Samsung’s strategy for 2008

        　　A relatively unexpectedboon in the form of the second place, in mobile phone global saleschart (all thanks to Motorola), has provoked a revision of the maker’srange and priorities. What is interesting is that, this year’s 3GSMCongress will see the same leitmotif coming from other manufacturers inone way or another – what made the headlines yesterday is taking a backseat today. Imaging capabilities in mobile phones remain vital,although, they are not mind-blowing anymore, as the next big focus isentertainment and services.
            Samsung has brought a couple of things to the fore, and the first one is its portfolio that is now divided up into 4 big ranges:
       

• Style– fashion-savvy solutions, this group also includes all flagship phonesspecifically those coming from the U- and F-series. At this year’sCongress, they are ushering in two products of this type – the newflagship, Samsung U900 Soul, and the Samsung F480.
• Multimedia– the maker virtually divides this segment into two camps: music andimaging, which is the right thing to do, since either sub-class has itsown heroes, and own solutions, basically, there are no convergentdevices that pack in both top-notch music department and stellarimaging capabilities.
• Business –enterprise solutions and business-minded handsets, this group comprisesprimarily of Windows Mobile and Symbian based devices.
• Infotainment– asymmetric answer to Nokia’s N-Gage platform, and Sony Ericsson’srevitalized and re-positioned Play Now. In a nutshell, this linecomprises of entertainment-ready phones, although by and large,Samsung-branded phones offer nothing beyond stock games, and otherapplications.

            Dismissing the classificationSamsung utilizes for its products, you will find another way tocategorize them. For instance, they are rolling out the La Fleur 2collection (three phones) for women at 3GSM. La Fleur aside, the makerhas demoed a couple of other models designed exclusively for women andcomprising the L-series. An in-depth review of the La Fleur 2 range iscoming up shortly, and for now, let’s move on to other solutions.
        Touchscreen-enabledphones represent another promising branch of development for thecompany. In this field, they are rivaling LG, although Samsung hasassumed the role of the runner-up (which we investigated in our reviewon the Samsung F490). By the way, we got our hands on a commercialedition of the F490 and will be updating the review later this week –they have slightly altered the design, sales package and some otherminor things.
        Without going into detail, Samsung is planningto extend the basic segmentation with more sub-groups and specificranges, which will make for more precise positioning, and allow for aneasier target audience based marketing of phones. Now, let’s look atthe maker’s main offerings and their strengths/weaknesses.
            The Flagship – Samsung U900 Soul                   
　　Ifyou ask me which form-factor will be Samsung’s favorite when it comesto designing a new flagship, I will snap answer - slider. Havinginitially banked on clamshells, the company has gotten really intoslider-type phones as well. The Samsung U600 was so successful thateven with the negative feedback regarding its touch-sensitive buttonsin mind, the maker is now rolling out a follow-up to that handset – theU900, which will be its flagship solution for the year to come.Furthermore, they want it to sell at least as well as the U600/U700,which doesn’t look impossible at all.
        The newcomer is dubbed“Soul”, and there is something more than just a regular meaning to it,“Soul” is also short for “The Spirit Of Ultra”, emphasizing that itstands above all models in the Ultra Edition range.
               
　　Thehandset measures up at 105.9x49.8x12.9 mm, being pretty thin for ahandset coming bundled with a 5 Megapixel autofocus-enabled camera,although it doesn’t differ much from the unit installed in the SamsungG600, what we mean is that it will shoot in a similar fashion, and forthe most part, won’t be able to stand up to the solutions from Nokiaand Sony Ericsson. On the other hand, it is a pretty decent camera foran all-in-one device, plus it boasts a couple of software modes, likeFace Detection (a self-explanatory feature) and Wide Dynamic Range(WDR) that enhances images taken in low light (sets higher ISOsettings, when the U900 finds out it is very dark around). The lastthing we need to note is the U900’s image stabilizer, so on paper, itswon’t be too far from the imaging-savvy Samsung G810, probably with theonly difference being QVGA video recording. But in reality, the G810 isdefinitely ahead the Samsung U900 on all fronts, as far as photographyis concerned, all thanks to its real optics (not a piece of plasticfound on the U900). All-in all, it is pretty much in line with thefinest imaging-ready offerings from other manufacturers – I managed todo a shootout between one of the Soul's prototypes and a of SonyEricsson's CyberShot mass-market device, sporting a similar camera, andfound them to be nearly identical. So, the U900’s camera is positivelyone of its fortes, albeit it is not the market’s finest solution. But,this handset is relatively minuscule at that, so this camera will bemore than passable, as you can’t squash a stellar unit and a bevy ofother features into a very pocketable casing anyway.
            
