Samsung corrects the notebook strategy

New development and long-term plans of division of digital media Samsung Electronics production (Digital Media Business, DMB) presented in the end of the last year (see PC Week/RE, № 48/2006, p. 19 and № 1/2007, p. 17), testify that the company expands sphere of the interests in the market of mobile personal computers. Till now the company accentuated on sale of rather expensive models of a premium-class, however now it is going to expand essentially a spectrum of delivered mobile personal computers, first of all due to devices of average and bottom price categories. According to representatives of the Korean company, Samsung also wishes to keep the leadership in a notebook segment. Samsung has let out the first notebook in 1990, and now annual volume of selling of mobile personal computers much more exceeds 1 billion dollars. According to the company, volumes of sale of firm notepad personal computers are annually doubled. Now Samsung notebooks are on sale in one and a half tens countries, including in such largest markets as Indian, Chinese and Russian; thus half of turn from selling mobile personal computers is provided with four countries - the Great Britain, Germany, China and Russia. In our country on the market of notepad computers the company has left in 2004 and next year has taken on it of the fourth position on a sales volume. As representatives Samsung mark, despite of preservation of dynamics of growth notebook segment of the Russian personal computer-market, the company has collided in the second half-year of 2006 with a rigid competition from manufacturers of cheap notepad personal computers. The Korean company explains to these, in particular, that fact, that it did not manage to increase here the presence In comparison with 2005 However in present to year Samsung plans to take the third place in a rating of notebook suppliers in our country, having won at least 15 % of the Russian market. To the solving of this problem, and also strengthening of positions of the company in the world market, obviously, should promote and its new technological decisions. As emphasize in the company, it marks constant increase of demand for 17-inch model G10 (named " desktop notebook"), and also on device Q1 concerning a class of ultramobile personal computers (UMPC). Recently Samsung begins the delivery of 12,1-inch "fanless" notebook Q40, replaced previous model Q30.The portable workstation M70 is also represented doubtless interest for users, its screen can be disconnected from the notebook case and turn to the usual LCD-monitor. In present to year experts connect changes of a grocery portfolio with expansion of use of multinuclear processors (including microchips with four kernels), application of more perfect operative DDR3memory, and also new optical Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies. The tendency to decrease notebook energy consumption with the purpose of increase in time of their work from batteries is not disregarded also. According to representatives of the company, replacement of Core Duo processor in mobile device Q1 on microchip VIA C7-M has allowed to increase practically duration of independent work of the ultramobile personal computer twice. Samsung experts have the certain hopes with using flash-memories for storage of the information in notebooks. However, by their estimations, it’s too early to speak about the full replacement of traditional hard disks with flash-memory (because of very high cost of flash-memory): for this purpose some more years are required. In notebooks top level hard disks in capacity 200 Гб are now applied, however now it is possible to get flash-memory in volume only 32 Гб for the same price. Samsung strategy in the Russian market provides, including, localization of mobile personal computers. Since autumn of the last year the Korean company has started to deliver Abbyy Lingvo dictionaries in the complete set with all mobile personal computers. Samsung plans in our country mean also more active penetration into a corporate segment of the personal computer-market (at preservation of positions in a consumer sector). For the decision of this problem the company assumes to expand cooperation with corporate resellers, in particular.Source:hi-fi.ru