Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S Duos, Galaxy Ace Duos India prices slashed

Samsung seems to be looking at spreading some New Year cheer for its patrons in India. According tofonearena.com, the Korean smartphone maker has dropped the prices of Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy S Duos and the Galaxy Ace Duos.
Samsung had launched its flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S III in May 2012 for Rs. 43,180. This smartphone had got a sharp price cut in September 2012 and was retailing for Rs. 34,900 and is currently available for Rs. 31,990.
Similarly, Samsung Galaxy Note, which was retailing for Rs. 29,990 from September onwards, is now available for Rs. 27,500.
The 4-inch Samsung Galaxy S Duos which was launched in September for Rs. 17,900 is available for Rs. 14,900 after the price revision. The other features of this smartphone include 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel rear camera and VGA front camera. It runs on Android 4.0.
Lastly, Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos is now retailing for Rs. 10,900. This smartphone was launched in India in the month of June for Rs. 15,090. It is a dual-SIM smartphone, which has a 3.5-inch TFT touch screen display with a 320x480 pixel resolution. Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos is powered by 832 MHz processor, has 512MB RAM and 3GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy Music Duos now for Rs. 9,199

Samsung has officially started selling the Galaxy Music Duos through its official online store for Rs. 9,199.
Samsung had announced the Galaxy Music and Galaxy Music Duos smartphones back in October. Samsung Galaxy Music Duos is a dual-SIM phone which comes with a 3.0-inch QVGA display. It comes with 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage (expandable by another 32GB) and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Other features include a 3-megapixel rear camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 1300mAh battery. The smartphone is targeted at music lovers and comes with a dedicated music key, music player with SoundAlive, 3.5mm ear jack, stereo FM radio with RDS, built-in FM antenna and frontal stereo loudspeaker with SRS surround audio effect.
It is available in two colour options blue and white. Earlier this month, Samsung's online store had started taking pre-booking for this smartphone but taken it off in a matter of minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Music Duos will be competing with the likes of Sony Xperia tipo dual. Sony Xperia tipo dual features a 3.2-inch TFT display with 480x320 pixel resolution and run on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). There is 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor on board along with 512MB of RAM. This smartphone comes with 2.5GB internal storage and can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD. It is currently retailing at a street price of approximately Rs. 10,000.
The Sony smartphone has a slightly bigger screen and is a little bit costlier than Samsung Galaxy Music Duos.
Samsung Galaxy Music Duos key specifications

• 3.0-inch QVGA(240x320) display
• 4GB User memory + 512MB(RAM), microSD (up to 32 GB)
• Dual-SIM GSM+GSM
• 3-megapixel fixed-focus rear camera w/ no flash
• Music player with SoundAlive
• 3.5mm ear jack, stereo FM radio with RDS
• Built-in FM Antenna
• Frontal stereo loudspeaker w/ SRS surround audio effect
• GPS/ Glonass
• Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
• 110.1 x 59.0 x 12.25mm, 106.9g
• Li-ion 1,300mAh battery

Samsung sells 10 million Galaxy devices in India

Korean company Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it has sold more than 10 million Galaxy devices in the Indian market since the launch of the first Galaxy device, 'Galaxy S', in June 2010.
"Innovative devices like the Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and S III, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Y have caught the imagination of customers and helped us democratise the smartphone experience in the Indian market," says Samsung VP (Mobile) Asim Warsi.
This has helped Samsung sell more than 10 million Galaxy devices in the Indian market since June 2010, when the first Galaxy device was launched, he added.
The Galaxy series comprises a portfolio of devices like Galaxy Y (launched in October 2011), Galaxy S II (May 2011), Galaxy Tab (November 2011), Galaxy Tab 2 310 (May 2012) and Galaxy S III.
Though the company declined to comment on individual contribution of a particular device, Galaxy Y series, Note series and Galaxy S III together contributed more than 50 percent of the sales.
"Through our series of consistent Smartphone launches, Samsung has fuelled the growth of the smartphone market in India and has been a category leader since last year.
Samsung's portfolio of 13 Galaxy devices in the Indian market are priced between Rs. 6,790 to Rs. 39,990," Warsi said.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR) India Mobile Handsets Market Review, India shipments of mobile handsets was recorded at 102.43 million units during January-June 2012.
Of the smartphones market of 5.50 million units, Samsung had a 41.6 percent share, while Nokia and Research in Motion had 19.2 percent and 12.1 percent share, respectively.

Sam4sammy :: Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy S II Plus surface online

Pictures of two new Samsung Galaxy smartphones have been spotted in the wild. There have been rumours in regards to the Korean handset maker working on Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy S II Plus and both these smartphones were caught on camera going through China's TENAA certification process.