　　Thephone’s casing features both plastic and silverish metal accents. I betwe’ll see the U900’s black edition along with other trims very soon –that’s the company’s strategy and it never backed away from it evenonce. But, why are they showcasing not the most spectacular silvercolour scheme first? Simply because they want to focus the market’sattention on the U900’s truly metallic casing and texture. But, thetruth is, all these metallic plates are not even 1mm thick, however theuser won’t notice that unless he rips the handset apart.
        TheU900 is the market’s second device (the Samsung E950 was the pioneer)to adopt a touch-sensitive display instead of a navi-button. While itwas nameless in the E950, here, the maker’s marketers have come up withquite a title for a flagship device. They call it Magic Touch by DaCP.I have no idea why they spelled the abbreviation wrong (that’s what youwill find in the press-release), as it in fact stands for DynamicAdaptive Control Panel. A multitude of terms in one name doesn’t dothis solution any justice – it would’ve been better off with just“Magic Touch” without that awkward “DaCP’, since even some of Samsung’semployees can’t give this technology’s full name anyway. By the way, Ispent 15 minutes trying to figure out what “DaCP” meant, and I guess itis a record of some sort.
        This display renders task-relevantbuttons sitting on the places of directional keys. For instance, if youare managing the music player, you will see music controls, while forbrowser, the display morphs to offer navigation keys. However, thisscreen is let down by the lack of any tactile feedback, which is acommon drawback among touch-screens. Similar context aware buttons aregetting implemented into solutions from other makers as well, forexample, you will find a bunch of these in the Motorola ROKR E8, butmind the fact that for these purposes it employs not a dedicateddisplay, but a preset symbol layout engraved on a plastic sub-layer.
        Thephone’s music department is on par with other offerings, as it utilizesthe ICEpower amplifier designed by B&O, which makes for loud andclear sound. On the downside, the music player packs in no bells andwhistles and doesn’t have a rainbow of features you can get with SonyEricsson’s handsets; but it holds its own when it comes to sound. Themanufacturer rates its battery life as being good for 15 hours ofmusic, which is pretty good. The U900 also comes armed with anRDS-enabled FM-radio.
        Almost forgot to mention that thedisplay is capable of showing up to 16 million colours, plus it hidesunderneath a mirror-like surface, lending it a feel quite similar tothe Samsung U600. All colours seemed bright and vibrant; the screenmeasures 2.2 inches from corner to corner and sports QVGA resolution.The U900’s display also felt quite sturdy.
        The handset’ssoftware is done pretty much in the same vein as otherlatest-and-greatest offerings from Samsung, though with a couple offeatures that the maker puts focus on. Specifically, menu themes aresettling down in the feature pack, what is more, you will be able tomodify them as you please (sounds, wallpapers, menu color scheme).Moreover, you will be allowed to make up your own animated screensaversstitched together from various images or photos, enhanced by aselection of effects. This feature made its first appearance with theSamsung G800 – check out a sample video demoing it in our review.
            Video, user-created animated wallpapers (mpg, 17,4 mb) >>>
        Asregard the rest of the U900’s functionality, it supports HSDPA, comeswith quad-band (European) GSM connectivity, carries a microSD memoryexpansion slot onboard, along with OMA DRM 2.0, RSS, Google Search,support for MTP and hence Windows Media. Also inside are Bluetooth 2.0and USB 2.0.
        On balance, the U900 is a quite decent phone, atrue flagship, although not without its own weak spots, in this case –ergonomics of the touch-sensitive buttons. Nevertheless, the example ofthe Samsung U600’s wild success indicates that consumers aren’t put offbut this quirk, so we have no reason to believe the U900 will have anyproblems in this sense. The phone starts shipping in March, word is itwill retail for around 400 Euro.
            Style range        Samsung F480 – another Armani               
　　Theyhave the Samsung Armani, and here comes the Samsung F480 - a lookalike,yet it has nothing to do with the co-branding hype. Missing name of afashion designer doesn’t make it worse or less interesting – on thecontrary, in many ways it surpasses its predecessor. Measuring up at97.9x55x11.5 mm, it boasts a 2.8-inch display, capable of 240x320-pixelresolution (QVGA). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that theF480 will come preinstalled with the next version of Croix OS, which isthe system the Samsung Armani runs on. Almost all menus offer tactilefeedback for every screen tap (the handset starts vibrating a little).What makes this phone interesting is its 3G connectivity, FM-radio anda 5 Megpixel autofocus-enabled camera, with an LED flash. It carries240 Mb of inbuilt storage, which can be beefed up with microSD memorycards. As far as software is concerned, it comes with themes, RSS, andsome other generic options for the latest generation of Samsung’sofferings.
        This phone’s release is slotted for April or Maywith its price tag set to 350-400 Euro, which, however, will greatlydepend on how much LG will decide to charge for its similar offering.
             Samsung G400 – Dual Touch Chic                   
　　Themotto they picked for the G400, “Dual Touch Chic” is spot-on, since itstresses that both screens on this handset are touch-sensitive, plusits design is very well described with the word “chic”. Limited numberof technologies and edges on the mobile phone market means they will besimilar-sounding slogans and product names – for instance, HTC isoffering the Touch Dual, which is its latest and greatest offering.
        Butthe foremost thing about this folder is not a pair of touch-sensitivedisplays, although they seem to be its centerpiece, but its all-metalcasing. Samsung has never had phones like this before, and if the G400gets popular, they might push this concept beyond a single model. Thephone’s dimensions are 102.8x51.5x15.4mm, which is what we have come toexpect from a folding phone.
        Frankly speaking, why wouldsomeone need another touch screen, since the only function it canhandle is the music player; but it will give it a good run-through atthe maker’s booth to figure out whether they have added something withthe latest versions of software, or hardware. It may seem that the G400is Samsung’s reaction to the Motorola RAZR2 V8, however they deliversuch different feelings and experiences, that putting them up againstone another won’t make much sense. The only thing they have in commonis controls, but, that’s about it.
        The internal QVGA displaymeasures 2.2 inches diagonally and shows up to 262 K colors. The G400’sspecs are no different from other Samsung’s top-of-the-line offerings,plus it retains a 5 Megapixel autofocus-enabled camera, RDS-poweredFM-radio, 100 Mb of storage, and a microSD memory expansion slot.
        The phone is set to launch in late April or early in May at 300 Euro.  
            Samsung L310 – glamorous to the core                   
　　Thishandset comes from the La’Fleur 2 collections, and some of our readersare aware of it. We will be putting it through its paces in our reviewvery soon, probably this week already. What about it? Well, the L310was definitely designed with Nokia’s L’Amour Collection in mind, as itemploys the same colour scheme with gold, black and dark-brown. Infact, it doesn’t even have an external display – by folding it open,you activate the floral ornament on the top portion of the phone.
        TheL310 has every last thing a women could only demand: period calendar,calories counter, shopping list, and other features. Curiously,La’Fleur offerings have never been technologically talented, making upfor this with their fancy designs. This handset is no exception, as itcomes equipped with a 176x220-pixel display, and a diagonal size of 1.8inches, a 2 MegaPixel camera, and several welcome improvements in themenu. All-in-all, the L310 is more of a mixed bag, considering itsdesign, functionality and price.
        Samsung L320 – Aqua still lives                 
　　Asfar as sales are concerned, the previous edition of the La’Fleurcollection was topped by the Samsung E570 (Aqua), plus it turned out tohave the longest lifespan. This handset stood out thanks to its quirkydesign, a bevy of color schemes and women’s love.
                   
