Samsung Electronics Co remained the largest smartphone vendor in Taiwan last year, but its market share dropped to 21 percent from 27.4 percent in 2012, market researcher GfK said.
Apple Inc was the runner-up, with a 16 percent market share, followed by HTC Corp (宏達電) with 15 percent, GfK data showed.
“The decline was attributable to our competitors’ new product strategies, which resulted in a pricing competition,” Andy Tu (杜偉昱), general manager of Samsung Taiwan’s mobile communications team, said on the sidelines of a product launch in Taipei.
Asked if Samsung would follow HTC’s move to sell more budget smartphones to boost sales and expand its market share in Taiwan, Tu said there is no such plan for now.
Instead, the South Korean firm will stay focused on selling its Galaxy-series high-end smartphones in every regional market and rolling out more wearable devices to support long-term business growth, he said.
“Samsung aims to sustain its leadership in Taiwan’s smartphone market,” Tu said. “However, Samsung is not particularly interested in selling smartphone products priced below NT$4,000.”
The company yesterday launched its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, as well as its second-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch and a Galaxy Gear Fit smartband in Taiwan.
Available to local consumers from April 11, the Galaxy S5 has a price tag of NT$22,900 price tag for the 16-gigabyte version, while the Galaxy Gear will be priced at NT$8,990 and the Galaxy Gear Fit will sell for NT$5,990.
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