

Samsung sees 300% growth in smartphone market share - alvivar
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/07/2011-will-hit-420-million-smartphone-sales-samsung-hits-433-percent-growthsamsung-sees-300-growth-in-smartphone-market-share.ars

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nextparadigms
Samsung will soon be the new phone/smartphone king, to replace Nokia. Apple
might take the smartphone king place for a quarter or two, but they can't
compete with Samsung in sheer numbers, because Samsung is also making $150
smartphones, which appeal to a lot of people because of the price point. The
new Galaxy S2 seems to to give the iPhone a run for its money, too.

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kungfooey
It's a short-term gain. As a Galaxy S1 owner, I've been burnt by the "nice
hardware, no ongoing software support" issue and I probably will not invest
any of my hard-earned money in Samsung products in the future. As a tech-
influencer of friends and family, when asked for advice about the Samsung
phones, I always recommend against them.

I've noted other users express similar concerns, which leads me to believe
they've sacrificed long-term consumer loyalty to short-term growth.

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rednaught
Google recognizes this problem and is attempting to get vendors onboard with
an 18 month commitment for updates([http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/10/google-
promises-android-d...](http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/10/google-promises-
android-devices-updates-18-months/)) .

On the other hand, the hardware vendors prefer you buy a new handset every
year. How many vendors will agree to long term updates is anybody's guess. I'm
no fan of Apple but this is where their controlled line of hardware definitely
helps updates/support.

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ZoFreX
You'd be hard pushed to find a smartphone contract (for the likes of the
iPhone and SII, anyway) on the high street that isn't 18 or even 24 months, in
the UK at least. If Samsung think they can have a 12 month turn-around on
their high-end models, they're lying to themselves, and if their business
model depends on a 12-month turnaround, they're in trouble.

