*from www.bloomberg.com, Mar. 14, 2013 (To view original article click here.)
Take Away #1: Samsung will hold a very Apple-like event to unveil its latest smartphone in New York Today.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Samsung will take the wraps off the Galaxy S4 at Radio City Music Hall.
- The event will be streaming live on video screens in Times Square.
- Hosting the festivities will be J.K Shin, the low-key head of the mobile division.
- While Steve Jobs has been considered the benchmark, Samsung has done a great job despite not having a Steve Jobs-like figure to help them.
Take Away #2: J.K. Shin stands in contrast to the late Steve Jobs, whose charismatic personality is credited with helping the success of Apple’s previous launch events.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The Samsung executive tends to let the devices take the spotlight.
- Unlike Steve Jobs, who combined product design finesse with a talent for pitch-perfect marketing, Shin is an effective behind-the-scenes manager.
- Shin sees the world through a product lens in a product focused design environment.
- Still, any lack of charisma on Shin’s part isn’t hurting Samsung, which has surged past Apple in global smartphone sales.
- Shin lacks the polish of Jobs who was known to practice relentlessly and once rehearsed on stage for four hours straight to get an element of a presentation just right.
- While Steve Jobs has been considered the benchmark, Samsung has done a great job despite not having a Steve Jobs-like figure to help them.
Take Away #3: The battle between Samsung and Apple continues.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Samsung’s J.K. Shin, who oversees all aspects of the Galaxy products, including design, is keenly aware of the threat posed by Apple.
- Apple took an early lead in smartphones after its 2007 introduction of the iPhone.
- The popularity of iPhone’s user interface caused Samsung to suffer a “crisis of design”, according to a February 2010 internal memo.
- By 2012, Samsung surpassed Apple to become the world’s largest smartphone maker.
- Samsung had 29% of global smartphone unit shipments in the fourth quarter, compared with 21% for Apple.
Take Away #4: Seeking to steal thunder from Apple’s main competitor in smartphones, Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller, downplayed the market-share gains of Samsung and other devices running Google Inc.’s Android mobile software.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Apple lures four times as many Android smartphone owners to buy iPhone as it loses to rivals, said Mr. Schiller.
- “Our products are innovative, and customers are buying them,” Schiller said in an interview yesterday.
- Apple’s shares rose 1.1% to $432.87 at 10:01 a.m. in New York.
*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.