SEOUL - Samsung Electronics, the world's No1 smartphone maker, launched on Wednesday its latest Galaxy device as part of efforts to better compete with Apple's newly released iPhone 5.
After being introduced at IFA trade show in Berlin late last month, the latest Galaxy Note 2, called phablet or a hybrid of smartphone and tablet PC, was rolled out at Samsung's headquarters located in central Seoul, adding a new Galaxy device to Samsung's various product mix.
The Galaxy Note2 was expected to help Samsung maintain its dominance over Apple in the global smartphone market by positioning itself as a niche with a large screen, multitasking, upgraded operating system (OS) and competitive hardware.
"Galaxy Note 2 will take over the fame of Galaxy Note that opened a new category of smart mobile devices. A great number of innovations were injected into the product. The Galaxy Note took time to gain fame across the globe, but the Note2 has already won reputation as much more mobile carriers in Europe and the United States wanted to sell the Note2," said Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung's mobile business.
LARGE SCREEN
The Galaxy Note 2 came with a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, the biggest display in any other smartphone on the market. Apple's iPhone5 adopted a 4-inch Retina display that was larger than its predecessor iPhone 4S with a 3.6-inch screen, but was smaller than the Galaxy Note 2 screen as well as Galaxy S3's 4.8-inch display.
The Galaxy Note series have been called a phablet due to its size, not large enough to be considered a tablet and not small enough to be viewed as a smartphone. Users may look awkward when they hold the device next to their head due to its size.
Consumers, however, can choose other smaller models such as Galaxy S3 if they want slimmer ones. The Galaxy Note 2 will act as a niche by meeting demand from those who want larger screen, but do not want a tablet-size display.
Actually, users were already accustomed to bigger displays such as the Galaxy devices'screen. Apple had unveiled models with the same display size, but it widened the iPhone 5 screen size to 4 inches as the iPhone maker felt it cannot swim against the tide.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Note2 adopted a display with a 1280 to 720 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio at a density of 267 pixel per inch (ppi), while the iPhone5 came with a screen with an 1136 to 640 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio at a density of 326 ppi.
The iPhone 5 has a higher pixel density than the Galaxy Note 2, but the upper hand fell short of making up for the small size and lesser resolution. Without any change in the width, the iPhone5 would fail to offer better viewing experience than the Galaxy Note 2.
OS UPGRADE & MULTITASKING
The Galaxy Note 2 was powered by 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android operating system (OS). The new version included many improvements, including Google Now, Project Butter and Google Wallet.
The touch lag issue has been considered Android's biggest weakness, but the Google Now, a voice-activated app available in over 40 languages, seemed to nearly resolve the issue as it provided users with personalized services by recognizing repeated actions. The function is based on Google's extensive search database.
The Project Butter created more fluid scrolling and application interactions, while the Google Wallet used near filed communication (NFC) technology to enable users to pay the bill through mobile devices. In addition, the new OS adopted Chrome as the default browser.
"While Android is becoming more open-minded, Apple's iOS is becoming closed off, following a trajectory similar to that of Macintosh computers. Macintosh PCs showed astonishing innovations at first, but were eventually outpaced by the alliance of Microsoft-IBM-Intel due to Apple's closed platform," said James Song, an analyst at aewoo Securities in Seoul.
The Galaxy Note 2 offered various multitasking with an enhanced S Pen functionality. Air View function offered a quicker and easier search into contents by allowing users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview contents without having to open it.
A feature called Popup Note allowed users to open an S Note as a pop-up window right after pulling out the S Pen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen during a phone call, the S Note application automatically pops up on the screen, enabling users to jot down a quick memo.
The Quick Command function allowed users to activate frequently-used apps quickly with the S Pen. When a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed, the pre- registered marks on the command pad appears, enabling users to activate apps that are used many times.
COMPETE WITH APPLE
With the help of new product launches, Samsung was allegedly expected to maintain its lead over Apple in the global smartphone market. "With innovation stalled at Apple, Samsung's superior hardware is receiving the spotlight. Samsung smartphones will strengthen their market dominance," said Kim Youngchan at Shinhan Investment Corp.
The gap in smartphone shipments between Samsung and Apple widened to 24 million units in the second quarter, with Samsung and Apple shipping 50 million units and 26 million units respectively. The gap was expected to widen further due to Apple' s slowing innovation.
In contrast to Apple that has launched only one flagship model per year, Samsung has rolled out various flagship products, including Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, in a bid to aggressively respond to fast changes in consumer demand. The iPhone 5 should compete not only with Galaxy S3 but also the Galaxy Note 2 this year. Furthermore, the latest version of iPhone series may face competition with the Galaxy S4 early next year.
The iPhone5 was reportedly sold in millions within days after its launch as Apple fans waited for such a long time due to the delayed launch of new model, but the boom may prove temporary unless Apple shortens its new model launching cycle.
"Apple is unlikely to surpass Samsung again in terms of smrtphone shipments though it may narrow the shipment gap after the iPhone 5's release. Apple's market responses have been slow relative to rapid demand changes and Samsung's strategic moves," said Song at Daewoo Securities.
Global sales of Samsung's Galaxy S3 smartphone topped the 20 million mark around 100 days after its release in late May. Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung's mobile business, earlier predicted the model's global sales would reach 30 million units within this year.
