Samsung: Smart call

Samsung hopes to double its mobile phone sales this year. Like most other key players, it’s counting on innovative products to drive its sales. At the same time, it’s building a range broad enough for consumers to find a phone with whatever features they like under the brand. In the first six months of the year alone, it has introduced over 20 new models — six of them touch screen — and now has over 50 models in its portfolio.

Last week, the company rolled out two of its latest “innovations”, Samsung Jét and Marine — phones it has high hopes on. Samsung pitches the Jét (its sixth touch screen model) as “smarter than a smart phone” and the Marine as an “outdoor” phone (for its robust build quality and water-resistant encasing — it can remain under water up to one metre for 30 minutes; price: Rs 7,030).

The company’s betting the Jét’s features will give smart phones from rivals a run for their money. “It features a 800 MHz processor (Apple’s iPhone 3G offers a 600 MHz processor) which makes the touch screen response time fast and a new screen technology which offers a resolution four times higher than the WQVGA screens on most touch screen phones,” says the company. The Jét is priced at Rs 24,150 — Samsung has touch screen phones priced between Rs 11,100 and Rs 32,200, and they contribute 10 per cent to its mobile phone sales. Samsung isn’t stopping with the Jét. To make the most of the rising demand for touch screen phones, it’s launching two or three more models by the end of the month and will have at least 10-11 models in its portfolio by year-end.