Samsung exec downplays chances of an Aussie release for QWERTY slider version of the just-launched Galaxy S Android smartphone...
Today’s debut of the
Galaxy S is just the start for Samsung’s Android assault, and there’s more where that came from.
Tyler McGee, Vice President of Telecommunications for Samsung Electronics Australia, told APC that additional Android devices would follow throughout the year – which should come as no surprise to anyone, given the company’s investment in the platform and the TouchWIZ interface which sits atop Google’s made-for-mobile OS.
McGee says that Android is already a hit in Australia. “Sales of Android handsets have grown faster than the overall smartphone market, with an increase of 250% from the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010”.
The bulk of that business went to HTC, which was the primary Android player throughout 2009. Samsung had a single handset – the original Galaxy, with a plain vanilla Android UI – with Motorola and Sony-Ericsson joining the Android party only in recent months.
So Samsung is gearing up for a bigger slice of the smartphone pie in 2010, with several spin-off models tipped under the Galaxy brand.
But one we probably won’t be seeing is the Galaxy S Pro, which adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard under the slim but high-spec chassis of the Galaxy S.
McGee says that while Samsung’s product portfolio is available to carriers, it’s down to the carriers to choose which products they want to carry. If none of the 3G telcos see a strong local market for the Galaxy S Pro, it won’t be launched here. “They’re a pretty good judge of what their customers want”, McGee told APC.