Samsung Easily Tops Apple to Become World's Top Smartphone Manufacturer

[*LTD*]

So, with all this R&D why did we only get the 4S? And what's up with the battery?

Maybe they should invest in some more R&D?

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

 

[partyBoy]

All i can say is my "Life's Good"...

 

[Oletros]

You mean low end like the iPhone 3GS that doesn't run anywhere near as crappy. And that's with the latest OS.

Mmm, no, perhaps at most like 3G

 

[thenerdal]

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

I agree, the only problem is that it was not on the iPhone first. Android had it before. They both do the same thing.

 

[AaronEdwards]

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

Like I said, considering the revenue that Apple is bringing in, is that's all?
If more was actually spent on R&D then there would have been a lot more.
Why would anyone support paying extra for Apple hardware if ut just ends up in the coffers?

I would wait a bit longer than a couple of weeks before anointing Siri as the "next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step".

 

[AppleScruff1]

OEMs pushing volume is nothing to really boast about.

Unless it's Apple's volume, then it's impressive, right? Otherwise sales numbers or popularity don't matter in your world. Why be so hypocritical?

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

iPhone sales would be stratospheric without Siri or any changes at all. That says something about the average consumer. They are buying blindly with no knowledge other than the brand. Apple marketing is brilliant.

 

[res08hao]

Every iPhone goes to a real customer. How many Samsungs are sitting on back shelves and warehouses?

 

[samcraig]

I thought Jobs got kicked off the Lisa team... besides, really, that was -27 years- ago... in general Apple doesn't turn out crap, they have solid products. (except for the hockey puck mouse! )

Actually - he was. But later the Lisa and Mac teams combined with Jobs as lead and he rushed to market the Mac XL to try and save his butt.

Ironically, YOUR argument is the Straw man. You misrepresented my argument by implying that I said your admission would logically follow from a lack of concern about "who shipped or sold what". I did not.

Perhaps you would agree to look at the data scientifically? Product SOLD does not equal product shipped. HP at one point could have touted the number of TouchPads that they SHIPPED. Things would have sounded very positive - "Look how many tablets HP has shipped!"....BUT they sold so poorly that HP cancelled the product and basically gave them all away at $99. For you to argue that Samsung "couldn't possibly" have stores keep their inventory is conjecture. The point is, we DON'T KNOW how many sold and how many are in inventory, because SAMSUNG DIDN'T REPORT SALES. So, arguing that the number of phones shipped can be used to reach a definitive conclusion about who "sold" the most phones during the quarter isn't logical.

And, _of course_ there are iPhones "on shelves". However, the supply in inventory at any given store may be quantified in hours or days (i.e. - without further resupply, the existing inventory would be depleted within x number of hours or days). My comment goes to the fact that every store receives shipments of iPhones as fast as they can get them, because they can sell all that they get. How many Samsung retailers say "Wait, we don't need another shipment yet, we still have unsold inventory that isn't moving". We don't know for sure, but we do know that Apple doesn't have that problem with the iPhone 4S right now.

As for your comments giving us permission to buy what we like...well, that's quite self-aggrandizing, isn't it? You imagine that people place so much value on your opinion that you feel the need to state (with implied superiority) that you think we should all buy what we like and not argue about it. The implication that you are "above the fray" smacks of intellectual superiority.

You're more hellbent on trying to prove me wrong than bothering to actually read what I wrote. That's ok. But I'm not going to further engage the conversation because it's been stated over and over as to Shipping vs Sold. The continued conversation is just futile.

As for "permission" - you're misreading me entirely. There's no ego involved. There's no "above the fray" attitude. I simply expressed that everyone is entitled to buy whatever the hell they want. How you're turning that into a bad or superior comment says more about you than it does me. Your interpretation is completely wrong.

 

[something3153]

Every iPhone goes to a real customer. How many Samsungs are sitting on back shelves and warehouses?

How long do you think resellers would keep buying Samsung phones that sit in warehouses? They've been buying large numbers for quite a while now, and this excuse keeps coming out. You'd think eventually one of the resellers would have said something by now if no end users were buying. Do you have any evidence that Samsung phones are collecting dust in warehouses?

