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JK Shin, left, senior vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, and singer Sohn Dam-bi pose with HAPTIC-branded AM OLED phone. |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung Electronics is betting heavily on its mobile phones that have AM OLED screens ― but its strategy is raising questions over marketability.
Samsung is pushing for sales of models with the screens, a technology the company believes will give it an edge in the market due to the thinner display, clearer images and reduced power consumption.
But it doesn't seem to have a tangible plan to achieve the goal amid the global downturn. Despite the technological merits, the phones are still pricey, making customers reluctant to buy.
According to data from the Nielson Mobile Device Report, price and an easy-to-use interface were picked as strengths for mobile devices in the first quarter. Just 5 percent picked display as the top consideration.
In a press conference to launch the company's HAPTIC-branded AM OLED phone, the head of Samsung's mobile communications declined to comment on the sales target for its AM OLED phones.
Samsung, which trails the industry leader Nokia, aims to sell 200 million mobile phones this year. But insiders say over 100 million will come from low-tier and budget phones due to macro-economic factors.
"I hope the price tags of AM OLED phones will go down," said JK Shin, the senior vice president.
"Samsung has set to sell 500,000 HAPTIC AM OLED phones by the end of this year."
Some users don't see a difference between those with and without the screens.
"Personally, I don't feel any big difference in quality between AM OLED phones and the existing models. I will buy less-pricey phone," said a 27-year-old Kim Ji-hae in a street interview.
"In terms of the sophistication of user interface and design, I can say LG is better. But what's important for the time being is to get consumer attention with feature-rich and budget phones."
Meanwhile, Shin said the company doesn't have any immediate plan to open a mobile App store.
LG plans to open an App store in July, joing the ranks of Nokia, BlackBerry and many more in the latest trend in offering download services.
yckim@koreatimes.co.kr
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