Both Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy S II Plus are expected to feature Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

According to Unwired.com Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is expected to feature a 4.3-inch WVGA display, dual-core 1GHz processor, 8-megapixel rear camera with flash, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Earlier reports had indicated the Galaxy S II Plus will come with Android 4.0, 4.52-inch qHD display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8-megapixel rear camera and 16GB of internal storage.

The Galaxy S II Plus GT-i9105, which could be officially unveiled later this month, looks a lot like the original Galaxy S II i9100 (launched in the first half of 2011).

The second new Samsung handset is the Galaxy Grand Duos GT-i9082. We've heard this would pack a 5-inch display and a quad-core processor, but that doesn't seem to be true. Instead, the handset should feature a 4.5 inch WVGA screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front-facing camera, and Android 4.1Jelly Bean.

Obviously - as its name suggests - the Grand Duos is a dual SIM device. 

There have been rumours about Samsung Galaxy Grand even in the past. It is expected to be anaffordable Samsung phablet for the consumers who are fascinated by large screen phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note and Samsung Galaxy Note II but don't want to splurge as much on a smartphone. Grand Duos seems be the dual-SIM variant of this smartphone but the 4.5-inch screen instead of a 5-inch screen might be a bummer for some.

Additionally, as Galaxy S II Plus reportedly does not support 3G, it is a possibility that this smartphone might be targeted at developing markets such as India.

Bend it like Samsung: New Galaxy phone may have unbreakable screen

Samsung Electronics, the world's leading technology company by revenue, is likely accelerating the launch of its next-generation flagship Galaxy smartphone - which may come with a breakthrough unbreakable screen.

Codenamed "Project J" after mobile division chief JK Shin, development of the new Galaxy S IV could be aimed for release by as early as April, according to analysts and tech blogs.

And, as smartphones increasingly look alike - the converging form factor - an unbreakable screen could be a big selling point for the Galaxy, which is battling Apple Inc's iPhone to lead the $200 billion plus smartphone market.

The Galaxy S IV is also expected to have bigger and better display, powerful quad-core processing power and a 13-megapixel camera, with picture density improving to 441 pixels per inch (ppi), a big improvement from the Galaxy S III's 306 ppi and better than the iPhone 5's 326 ppi.

"Looking to the first half of 2013, we see evidence of Samsung likely accelerating the release of the Galaxy S IV - compared with May (this year) for the Galaxy S III," said UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois. "We believe preparations for volume manufacturing of unbreakable plastic substrate displays continue. All in all, we could see a strong products push in the high-end in the first half, followed by other releases."

Samsung declined to comment.

Samsung, a major backer of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, is a frontrunner in developing unbreakable screens, as OLED panels can replace glass substrate with plastic material. Down the road, mobile gadgets could be flexible as well as unbreakable.

"Eventually, they'll have unbreakable and flexible displays. Either the Galaxy S IV or S V will have unbreakable and even possibly flexible and foldable displays by 2014. That's going to be a game-changer," said Mark Newman, an analyst at Stanford Bernstein in Hong Kong.

Both Newman and Gaudois are ranked as 5-star analysts, the top ranking, by Thomson Reuters StarMine for their recommendations on Samsung.

Courtroom revisited 
It would also be a game-changer for Samsung, which has built its reputation as a 'fast follower' of others' technologies and designs.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant faces off against Apple again on Thursday in a U.S. courtroom for a follow-up ruling on whether it copied some of its U.S. rival's patents and should pay the $1 billion awarded to Apple by jurors in an August verdict.

Samsung wants the verdict overturned, while Apple wants the damages to be increased and Samsung phones banned in the United States.

Since that landmark verdict, however, Samsung shares have gained 14 percent to record highs, while Apple shares - dented by a maps app fiasco, tight supply of its iPhone 5 and ever tougher competition in the mobile market - have slipped by nearly a fifth, wiping more than $120 billion off its market value.

Barring any extra costs related to the U.S. ruling, Samsung should report a fifth straight record profit this quarter, as profits from its component business recover and more than offset thinning margins on mobile phones - squeezed by higher year-end holiday marketing campaigns.

"Samsung's strength extends beyond cool products, they're also a leader in the technology behind these devices. We see further upside to Samsung's stock as success in smartphones continues and chips and display profits also rebound," said Newman. "In smartphones, the opportunity is for Samsung to take more share from Apple in the premium segment, where Apple is still dominant."

UBS estimates Samsung will ship around 22.5 million of its Galaxy S III and Note II devices in the quarter to end-December, up from 20 million in July-September. Shin said in November that Galaxy S III sales would hit 40 million by the end of this month.

In a worst-case scenario for Samsung, U.S. judge Lucy Koh could treble the damages payable to Apple, given the jury in August found Samsung "wilfully" infringed some Apple patents.

"That would be a major blow to Samsung's fundamentals and overall investor sentiment, but it's not the most likely scenario," said Young Park, a 4-star StarMine analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.

© Thomson Reuters 2012