 

[lilo777]

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

And what exactly is Siri capable of? Sending a message? Placing a reminder? Big deal. Android voice command can do most of it and can even best it in some categories. It can do turn by turn navigation (simply calling Google Navigation by voice). It can also search for music online (in Rapsody) whereas Siri onlt serves music that is available on the device.

 

[peppermonkey]

Hmm...why the pissing match? Ooo, iPhone is sooo much better than Android! No, Android is sooo much better, blah blah blah... Have used, both iPhone, Android and heaven forbids, Blackberries...and guess what...I like things about all of them...and hate things about all of them. One is not overly better than the other. Each have their pro's and con's. Though for most here I suppose that's hard to see or believe.

On a personal view, which frankly will probably oppose the grand majority here, so I wouldn't blame you if you ignore

I think RIM still has better notifications, emailing...(though Androids Swype certainly is becoming a must have for me..), though truthfully RIM does leave a lot to be desired on other fronts...
Love Androids versatility and potential. And do like that I can access Flash sites...yes hard to imagine there are still sites that you would want to visit that still use Flash isn't it?
On the other hand, iOS and their systems are so very well refined and polished, and the availability of apps...really, do I need to say more?
Heck there are things I like about webOS...
Now my next phone would be either Galaxy Nexus (Oh No SAMMY), or iPhone 4s...yup, not really brand loyal. Course being in Canada means my choices are more limiting...gah, Siri, work properly in Canada!! Telus, bring in LTE! And so many cloud functionality missing from various clouds... Oh, and please please SOMEONE put in a good (not good enough but good) camera into a smart phone? Yup, some are decent (iPhone 4s etc.) but none can compete with the good point & shoot yet...damn it...

 

[lilo777]

Every iPhone goes to a real customer. How many Samsungs are sitting on back shelves and warehouses?

Don't iPhones sit on the shelves in Target, WalMart, Best Buy, RadiShack, Sam's Club, AT&T, Sprint etc.? Out of curiosity, check Best Buy inventory online. All stores have inventory of iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and some iPhone 4S models. I am not sure if they have more iPhone or Samsung phones on the shelves.

 

[pinwanger]

Water into wine isn't good enough?

iOS5 + Siri.

Siri *alone* is the next evolutionary (if not revolutionary) step, and it happens to be in an Apple product. There are other voice-control implementations on other devices, but there is absolutely no comparison with Siri and what it's capable of. And Apple was the first to include that implementation at that level of refinement and usability. The entire industry is buzzing about it.

Which is why iPhone sales will be stratospheric this holiday quarter.

Siri is barely r&d. Apple bought them...

 

[dBeats]

Shipped vs. sales is not the same. Sometimes not even close. Ask HP about that.

Anyway, Samsung is a copy cat company from top to bottom. Nice TVs, but they stole the designs from Sony years ago too.

 

[JGowan]

Jim Dalrymple wrote an article today that I feel hits this whole thing square in the jaw... click link below to read the whole thing.

The B***S*** Samsung smartphone numbers
Posted on Friday, October 28th, 2011 at 9:30 am. PT
Written by Jim Dalrymple

The Internet is buzzing this morning with news that Samsung has overtaken Apple as the worlds leading smartphone vendor. The problem is, there are no numbers to actually back up the claim.

Here’s an example of how it’s being reported. From GigaOM:

Samsung had a very strong quarter, according to numbers it revealed on Friday to investors. Its shipments (which it doesn’t provide specific numbers for) jumped more than 40 percent during the third quarter. Strategy Analytics estimates that amounts to total sales of nearly 28 million devices, while Apple moved 17 million during the same period.​

Wait a minute. Samsung doesn’t provide specific numbers, so we are going to take their word that shipments jumped 40 percent? To make matters worse, Strategy Analytics “estimates” sales of 28 million devices.

Where the hell did they get that number?

...

Samsung could ship 100 million phones, but that doesn’t tell us how many they actually sold.​

To read the whole article: http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/10/28/the-********-samsung-smartphone-numbers/

 

[scoobydoo99]

Ultimately - to me - I don't really care who sells more. I used what's best for me. And I encourage everyone to do the same. Whether that's Apple, Samsung, Nokia, whatever. The only right tech is the one that works for you. Everything else is just a pissing contest.

