Samsung eyes three-fold growth in 2010 smartphone sales

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-largest
mobile handset maker, said Thursday it aims to triple sales of smartphones this
year from 2009 to tap what could be the fastest growing segment in the handset
market.
To meet that target, Samsung will release a full smartphone line-up with various
operating systems -- Android, Windows Mobile, LiMo and Bada -- while expanding
its application store to over 50 countries, the company said in a release.
Smartphones, which perform many of the same functions as personal computers,
require an operating system to run programs. Built-in functions can be expanded
by downloading programs called applications from app stores.
Samsung, which trails Finland's Nokia Corp., is estimated to have shipped 6
million smartphone units in 2009, according to Macquarie Research, a provider of
financial market data.
In terms of overall handset sales, Samsung added that it aims to outperform
average market growth this year, while maintaining an operating profit of over 10
percent against sales.
Asia's largest handset maker sold more than 227 million units last year, claiming
over 20 percent of the global handset market.
But Samsung and its local rival LG Electronics Inc., the world's No. 3 handset
maker, failed to claim the top spots among global smartphone makers, which are
dominated by Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone, and Research In Motion Ltd., maker
of BlackBerry.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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