0 Samsung eyes larger consumer electronic market share

Korean electronics giant, Samsung Electronics, has introduced a series of innovations it will launch gradually this year, aiming to grab a larger share in the consumer electronics (CE) market in the country. Bernard Ang, Samsung Electronics Indonesia’s consumer electronics business director, said that the company saw a potential market and was optimistic that demand would continue to grow this year. 

Samsung unveiled on Thursday at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center the products it aims to market this year during the 2014 Samsung Forum, including the world’s first ultra-high definition (UHD) curved television — the top product — and a series of tablets. The company had on Tuesday and Wednesday introduced to Indonesian journalists its newest high-end gadgets, the NX30 smart camera and the Galaxy NotePRO 12.2-inch tablet. 

Ang said that its newest, curved, UHD television — available in 55 inches, 65 inches and 78 inches — would be the company’s market driver this year, however, refusing to reveal targets. Samsung ended 2013 with around 33 percent market share in UHD flat televisions, the leader in the country. “Globally, we are number one in UHD, even though they were just launched mid-last year in the US,” he said. 

“We are very confident that we will do well in 2014,” Ang added. Samsung launched its UHD flat television series in November last year. According to data, he said, global demand for this high resolution television was expected to increase by 500 percent this year. By 2017, he added, 60 million units would have been sold, the data had revealed. “This is tremendous, a very fast growth rate,” he said Thursday. 

Ang added that sales of Samsung’s premium CE devices grew 39 percent last year, while the mass segment rose by 23 percent. “It shows that the positive six years of very good GDP [gross domestic product] growth in Indonesia is now driving premium purchase behavior among consumers.” Although the UHD format has yet to go massive, many other companies are also offering similar products. 

However, the broadcasting format has yet to streamlined, hence, raising the question of Samsung’s high-end UHD television’s compatibility by the time the platform is decided. Ang predicted that the broadcasting platform would be streamlined in around three years, and said that his television would be compatible. He said the company offered what it called “One Connect Technology” that could upgrade the television’s compatibility to suit the newest platform. 

The UHD televisions are a format that displays an aspect ratio of at least 16:9, installed with at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native video at a minimum resolution of 3,840×2,160 pixels. In April 2012, the four major Korean terrestrial broadcasters announced that in future, they would begin test broadcasts of UHDTV on channel 66 in Seoul. 

At the time of the announcement, the UHDTV technical details had not yet been decided. During the 2012 Summer Olympics in the UK, however, the format was publicly showcased by the world’s largest broadcaster, the BBC, which set up 15-meter-wide screens in London, Glasgow and Bradford to allow viewers to see the games in ultra-high definition.

source : bali daily