Ki Tae Lee President of Samsung Electronics' Telecommunications Network Business

In terms of a market share in the world market for the cellular phone parts, Samsung Electronics has held third place behind Nokia and Motorola since 2002.

According to Dataquest, Samsung Electronics held the No. 2 position with a market share of 12.1% in the world market following Nokia's 29.7% and Motorola's 15.8% in the second quarter of 2004. According to Strategy Analytics, too, the company occupied third place with a market share of 13.54% in the world cellular phone parts market during the third quarter of 2004.

Samsung Electronics' turnover in this market grew from 9.0 trillion won in 2001 to 12.38 trillion won in 2002, 14.19 trillion won in 2003, to 14.61 trillion won to the end of the third quarter of this year. Samsung Electronics is thus on a par with worldwide telecommunication firms such as Nokia and Motorola.

Cellular phones that Samsung Electronics has introduced that feature market-leading technology, design and function include the SPH-WP10, SCH-M210 (MP3 phone), SCH-M220 (TV phone), SCH-A2000, SCH-V200 (camera phone), SCH-X100, SCH-X200/SPH-X2000, SPH-A5000, SPH-N2000, SCH-X570/SCH-X580, SCH-X590, SCH-E100, SCH-V300, SCH-V330, SCH-E700, SCH-A790, SPH-S2300, SCH-V540, SCH-V500, and SCH-S250.

A leading corporation in the world cellular phone market

Mr. Ki Tae Lee, President, Telecommunications Network Business, Samsung Electronics emphasized in an interview with The Korea IT Times that "Samsung Electronics has become a leading corporation in the world cellular phone market by launching the VOD phone that is able to transmit moving images, a world phone that allows global communication in GSM mode, a 3-million pixel camera phone, and a camera phone with up to 5 million pixels, a world-first for the company."

He cited the SCH-M210 (MP3 phone), SCH-M220 (TV phone), the Dual Folder phone, the SCH-V2000, the first camera phone in the world, as products that have outstanding technical significance among the many that Samsung Electronics has developed.

First off, Samsung Electronics' SCH-M210 MP3 phone is a product that has made a great contribution to the MP3 function. The SCH-M220 TV phone is a cellular phone that represents an upgrade in cellular phone technology since it can receive TV signals.

Mr. Lee said: "Samsung Electronics' Dual Folder Phone launched in 2000, is a cellular phone that has greatly contributed to the competitiveness of Korean cellular phone exports, as well as having set new standards in design. He pointed out that the Dual Folder Phone has proved hugely popular among phone users in Europe and the United States. Its success served to publicize Korean cellular phone capability globally, and prompted Nokia, the world's No. 1 cell phone company to develop a range of competing folder-model products.

The SCH-V200, the world's first camera phone, is regarded as a product that has boosted the reputation of Korean technology. Thanks to such excellent capability, Samsung Electronics has successively launched state-of-the-art cellular phones including the VOD phone (a color moving-image cellular phone), super-slim cellular phone (the slimmest of all cellular phones), IMT-2000 phone, world phone, and the 5-million pixel camera phone. Mr. Lee noted, "Samsung Electronics has succeeded in developing a cellular phone chip for the purpose of receiving satellite DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) services that commenced in February this year. In particular, this development by Samsung Electronics has special significance in that it has paved the way for the domestic manufacture of satellite DMB core parts. The company has also succeeded in entraining a variety of application functions such as phone-user authentification achieved by applying SoC technology to a satellite DMB chip for use in a cellular phone.

President Lee stressed that Samsung Electronics has expanded its core chip technology by developing the world's first satellite DMB chip for cellular phones. In the process, the development is promoting the commercialization of satellite DMB broadcasting.

Samsung Electronics' satellite DMB phone (model name: SCH-B100) can receive digital broadcasting services via satellite. The model is a leading example of a digital convergence product. In terms of design, Samsung's satellite DMB phone is markedly different from existing cellular phones. The phone gained an extremely positive response from overseas visitors, especially those from Japan, at its trial performance at EXPOCOMM WIRELESS Korea 2004 and at the Busan ITU Exhibition.

Important to focus on 4G technology

On the future shape of the telecommunications market, a spokesperson for the Telecommunications Network Business division of Samsung Electronics said: "In the case of a cellular phone industry, it is more important to focus on 4G rather than the current 3G technology."

Current communication technology is moving from 2.5G to 3G, while it is expected that the 4G service will be commercialized by 2010. President Lee commented, "Samsung Electronics, one of the world's top three cellular phones, is aggressively pursuing the standardization of 4G mobile communications following 2.5G and 3G." In this connection, Samsung Electronics has already registered 220 4G mobile communication-related patents. Mr. Lee stressed, "It is important at this time to form a vision on 4G mobile communication technology as well as service, and to crystallize this vision through standardization." He added that Samsung Electronics is proceeding to introduce not only WiBro equipment and terminals, but also to embark upon a program of research on 4G mobile communications technology. Some 125 domestic and 40 overseas employees at 4 Samsung Electronics' laboratories are now working on international protocols for the operation of 4G mobile telecommunications.

Samsung's strategy is to pursue 4G standardization by working through national, regional and international institutes. Samsung Electronics envisions securing global 4G leadership by timely development of cellular phones based on the technology and by strengthening its chip-set competitiveness.