　　Itwould have been criminal not to roll out a follow up to this device, soSamsung did the right thing. The new phone goes by the name of “L320”,but it is not all that different from its predecessor, primarily inview of having a fully-fledged vertically laid out outer display. Asfar as other feats and smarts go, these two are pretty much identical,with the L320 sporting a 2 MegaPixel camera, RDS-enabled FM radio,music player, and the ability to bulk the built-in storage up withmicroSD cards. Aren’t they twin brothers? Pardon me, sisters.
        The handset is about to hit the market, and its review will become available on Mobile-Review.com after February 15.  
        Samsung L170 – inexpensive candy-bar with ambitions               
　　Whenslim is in, many people start being nicer to you, provided that you area phone. While Nokia runs with its 6500 Classic, and Sony Ericsson ispresenting its brand-new W890i, Samsung picks a different approach. Whydo they need to enter the market with an expensive solution, when theycan come up with a reasonably priced unsophisticated handset that willhave all the makings of a luxury device? That’s the story of theSamsung L170 (given its index, does it aim at women? I suppose no,judging by what it has under the hood). Metallic accents in design,10.7mm profile, radio and player onboard, but a baby display measuring1.6 inches diagonally, landscape orientation and a resolution of220x176 pixels (262 K colors); plus a 2 Megapixel camera added for goodmeasure. All this makes the L170 an appealing solution with arelatively light price tag (175 Euro), and if it will go a few rungsdown the pricing ladder, it will make a solid statement as a potentialleader of sales charts. Look for it on the shelves in March.
            Samsung J150 – The Glitter in Svelte               
　　Youthought the L170 was the cheapest candy bar clad in metal around? Well,it is official – you were wrong. In order to congest the market andpush Motorola’s SLVR out of business, Samsung is releasing a reallycheap entry-level device. While it is only 9.9 mm deep, other specs arelittle to no different from this segment’s standards – 1.9-inch display(176x220 pixels, 65K , TFT), 1.3 Megapixel camera, FM-radio, Bluetoothand a memory expansion slot for microSD cards. Think of yourselflooking at a phone with these feats a couple of years ago – you wouldhave said “wow”, but these days it is a budget handset retailing for120-130 Euro.
            Samsung J700 – The Beauty of Black Perl                   
　　Whosaid that low-end models can’t be charming? Obviously, Samsung has adifferent point of view, which is the reason they have come up with aninexpensive phone showing off a mirrorish surface, and of course itcomes in black. As far as its spec sheet goes, it so short that wecould have easily overlooked it – the J700 retains an FM-radio, 1.3Megapixel camera, 2-inch display (128x160 pixels), microSD memory cardslot and a music player thrown in for good measure. The handset isquite compact at 99.5x48x14.9 mm. The J700’s release is scheduled forearly March, and 130-140 Euro should definitely be able to buy you one.
            Samsung L770 – Mobile Sophisticate                   
　　Wehave just been speaking about a phone decked out in a mirriorishfinish, and what do you know – another model sporting this fancydesign. There is nothing special to its technical specifications, forit is a UMTS-enabled phone from the previous generation packing in a 2Megapixel camera, radio and other default features. Basically, it ishere just to diversify the maker's range, despite having a pretty highindex, which is more likely to indicate the L770’s price tag and thepremium its owners will pay for design. This phone will be available ina variety of colors, right from the word go.
        The L770 is set to go on sale in April and be freely available for 260-280 Euro.
            Samsung E251 – gear up with music        Oneof the market’s most popular sliders was the Samsung E250, only becauseit looked so much like the Samsung D900, however it didn’t every try tohide its origins, being an entry-level solution to the bone, yet packedin an FM-radio, memory expansion slot and even a VGA camera. In aneffort to prolong its lifespan, Samsung has added 1 to its index, adedicated music key and.. well, that’s pretty much it. When it hits theshelves, the E251 will go for around 120-130 Euro, which is passable.Those who want to learn more about this phone should probably read ourreview on the Samsung E250, thankfully, the enhancements introduced in the E251 don’t make all that much of a difference.
               
