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Samsung sets sights on MP3 player market

updated 12:00 pm EDT, Mon April 11, 2005

Samsung challenges iPod


"Apple is a formidable player in the market, but I don't think it's impossible to ," said Kim Suh-kyum, a vice president at Samsung's Bluetek. "We are behind because we are a latecomer. But we have strong technological prowess in manufacturing digital consumer goods, which Apple lacks." Last month, the company held an unusual news conference dedicated to its new MP3 players, claiming that it would by 2007 increase its share of the market for mini hard disk drive music players from just 7.7 percent now to become the world's top producer of the devices, unseating Apple, which controls 70 percent. "The one thing that Apple has that is going to be very difficult for Samsung to achieve in the short term is the 'cool' factor that Apple has mastered," said Shyam Nagrani, an analyst at iSuppli.


by MacNN Staff

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  1. aristotles

    Grizzled Veteran

    Joined: Jul 2004

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    04/11, 12:18pm | report spam | Reply |

    It's the "content".

    He does not get it. Sure, there is the "cool" factor but iTMS happens to be cross-platform compatible (many windows users are pirates), has the biggest selection and is easy to use.

    I bet that mac users are a significant portion of those who buy music from iTMS. At least, they were the ones that got the ball rolling while the windows only services had dismal sales.

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

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    04/11, 12:26pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: its the content

    Its not the content. Few people buy music online vs. stores. And it doesn't matter what people in the 'big' countries do. Samsung can get 70% of the market by targeting the 'small' countries (asia esp.), where people can't afford to buy an iPod, and most people pirate most of the computer software they own. They won't be iTunes it, they'll be using gnutella and kazaa to fill up their devices.

    There was a recent story regarding the iPod having a sub-10% share in Korea (South, I assume).

  1. iKenny

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2002

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    04/11, 12:49pm | report spam | Reply |

    Prowess?!

    "...we have strong technological prowess in manufacturing digital consumer goods, which Apple lacks." Where does this come from?? Part of the reason Apple has such a high marketshare is that the iPod is consistently rated as the best-designed, easiest to use MP3 player available, and Samsung says Apple lacks the prowess to manufacture digital consumer goods? From over here, it looks like Apple's crushed every other manufacturer of digital consumer goods in terms of music players, including behemoths like Sony.

  1. jimothy

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2000

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    04/11, 12:57pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: prowess

    Kim is talking about production and manufacturing, not design. Apple obviously excels at design, but it may be true that they are not as well suited to high volume manufacturing. No worry, though, since Apple does not manufacture the iPod; that's done by a contract manufacturer in Asia.

    Samsung is an usual company today in that they don't use contract manufacturers (Fortune ran an article on this topic a few months back). So Kim is right that Samsung's manufacturing capabilities exceed Apple's; he's wrong in thinking that it matters.

  1. srmoll

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2004

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    04/11, 12:59pm | report spam | Reply |

    re: Prowess?!

    Samsung are actually right really. What they forget, however, is that Apple doesn't really manufacture anything. That's not what its about though it it? Apple design bloody good stuff, and someone else builds them for Apple. Samsung should know this, as they were (and maybe are still) involved in part of the supply chain for Apple laptops for many years.

    Samsung can only "catch up" by:

    (1) Getting a design that is better than the Apple one.
    (2) Elevating the Samsung brand name to a state of "coolness" equal to or greater than Apple's.
    (2) Constructing a music download site, as good as or better that iTMS.

    The first is going to be hard, as the scroll wheel design will be heavily protected by the Apple corporate machine. I can't see any other design being as good to be honest.

    The second and third I simply can't see Samsung being able to achieve.

  1. cebritt

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Mar 2000

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    04/11, 01:21pm | report spam | Reply |

    It's the software stupid

    If Kim was smart, he'd be bidding on the manufacturing of Apple's iPods instead of trying to compete. The orient is full of companies that can build things. It's the innovation and marketing they don't do well.

    And can you name one outstanding software program from the orient?

  1. anthology123

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Nov 2000

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    04/11, 01:31pm | report spam | Reply |

    Mark his words

    The problem is these PC people work with the same edict that Microsoft does. Give them junk at a low-cost and then work your way up to a useable device and service. Apple did it the other way by giving the consumer pretty much what they wanted (1G ipods are still better than anyting else out there). The ironic thing is that Apple was always slammed for selling computers that way and not like Windows, where they started cheap and then work up. Maybe this market is going against the norm and took eveyone by surprise. It's very clear in this MP3 market that people won't tolerate cheaply made complicated gadget just for the sake of MP3. In this case Apple's model was thought out well and worked. I can't imagine any other company working the same way.

  1. notehead

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

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    04/11, 01:58pm | report spam | Reply |

    by 2007...?

    Listen, by 2007 the market will have slowed down quite a bit, as most potential purchasers of hard-disk based portable audio devices will already own one.

    Two years is a long time in the elctronics industry. You can bet that by then Apple will have already pulled a new rabbit out of the hat and brought the focus elsewhere.

  1. benhur

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2001

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    04/11, 02:09pm | report spam | Reply |

    sigh

    I took a look at a Samsung player this weekend. The feature set was okay. I own a 4G 40 Gig ipod but it's too big to use at the gym or mountain biking, snowboarding etc. I looked at the Shuffle, my dad bought one, and it's cool but I can't stress this enough, I think all players should have an FM tuner. I know it's 50/50 on this one with Apple users but if you haven't noticed other players actually are starting to have more features and are less expensive and for what it's worth, work with more music stores (ouch, I can feel the wrath from that comment already)

    I know Apple's iPod works better, cross platform, yada yada but it has not evolved that much and the other players are catching up.

    I've said this before and the Apple faithful (of which I am one, which is why I want them to continue to stay on top) respond with "well then go buy a different player". Great attitude.

    I wrote my opinion when the iPod had 90% of the market and so many here in this forum thought Apple could do no wrong and it was blasphemy to criticize Apple. Well, Apple still dominates the market (woo hoo!) but now it's 75%. When will Apple fans begin to worry.

  1. Jonathan-Tanya

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2004

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    04/11, 02:19pm | report spam | Reply |

    video

    I'd like a video capable machine for watching short video clips. I like instructional videos, and they do very well to have short video clips, as instructional aids.

    some people listen to music at the gym, some like to study a language...the problem with the ipod is its a very closed system, so all innovation will happen on other platforms.

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