Then the focus turns (mark 0:40) to one of the old guards who tells a young office chick that she won't "consolidate" her phones because she has "a system": her BlackBerry with its clickety-clack keyboard is for work and an iPhone with an ugly case is for home. The lady abruptly cuts off the younger colleague after her attempt to explain the benefits of the Galaxy S III: "Allie, please respect my system".

The commercial is a bit weird and primarily targets the struggling BlackBerry (talk about beating the dead horse). There are more jabs at RIM and Apple in an apparent shift of strategy as Samsung takes aim at enterprise market. Oh, and what's up with the unicorns and that guy from 30 Rock?

Samsung’s Galaxy S IV seen building iPhone-like hype

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article today by Evan Ramstad entitled "Hype Builds for Smartphone, but It Isn't an Apple Device." Essentially, the whole piece is about how the commotion surrounding Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S IV handset is reaching iPhone-like proportions.

I didn't agree at first — I've seen leaked photos of Android handsets before, and heard rumors and speculation. But as I started to dig in a little bit I realized that Ramstad was right, there's something different this time around. A lot of people are talking about Samsung's next flagship handset...

Volume production of Apple silicon looms as TSMC’s 2013 wafer shipments triple

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 18, 2013

Following up on talk that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is prepping to manufacture Apple’s A6X processor and whispers of Tim Cook & Co. negotiating a deal with the foundry to make mobile chips for iOS devices on its 20 nanometer process technology, China Times now quotes Chairman and CEO Morris Chang's words that TSMC is close to achieving a hundred percent market share on its 28nm process technology.

But why have TSCM's wafer shipments all of a sudden tripled, allowing it to achieve a virtual monopoly on the 28nm silicon? That's where the Apple link comes into full view...

Samsung to take on Apple with mini Galaxy Note

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 24, 2013

Samsung of South Korea will later this month take another crack at dethroning the tablet leader Apple by going after the Cupertino firm's iPad mini, a 7.9-inch mini tablet computer released on November 2, 2012 and starting at $320 for the Wi-Fi only version with sixteen gigabytes of storage.

The new Note reportedly has a 720p (1,280-by-800) Super Clear LCD screen measuring eight inches diagonally and comes with Samsung's trademark S-Pen. Hardware specifications allegedly aren't that special as Samsung is possibly using cheaper components in order to undercut the iPad mini on price...

Galaxy tablets didn’t copy Apple’s design, Dutch court rules

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 16, 2013

Apple isn't having as much litigation success in Europe as it's had over in the United States, where the jury hit Samsung with a massive $1.05 billion fine in the high-stake Apple v. Samsung trial. Courts in The Netherlands, for example, aren't nearly as sympathetic to Apple's infringement claims.

To refresh your memory, Apple has been claiming that Samsung's Galaxy tablets infringe upon its design patents for the iPad. However, it's been reported this morning that a Dutch court upon closer examination of Apple's claims has ruled that the Galaxy tablets do not infringe an the iPad design. Interestingly enough, the ruling mentions previous decisions in British courts...

ChangeWave destroys all blabbering of supposedly weak iPhone 5 demand

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 15, 2013

If you've been watching Apple's stock price rise and fall as analysts debate whether it's the end of the world or simply a bad day for the iPhone 5, you're forgiven for feeling like a a yo-yo. However, to add to your confusion comes another set of charts illustrating everything's fine with iPhone 5 demand.

Indeed, according to a new ChangeWave survey based on a poll of 4,061 consumers in North America, demand for Apple's handset is as strong as ever. Specifically, 50 percent of respondents said they are planning to buy the iPhone 5 in the next 90 days, which jives well with Apple's previous iPhone launches. In fact, the iPhone 5 interest was higher than the iPhone 4S peak.

A series of charts also prove that iPhone interest, though flattening six months following the launch, remains high and even above rival Samsung. It all comes down to whether your cup is half-empty or half full...