Samsung set to unveil Z2 budget handset

By Kim Tae-gyu

Samsung Electronics plans to take the wraps off its third budget smartphone, the Z2, in India during an unveiling event soon, the company said Monday.

The low-cost smartphone is expected to strengthen Samsung's stake in both the high-end and low-end markets with its Galaxy Note 7 gaining popularity across the world despite its high price.

"We have invited journalists to the event introducing the Z2 on Aug. 23 in India," a Samsung official said.

Much speculation has swirled surrounding the Z2, which is powered by Samsung's own Tizen operating system. In comparison, the firm's top-end Galaxy devices use Google's Android.

Early in 2015, Samsung phased in the Z1 with a price tag lower than 100,000 won ($88) to win customers in countries such as India and Bangladesh.

Buoyed by the success of the low-priced model, which sold more than 1 million soon after its debut, Samsung followed up with the Z3 with better applications and specs but a higher price of around 150,000 won.

The Z2 is the third of the Z series and as the serial number indicates, its price is expected to be somewhere between that of the Z1 and the Z3.

Its two predecessors supported third-generation technology but the Z2 will be based on fourth-generation long-term evolution (LTE). It is predicted to have a 4-inch active mode organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, 5 million-pixel camera, 8-gigabyte expandable memory and 1.5-GHz quad core processor.

Unlike the Z1 and Z3, Samsung seems to be marketing the Z2 not only in the Asian markets of India and Bangladesh but also in African countries of Kenya, Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa.

However, Samsung has so far refused to disclose details about the phone.

"All information will be provided at the forthcoming unveiling event. We expect that the new model will also be a hit," the Samsung official said.

The Korean tech giant came up with the Galaxy S7 this year to chalk up success in top-end markets and its recent Galaxy Note 7 has also got off to a solid start in the world market.

Included in Samsung's smartphone line-up are Galaxy A-, C-, E- and J-series products, all geared toward the mid-tier markets.

The multi-segment strategy boosts Samsung in a two-way rivalry with Apple, which has stood out in the premium phone market but failed to carve out a big share in the lower-end market.

While strengthening its presence in budget phone competition with the Z series, Samsung has eaten into Apple's share with its flagship Galaxy phones. Apple is expected to strike back with its iPhone 7 later this year.

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