Thanks for giving everyone permission to buy whats best for them! Whew! Glad you approve.

And I'm sorry you have a problem with me acknowledging different strokes for different folks, drama queen.

You're more hellbent on trying to prove me wrong than bothering to actually read what I wrote. That's ok. But I'm not going to further engage the conversation because it's been stated over and over as to Shipping vs Sold. The continued conversation is just futile.

As for "permission" - you're misreading me entirely. There's no ego involved. There's no "above the fray" attitude. I simply expressed that everyone is entitled to buy whatever the hell they want. How you're turning that into a bad or superior comment says more about you than it does me. Your interpretation is completely wrong.

So, upon rereading your initial "I don't care who sells more/I encourage everyone to do the same" post, I don't think you meant it to come off the way I interpreted it. My own reaction at reading that comment was that you seemed to be presenting yourself as a very dispassionate observer, yet you have been vociferously defending the idea that Samsung outsold Apple.

And yes, my first comment above was perhaps more sarcastic than was called for, but I don't think it really merited the "drama queen" barb!

Anyway, I think you misunderstand me if you think I'm "hellbent" on proving you wrong. I honesly don't have any interest in proving you right or wrong. I just found the whole original MacRumors post intellectually offensive. It's not that I care whether Samsung or Apple sold more phones during the quarter. I'm not blindly championing Apple out of irrational devotion. I just don't like seeing misinformation or twisted "facts" perpetuated. If we had Samsung sales vs. Apple sales and the Samsung numbers were higher, great. No big deal. But that really isn't the case. Maybe Samsung DID sell more phones. We just don't have proof from these numbers.

If I really am missing some cogent part of your argument, I don't think it's futile for you to clarify it.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Apple can't have certain customers, the ones who go in for the cheap, low-end models. Do you think, for example, the person going in for the cheap ZTE model can swing an iPhone?

Considering you can get an iPhone 3GS for free or an iPhone 4 for $99 sure they can. In fact if they can't afford an iPhone they probably can't afford the data plan that goes with any smartphone.

 

[something3153]

Jim Dalrymple wrote an article today that I feel hits this whole thing square in the jaw... click link below to read the whole thing.

Do you have a citation that these phones are sitting gathering dust? Noise was made about the Touchpads, but there's been not a peep about these phones. So far, this is denial.

 

[stevensr123]

I wonder how many of those shipped samsung phones are sitting on shelves somewhere not being sold. Unlike the iPhones which have all been sold.

More importantly how much profit does each company make per unit. Ultimately that's the bottom line, not how many you've sold but rather if you are profitable.

Does it matter how many are on the selves, or are not being sold by retailers? the way i see it, samsung has sold 20+ million phones to carriers and retailers, to them, that is all that matters.

 

[scoobydoo99]

Does it matter how many are on the selves, or are not being sold by retailers? the way i see it, samsung has sold 20+ million phones to carriers and retailers, to them, that is all that matters.

Yes, it matters when the point of the article was that Samsung SURPASSED Apple in smartphone SALES. In the economics of retail commerce, shipped units and sold units are completely different and can't be compared. Here's why: If you ship 20M phones in one quarter and the retailers only sell 15M, they might then reduce their orders next quarter to 10M, which when added to their 5M surplus from the first quarter, gives them another 15M to move. In the end, over 2 quarters, they might sell 30M phones. Another manufacturer might ship AND sell 15M phones in each quarter. Using the dubious logic of the article, one could say that the former "outsold" the latter in the first of the 2 quarters, when in fact, they sold the same number of phones in each quarter. The "sales" numbers tell you how many phones were actually purchased by consumers during the quarter, whereas the "shipped" numbers only tell you how many were AVAILABLE at retail to be purchased...whether they were or not.

So, it only matters if you are going to make a conclusion about who "sold" more phones. You can't make that conclusion from the facts provided.

