Taiwan's HTC dual touch phone |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Foreign mobile makers are marketing their products in the Korean market with no guarantee of success.
Now, Japan's Sony, Toshiba and Sharp are fully set to introduce touch screen phones for technology-savvy Korean consumers in early 2009.
Analysts and industry officials say it is highly unlikely for foreign phone makers to get a bigger slice in the market without detailed blueprints to meet the needs of Korean consumers for multi-functional devices.
"Foreign phone makers will initially introduce less pricey models to tap marketability. But price is just a small factor. For a bigger share, they should steadily sell more high-end models," said an official from LG Electronics, Friday. Blackberry and iPhone are two exceptions.
"Carriers will cut the partnership with foreign phone makers if sales of foreign phones are smaller than expected," the official said.
Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Pantech took up a combined 95 percent market share, with an estimated 14 million sold in the six months ending June this year.
Sony-Ericsson, the world's No. 4 phone maker, plans to sell its strategic "X-PERIA X1" model via SK Telecom. It is the first time in 10 years that Sony will market a phone here.
Blackberry, a popular smart phone introduced by Canada's Research In Motion (RIM), is set to debut in the Korean market Dec. 29, while Sharp and Taiwan's HTC are ready to commercialize the "931SH" and "Touch Diamond" models in the first quarter of next year, respectively, according to telecom sources.
Handset giant Nokia is planning to join the rally with two sets of WIPI-based smartphones, the 6210 and 6650 models, through SK Telecom and KTF in January 2009.
"Korean consumers have a big appetite for design and technology-focused phones. I doubt foreign phone makers' ability to meet such needs with the right timing," said a spokesman from Pantech.
"Carriers are just aiming to strengthen their 'low-end portfolios' by introducing foreign phones, meaning the impact on foreign phones in the Korean market will be limited," the official said.
Nokia pulled out of Korea in January 2003 following two years of sluggish sales, while Motorola of the United States is also facing a decline in phone sales here after its success with Razr models.
"If foreign phone makers seriously regards the Korean market as a real 'test-bed' for bigger success in China and other countries, they will be more aggressive toward high-end models for Korean consumers," said an official from Samsung Electronics.
Korea is moving quickly to launch the nationwide third-generation (3G) mobile communications service, which will bring drastic changes to the industry's landscape.
yckim@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
