Samsung Electronics Co yesterday said it would remain the top vendor for mid-range and entry-level smartphones in Taiwan this year as the market segment continues to grow.
Sales of mid-range and entry-level smartphones, which refer to models priced at under NT$11,000 (US$373), accounted for 33 percent of the nation’s total smartphone sales as of February, according to a survey by Samsung.
However, the ratio is expected to rise to 40 percent by the end of this year, while the ratio of high-end models priced at more than NT$15,000 will drop from 57 percent to 50 percent, the company said.
“We expect more young consumers to switch from feature phones to smartphones, and they may want to spend less money to buy a smartphone,” said Andy Tu (杜偉昱), general manager of the Samsung Taiwan’s mobile communications team.
Samsung became the top vendor of mid-range and entry-level smartphones in Taiwan last year, and the company will hold onto that place this year, he said at a press conference to launch the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, a mid-range Android phone
Priced at NT$9,500, the 3.7-inch model runs on a 1 GHz processor and Google Inc’s Android 2.3 software.
Samsung plans to roll out five to six more mid-range and entry-level smartphones this year to boost its sales of such products in Taiwan, Tu said
Smartphone shipments in -Taiwan grew substantially last year — by 18.2 percent to 1.33 million units in the fourth quarter, accounting for 61.8 percent of total mobile phones sold compared with 58.6 percent in the third quarter, research firm International Data Corp (IDC) said.
Google’s Android operating system, which runs on smartphones made by Samsung, HTC Corp (宏達電) and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, remained the biggest mobile platform in Taiwan with a 75.5 percent market share, IDC said.
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