 

[something3153]

Yes, it matters when the point of the article was that Samsung SURPASSED Apple in smartphone SALES. In the economics of retail commerce, shipped units and sold units are completely different and can't be compared. Here's why: If you ship 20M phones in one quarter and the retailers only sell 15M, they might then reduce their orders next quarter to 10M, which when added to their 5M surplus from the first quarter, gives them another 15M to move. In the end, over 2 quarters, they might sell 30M phones. Another manufacturer might ship AND sell 15M phones in each quarter. Using the dubious logic of the article, one could say that the former "outsold" the latter in the first of the 2 quarters, when in fact, they sold the same number of phones in each quarter. The "sales" numbers tell you how many phones were actually purchased by consumers during the quarter, whereas the "shipped" numbers only tell you how many were AVAILABLE at retail to be purchased...whether they were or not.

So, it only matters if you are going to make a conclusion about who "sold" more phones. You can't make that conclusion from the facts provided.

That's a fascinating conjecture. Do you have the slightest bit of proof that these millions of Samsung smartphones are sitting in warehouses?

 

[samcraig]

So, upon rereading your initial "I don't care who sells more/I encourage everyone to do the same" post, I don't think you meant it to come off the way I interpreted it. My own reaction at reading that comment was that you seemed to be presenting yourself as a very dispassionate observer, yet you have been vociferously defending the idea that Samsung outsold Apple.

And yes, my first comment above was perhaps more sarcastic than was called for, but I don't think it really merited the "drama queen" barb!

Anyway, I think you misunderstand me if you think I'm "hellbent" on proving you wrong. I honesly don't have any interest in proving you right or wrong. I just found the whole original MacRumors post intellectually offensive. It's not that I care whether Samsung or Apple sold more phones during the quarter. I'm not blindly championing Apple out of irrational devotion. I just don't like seeing misinformation or twisted "facts" perpetuated. If we had Samsung sales vs. Apple sales and the Samsung numbers were higher, great. No big deal. But that really isn't the case. Maybe Samsung DID sell more phones. We just don't have proof from these numbers.

If I really am missing some cogent part of your argument, I don't think it's futile for you to clarify it.

Thanks for the post. I sincerely don't care about who sold more. If it comes across that I am "vociferously defending the idea that Samsung outsold Apple." it's only because I don't see the big deal as to why it would be challenged. So they sold more. And if they didn't - they didn't. Why some people feel the ardent need to "disprove" Samsung's status is interesting as they can't just say - OK - so far this year - it looks like Samsung sold more." and be done with it.

 

[D4F]

LTD and the gang are becoming so yesterday.
The same thing with Jobs driving without a license plate. Blinded by their own idiocy... With one exception... Jobs could mentally afford it and when I see people talking about a phone like it's their status of coolness, reason to fight for and most importantly blinds them from accepting the truth then all I can say is damn... their life really IS pathetic.

So cheers LTD for proving me once more that even behind that tiny screen somewhere people like you expose themselves like they would stand right in the middle of Times Square screaming about who they are.
Beauty about facts. Sooner or later they step forward.

 

[mikeo007]

How long do you think resellers would keep buying Samsung phones that sit in warehouses? They've been buying large numbers for quite a while now, and this excuse keeps coming out. You'd think eventually one of the resellers would have said something by now if no end users were buying. Do you have any evidence that Samsung phones are collecting dust in warehouses?

Do you have a citation that these phones are sitting gathering dust? Noise was made about the Touchpads, but there's been not a peep about these phones. So far, this is denial.

That's a fascinating conjecture. Do you have the slightest bit of proof that these millions of Samsung smartphones are sitting in warehouses?

Sadly, this is falling on deaf ears, friend.

The realists see this for what it is, Samsung is selling more phones than Apple.
The optimists hope it will force Apple to revolutionize that smartphone market again.
The fanboys and girls...they are in permanent denial.

I for one, am an optimist. I hope that news like this drives Apple to try even harder.

 

[scoobydoo99]

That's a fascinating conjecture. Do you have the slightest bit of proof that these millions of Samsung smartphones are sitting in warehouses?

wow. I never said anything like that.

Do you have any proof that they all were sold to retail customers?

Don't really know how to make it any clearer for you.