In Korea, Samsung is anticipated to release Galaxy S2 on April 25th. Responding to Samsung’s report about the specification of Galaxy S2, the thickness will be 8.89mm which is the second thinnest next to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc. The original thickness was introduced as 8.49mm at the presentation of MWC 2011. But because of adoption of NFC and DMB(Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), the detail speculation has changed.
Samsung’s Galaxy S2 is very meaningful for several reasons.
1. The Market Trend of the Mobile Device
Samsung is the number one smartphone manufacturer in Korea. Even though there are some competitive smartphones such as Motorola Atrix and LG Optimus 2X, it is safe to say that Galaxy S2 is leading the market. As Galaxy S did, it will satisfy the needs of customers who have waited for a brand new smartphone this year. According to Samsung’s press release, the total sales of Galaxy S domestically has passed 3 million on April 2nd. Considering the fact that the total number of smartphone users would be 10 million, Galaxy S is really a mega hit smartphone brand.
Korean people are very loyal to Samsung. Especially, the company is very rapidly responding to customers’ requirements including A/S(After Sales). On the other hand, iPhone has its weak point in this area. So while young early adopters prefer iPhone, many users in most age groups prefer Galaxy S. And because of the rumor that iPhone 5 may be released at the end of this year, it is highly possible that Galaxy S2 corners the market without any strong rival.
2. NFC Business
In Korea, there were 2~3 smartphones that embedded NFC including Nexus S. But in the problem of blocking SWP between USIM and NFC chipset, Nexus S is not that well promoted as the NFC phone. So Galaxy S2 may be accepted as the first NFC phone by consumers. And if iPhone 5 doesn’t embed NFC, Galaxy S2 is very important for carriers and card companies to want to drive the NFC payment.
Among active movements around the NFC business such as Korea Communication Commission’s ‘Grand NFC Korea Alliance, infrastructure is rising as the key issue to activate the market. And it’s a good opportunity for carriers to distribute Galaxy S2 which is designed for SIM-based SE.
After the launch of Galaxy S2, Samsung will adopt NFC in most of its smartphone line-up.
※ Detail Speculation
– Samsung Galaxy S2: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-3621.php
– Motorola Atrix: http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.Motorola-ATRIX-US-EN.alt