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Saturday, April 4, 2015

Samsung profits drop for first time in two years tablet and phone demand still strong

Samsung’s Q4 2013 financial report reveals a profit loss for the first time in two years, despite strong demand for its smartphones and tablets.

The detail Q4 2013 report show an operating profit decline for the quarter, the first reported by the company in two years, which could be of concern to investors.

Of course, 8.3 trillion won (£4.7 billion) operating profit is still huge, and is only slightly lower than the 8.84 trillion won (£4.98 billion) figure posted for the same period the year before.

“Earnings will remain stagnant this year as the explosive growth of the past two to three years seems to have ended,” said Lee Sun Tae, a Korean-based analyst at NH Investment and Securities. “Although the lower-end smartphone market will continue to grow, the scale of profit from that segment doesn’t compare to the high-end market so the growth seems limited.”

However, it could suggest growth is slowing in Samsung’s smartphone and tablet business.

Samsung has been celebrating its mobile division though, saying tablet sales doubled from last year and people are more interested in their product range than ever before.

Apparently, this decline in operating profit is due to a £448 million one-off payment to employees to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company’s “New Management Initiative”. Plus a stronger Korean won meant the company lost out on 700 billion won (£389 million).

“Samsung’s two major challenges for 2014 are to maintain its mobile-phone leadership in China and the US, while simultaneously growing its tablet business quickly enough to knock Apple iPad from its perch,” said Neil Mawston, an executive director at Strategy Analytics. “A flood of Asian rivals from China and India, such as Lenovo, as well as a product refresh from Apple, are pressuring Samsung.”

Apple reportedly working on two large screen iPhone 6 handsets

Apple will finally bust through the 4-inch barrier by launching two new large-screen iPhone 6 smartphones in 2014, according to a recent report.

Just a couple of days ago we reported on suggestions that the iPhone 6 design had been decided upon, and that it would feature a single 4.8-inch model.

According to the Wall Street Journal, however, there will be two distinct large-screen iPhone models launched this year. One will feature a display that’s over 4.5-inches in size, while the other will be over 5-inches.

Both super-sized iPhones will sport metal casings, like the iPhone 5S. This would put to bed any notions that Apple was ready to switch to premium plastic, as suggested by last year’s launch of the iPhone 5C.

Neither new iPhone will feature the somewhat gimmicky curved displays adopted by Apple’s rivals, Samsung and LG. We can’t say we’re remotely surprised at that one.

Apparently, the smaller of the two large-screen iPhones is further along in development. It’s just about ready for mass production, while the larger device is still in the preliminary stages. Both devices are said to be headed for release during the second half of 2014, however.

The report cautions that Apple’s plans have not been finalised, so things could change before the expected iPhone 6 release.

We’d suggest that these large-screen iPhones, which many would say are overdue given the trend for 5-inch displays in the Android market, would complement rather than replace the current 4-inch iPhone format. Apple won’t want to alienate the millions of happy customers accustomed to single-handed usage and minimal pocket bulges.

Samsung Galaxy S5 benchmark leaks point to two handset variations

A new round of Samsung Galaxy S5 benchmarks have leaked, with latest reports suggesting two variations of the flagship handset will be made available.

With the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date widely expected to be held on February 24, new leaks have hinted that the Samsung Galaxy S4 follow-on will launch in both quad-core, 2K display and octa-core Full HD display hosting variations.

While a separate Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is expected to launch in the future, it is believed the leaked flagship variations are set to be more akin to Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C offerings than full blown spinoffs.

According to leaked AnTuTu benchmark results, surfaced via PhoneArena, {pullquote}the two Samsung Galaxy S5 variations will be known as the Samsung SM-G900R4 and Samsung SM-G900H{/p[ullquote}. Both will feature 16-megapixel rear-mounted cameras alongside secondary, 2-megapixel snappers up front and Google’s latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS.

That’s where the similarities end, however. The leaks have claimed that the Samsung SM-G900R4 will play host to a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor alongside 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Interestingly, this version of the HTC One rival will reportedly run a QHD display with a stunning 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution.

On the other side, the Samsung SM-G900H variation will see a 1.5GHz octa-core Exynos CPU line up alongside 2GB of RAM and a more traditional 1920 x 1080p Full HD display. The lower screen resolution S5 will reportedly add 2GB of RAM and just 16GB of integrated storage.

Although Samsung has yet to officially confirm the existence of such a device, the Korean manufacturer last week teased the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 launch, issuing invites to a February 24 press event dubbed “Unpacked 5.”

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 shipments top 10m in two months

Samsung has announced Samsung Galaxy Note 3 shipments have topped 10 million in the two months since launch.

The South Korean electronics giant released an infographic highlighting key mobile phone handsets to make it into its “10 million seller club” since 2002 with the Samsung SGH-T100.

In pride of place for 2013 is the Samsung Galaxy S4 alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the latest handset to reach the 10 million shipments mark.

The Galaxy Note 3, the latest large screen smartphone, has followed in the footsteps of its predecessors the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy Note with sales success.

However, we have to remember Samsung doesn’t provide actual sales figures, but only channel sales or shipments.

It is still a very good indicator of the Galaxy Note 3’s popularity though, as the original Note took nine months to reach 10 million channel sales, and the Note 2 took four months.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was released on September 25 in the majority of international markets, which means the 5.7-inch, stylus bearing smartphone took a little over two months to reach the 10 million shipment mark.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA 2013 in early September alongside the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, announcing key improvements over the Note 2.

It has a 5.7-inch Full HD 1080 x 1920p Super AMOLED Display and runs on a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB of RAM.

Samsung has also equipped it with a new generation S Pen stylus, which offers better functionality and new features for the Galaxy Note 3.

It has a 13-megapixel camera in the rear, complemented by a 2-megapixel secondary snapper up front.

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Saturday, April 4, 2015

Samsung profits drop for first time in two years tablet and phone demand still strong

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Apple reportedly working on two large screen iPhone 6 handsets

Friday, August 22, 2014

Samsung Galaxy S5 benchmark leaks point to two handset variations

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 shipments top 10m in two months