Wednesday, August 14, 2013

3 Premium Smartphones to Face Off in September

 


The world's top three premium smartphone makers Apple, LG and Samsung will face off next month by releasing their latest models. LG already unveiled its G2 last week, and Apple and Samsung plan to release their latest models next month.

Intense competition is expected with Samsung seeking to protect its No. 1 position, while Apple and LG keep up the chase.

◆ New iPhone

AllThingsD, the Wall Street Journal's IT blog, on Saturday said Apple plans to unveil its new iPhone on Sept. 10. The current iPhone 5 was released in September 2012.

Apple has yet to reveal any details, but there are forecasts that the new phone will be equipped with the iOS7 operating system and feature fingerprint-recognition functions, which Apple revealed at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Apple acquired mobile security firm AuthenTec last year.

The big question is whether Apple will manage to overcome declining market share. As sales of Android phones increase, Apple’s slice of the pie has grown smaller. According to U.S.-based market researcher Strategy Analytics, 79.5 percent of all smartphones in the world were equipped with Google's Android OS as of the second quarter of this year, up 10 percentage points from the same period of 2012.

In contrast, the share of iOS phones fell from 16.6 percent to 13.6 percent. Industry watchers expect Apple to go all out to market the upcoming iPhone, since poor sales would only widen its gap with the Korean electronics giant.

◆ Galaxy Note 3

Samsung plans to unveil the Galaxy Note 3 in Berlin on Sept. 4, a week earlier than Apple and two days ahead of the Internationale Funkausstellung consumer electronics trade show there to attract worldwide coverage.

The Galaxy Note 3 is likely to be the world's first smartphone with a 3GB DRAM chip, since Samsung announced it would start mass-producing the chips last month. Until now, smartphones had been powered by 2GB DRAM chips at best.

The greater the DRAM capacity, the greater the multi-tasking ability of a smartphone.

◆LG's G2

LG unveiled its G2 weeks ahead of its rivals, aiming to draw the attention of consumers first. But the real battle begins next month, when its rivals catch up.

Kim Kyoung-hwan at LG said he expects intense competition in the key North American and European markets starting in mid-September. But he said LG is confident due to "drastic improvements" in design to functions.

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