Samsung to close desktop business

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Ativ Q tablet

Samsung Electronics has decided to ditch its unprofitable desktop PC business and devote itself to tablet computers and all-in-one laptops, company officials said Monday.

"Demand for conventional desktop PCs is going down," said a Samsung Electronics official. "We will allocate our resources to popular connected and portable devices."

He said that research teams and technology development units are being boosted for tablets and all-in-one laptops.

The government recently designated the desktop PC business as an "industry suitable for smaller firms" from 2015.

"Tablets, all-in-one and hybrid PCs are Samsung's current focus. Samsung is speeding up its restructuring of its PC business via product realignment toward profitable variants," said another Samsung official.

The business shift by the Korean technology heavyweight means that an era of desktop PCs here is being phased out.

"The connected world is going to expand. This is the industry's new trend. Simply put, desktop PCs are no longer a cash-generator. Samsung is getting smarter," said Kim Il-tae, a senior fund manager at Taurus Investment.

Last Friday, Samsung unveiled a new all-in-one PC that borrows its looks from the company's popular Galaxy line of mobile devices. Samsung has been touting the syncing capabilities of its PCs, and the "Ativ One 5 Style" is no exception.

Strategy Analytics (SA), a market research firm, said Samsung sold 9.1 million tablets, globally, during the first three months of this year, thanks to rising demand for Galaxy-branded tablets in emerging markets.

Samsung plans to introduce more tablet variants next year rather than its flagship Galaxy smartphones, said officials. The firm aims to sell 33 million tablets this year, up from last year's 16 million.

yckim@koreatimes.co.kr,