By Anu Passary email: a.passary@mobilenapps.com | Dec 26, 2012 09:35 AM EST
With a slew of devices in the pipeline, Samsung is gearing up for 2013 and the company looks set to retain its status as the smartphone market leader. Per reports, Samsung is looking to extend its lead over arch rival Apple in the smartphone arena and will ship a whopping 510 million phones in 2013, of which 390 million will be smartphones.
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The Korean company is expected to ship 120 million feature phones and percentage points-wise, it is forecasted to sell 20 percent more devices in 2013 when compared to 2012. This news is courtesy a Korea Times report, which cited one of Samsung's key suppliers as its source.
"Of the 510 million handsets it plans to sell, 390 million are slated as smartphones and 120 million, feature and budget phones, ' according to an executive from one of Samsung's key suppliers'," reported Korea Times (translated).
The report also disclosed that, apart from its popular Galaxy portfolio of devices, Samsung also intends on releasing a line-up of WP8-powered devices in partnership with Microsoft. Additionally, sources also let on that Samsung is estimated to manufacture "240 million devices at its Vietnamese factory, 170 million in China and 20 million in India to complement the 40 million to be produced in its Korean factory in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province."
Moreover, in a bid to cut down on manufacturing costs, logistics and delivery time, Samsung will likely invest $2.2 billion in its handset factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen in Vietnam, by 2012 to give a fillip to output.
"By offering better pricing to consumers in developing nations, we will find new growth. This will also enable consumers in developed nations like North America and Europe to buy our LTE devices at more affordable prices,'' said a Samsung official, per the Korea Times report.
Samsung is estimated to have sold 420 million phones in 2012, and the 510 million figure for 2013 is just a reflection of how the company continues to grow from strength to strength. However, the 390 million smartphone shipment estimate for 2013 seems to contradict a forecast from market research firm Gartner Inc., which predicts 250 to 300 million smartphone sales for Samsung in 2013.
Additionally, the Korea Times report avers that and IHS iSuppli analyst predicts that Samsung is on song to replace Nokia as the biggest phone maker in the world in 2012, ending the 14-year old reign of the Finnish company. Moreover, Hwang Min-seong, an analyst with Samsung Securities, expects Samsung to post a profit of 21 trillion won ($19.55 billion) in 2013, compared to the 19 trillion won ($17.68 billion) for 2012.
With the purported Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Mini, and Galaxy Note 3 smartphones in the anvil, it remains to be seen if Samsung can surpass the smartphone shipment estimations for 2013.
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