　　Don’t forget to check back to find snaps we took at this maker’s booth.
        Multimedia range        Iwon’t be covering the products of this range that have already debutedon the market, and will rather give you a handful of links to ourin-depth reviews:
           

• Samsung F490
• Samsung G800
• Samsung i450
• Samsung F330
• Samsung F250 (coming up next week)

           
　　Ihope that you have put an eye on the small strange detail in the listabove – it includes both music-minded solution and the imaging-heavyG800, while the maker’s new flagship is nowhere to be found. That’sbecause of Samsung’s new positioning model, although the G810 wouldhave been better off in this category, rather than in the Infotainmentrange. The Samsung F250 opens the La’Fleur 2 line-up and turns out thatit belongs to the Style class as well. This contradiction has beensolved in a very straightforward way – they have rolled out twoeditions of the F250, the one with a fancy pattern on the casing ismeant for women, whereas the other one is a music-ready offering.Moreover, to distinguish them in a big way, the maker has put tinyspeakers into the F250 music edition’s box.
        Samsung F400 –B&O’s music-minded marvel               
　　Whenthe Serenata (or Symphoy), the fruit of Samsung’s collaboration withB&O ,saw release, everybody liked its speakers and the soundquality they delivered, which turned this quirky phone into a potentmusic box. But given all oddities of the Serenata and it decidedlygoing against the average consumer’s common sense, it can only dream ofbecoming widely adopted. Back in September, one of Samsung’s managerssaid: “Serenata offers marvelous sound, but don’t expect its componentsto make it to mass-market solutions, they are way too expensive”.Thankfully, his gloomy predictions haven’t come true, as we are nowhaving the pleasure of playing around with the Samsung F400, whosemusic department has been taken care of by B&O’s engineers.
        TheF400 employs dual-slider action – sliding it down will reveal twoloudspeakers plus the B&O logo. Effectively, two speakers are not amust, for the distance between them is too insignificant to allow for a“stereo effect” of any kind. In the average Joe’s mind, two is alwaysbetter than one, so the F400 comes with two speakers onboard.Regardless of whether you have earphones on or not, the handsetdelivers good sound quality.
        What about other specs of theF400? It is a 3G device sporting a 2.2-inch display, with a QVGAresolution (262K, TFT), 3 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, slot formicroSD memory cards and an RDS-enabled FM-radio. The F400 arrives inlate March, with a price tag of 370-390 Euro. All-in-all, it is one ofthe finest phones Samsung has rolled out at 3GSM – a music-centricflagship in a way.
           
