At
the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin,
J.K. Shin, head of Samsung's mobile communications division, told journalists
he expects the company's mobile business to reach a "double-digit"
profit margin during the third quarter of 2010.
Samsung
company executives also expect to ship 25 million smartphones in the same
quarter. The company has high expectations for the mobile business following
the Sept. 2 unveiling of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab device, running Android 2.2.
"We
are prioritizing our Android platform," Y.H. Lee, the head of marketing at
Samsung Mobile, told Reuters at IFA. "Android is very open and flexible,
and there is a consumer demand for it."
At
an event Sept. 16 in New York, Samsung will introduce its Media Hub application.
While
the consumer electronics manufacturer had forecast 18 million in smartphone
sales in 2010, the company is now projecting sales of 25 million smartphones.
While
speaking to reporters, Shin explained that foreign exchange rates had contributed
to a meager second-quarter profit margin.
Shin
said he foresees a huge boost in the worldwide mobile handset market in the
coming year. While he predicted that 1.2 billion units would be sold in the
global mobile handset market in 2010, the number should go up to 1.3 billion
units in 2011, he told reporters in Berlin.
Shin estimated that out of the total of global mobile handset shipments, 400
million of them would be smartphones in 2011, compared with 280 million
smartphones in 2010.
Despite
the predictions of growth for Samsung's mobile handset business, its mobile
phone businesses declined in sales revenue by 4 percent in the second quarter
of 2010. In addition, the company's operating profit margin slipped to 7.2
percent from 10.8 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
Still,
the company shipped 63.8 million phones, compared with 52.3 million during the
second quarter of 2009.
On
Aug. 30 Samsung also released details about the Wave 723 (GT-S7230E) phone, which runs on the Bada mobile
operating system. The phone will debut in September in Germany,
then later in Europe, Southeast Asia,
the Middle East and Africa.
Meanwhile,
sales of the Android Galaxy S smartphone, unveiled in June, have already
reached 1 million.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