Business range                Thisrange primarily comprises smartphones, bu,t for some reason, theSamsung D880 DuoS has made it into their ranks. I have to confess – thereview was composed long ago, but I haven’t had time to publish it sofar, and we will definitely make up for that in February. In my mind,the lack of a stand-alone DuoS range, and this phone’s positioning as aone-off solution is a tribute to carriers, who find these solutions nodifferent from a disaster. Why would Samsung tease them for no reason?And Samsung is not teasing them, but still is offering the DuoS at itsbooth.
        As for the rest of this range, below is the list of device we have already reviewed:
           

• Samsung i780
• Samsung i550
• Samsung i560

            Samsung i200 –Windows Mobile gone cheap               
　　Thereis nothing special about the i200 – it is a threadbare candybar,featuring 3G connectivity, a conventional keypad, 2 Megapixel camera,Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard, and a microSD memory expansion slot. Thehandset also comes with an unusual screen diagonal of 2.3 inches, andQVGA resolution. The i200 is due this spring, no word on its price,but, it is said to slip below 200 Euro. Probably, some will find thissolution of certain interest, as it seems to be a relatively cheapWM-powered smartphone, and its price tag is not of the least importance.
        Infotainment range           Thecenterpiece of this range is, undoubtedly, the Samsung G810, but wewon’t be writing even a word more on, the reason being that ourhands-on impressions are available in a dedicated piece on this handsetalready today.
                
　　This range also includes the Samsung F700 – learn more about it here.
                
　　TheSamsung F490 has received an update in the form of the SCH-W420, anoffering for the Korean market that sports only a 2 Megapixel camera,yet comes bundled with mobile TV (T-DMB). This phone won’t be shippedto other regions, though.
                   
　　Anotherphone of note is the folder-type phone, the W350, supporting satelliteDMB signal. Curiously, the maker considers this handset’s 2.2-inchdiagonal suited for watching videos, and what is more, consumers nod inapproval as well. In this sense, beliefs shared by some many peoplethat 2.2, 2.4 or 2.6 inch diagonals are insufficient for video fallapart. Of course, it is always great to enjoy bigger displays, but, ifthere are no other options, this one will have to do.
                   
　　Thelast mobile TV enabled device on the agenda is the P960, boastingsupport for DVB-H, and housed in the slider-type form factor. At102x53x16.5 mm, it packs in a diagonal screen size of 2.6 inches, andoffers QVGA resolution. Its TV features also include PiP (picture inpicture), but as for the rest, it is a typical Samsung-branded offeringcoming equipped with a 3 Megapixel autofocus-enabled camera, musicplayer and other features. The question remains whether the P960 willsee its commercial release, but I, for one, don’t think there is a goodchance of that.
               
Roundup            　　Effectively,at 3GSM Congress, Samsung has revealed its plans for 6-7 months tocome, which include the new flagship (Samsung U900 Soul), and leadersin specific fields – the Samsung G810 and Samsung F400 (imaging andmusic respectively). Our avid and savvy readers shouldn’t be confusedby the wealth of offerings that re-debuted at this exhibition. In fact,Samsung is the only top manufacturer that is still into CEBIT, held inHanover. I suppose this maker has a couple of models left in stock forthat fair as well, especially as far as mid-tier devices are concerned.All in all, they haven’t introduced a multitude of sliders scheduledfor summer 2008, nor have they rolled out the update to the UltraEdition range (the whole range, rather than a sole flagship), plus acouple of other lesser solutions are yet to be announced. This yearshould see a ton of touchscreen-enabled handsets, as well asSamsung-branded solutions, running S60, the reason being that the makeris trying to grab a bigger market chunk in Europe, and basically allmarkets where Motorola’s influence is now fading. It is a sound goal,so let’s wait and see how it turns out.
        Don’t forget tocheck back for more live photos from the exhibition, and don’t miss ourpreview of the company’s new flagship in imaging – the Samsung G810.
               

Eldar Murtazin (eldar@mobile-review.com)
              Translated by Oleg Kononosov (oleg.kononosov@mobile-review.com)

            

Published — 11 February 2007

[ 本帖最后由 z0406 于 2008-2-11 19:16 编辑 ]

这和老款有什么区别.........

这么长，英文教学贴啊

千篇一律,垃圾牌子