Samsung's new Galaxy Core targets lower end of smartphone market
Chief Apple rival Samsung is leaving no corner of the smartphone market unaddressed, as the tech giant revealed on Monday the Galaxy Core, which packs many of the features of its high end model into a lower-cost handset.
The new handset retains many of the design cues of Samsung's recently released Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone. Like the S4, the Core will have software features allowing users control the device without touching it, pause video by looking away, and keep the device active by looking at it.
Inside, the Galaxy Core will pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on 1GB of RAM. Available in one option with 8GB of storage, the Core has a 4.3-inch WVGA LCD display outputting at 480x800, a VGA front-facing camera, and a 5MP main camera with LED flash. Buyers will have the option of a single or dual-SIM model.
Compared against a number of other Samsung models, the Core is decidedly low-end, but it is in keeping with Samsung's strategy of unleashing a barrage of devices and grabbing as much of every aspect of the smartphone market as possible. That strategy allows the South Korean conglomerate to hit virtually every price point on the spectrum, with offerings ranging from lower-end models through to the premium-end Galaxy S4, as well as niche models like the Galaxy Note 2.
This scattershot approach to addressing the market has helped make Samsung the number one smartphone manufacturer in terms of overall units sold, with 69.4 million handsets sold last quarter. Apple with its iPhone beat Samsung in terms of profit, but the South Korean giant has been gradually gaining on Apple in that respect as well.
Between the two, Samsung and Apple snatched up all of the profit in the smartphone segment for the quarter.
The Core will likely be followed by an assortment of other low-end Samsung models, as the company tailors its offerings to seemingly niche categories across the world. The low-cost Galaxy, though, highlights a key difference between Apple and Samsung.
Whereas Samsung releases dozens of phone models per year, Apple does only one each year so far. Where Samsung makes whole new models to hit certain price points, Apple releases a phone and simply turns its two predecessors into its "low-cost" models.
That strategy has largely paid off for Apple, as the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S were the most popular handsets in the world in the fourth quarter of 2012. The California-based manufacturer, though, still faces continuing calls from analysts and observers for a lower-cost iPhone, thought to be necessary due to the apparent maturation of much of the premium smartphone market.
Apple is thought to be working on just such a handset in order to address developing markets such as China, Brazil, and India, where its iPhone, while desired, is simply priced out of the range of most consumers.
Apple may be working on just such a unit, if recent rumors are to be believed. Reports and supposedly leaked components point to a polycarbonate-backed device that would allow the company to save money on components even as it takes on the low-cost segment.
The new handset retains many of the design cues of Samsung's recently released Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone. Like the S4, the Core will have software features allowing users control the device without touching it, pause video by looking away, and keep the device active by looking at it.
Inside, the Galaxy Core will pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on 1GB of RAM. Available in one option with 8GB of storage, the Core has a 4.3-inch WVGA LCD display outputting at 480x800, a VGA front-facing camera, and a 5MP main camera with LED flash. Buyers will have the option of a single or dual-SIM model.
Compared against a number of other Samsung models, the Core is decidedly low-end, but it is in keeping with Samsung's strategy of unleashing a barrage of devices and grabbing as much of every aspect of the smartphone market as possible. That strategy allows the South Korean conglomerate to hit virtually every price point on the spectrum, with offerings ranging from lower-end models through to the premium-end Galaxy S4, as well as niche models like the Galaxy Note 2.
This scattershot approach to addressing the market has helped make Samsung the number one smartphone manufacturer in terms of overall units sold, with 69.4 million handsets sold last quarter. Apple with its iPhone beat Samsung in terms of profit, but the South Korean giant has been gradually gaining on Apple in that respect as well.
Between the two, Samsung and Apple snatched up all of the profit in the smartphone segment for the quarter.
The Core will likely be followed by an assortment of other low-end Samsung models, as the company tailors its offerings to seemingly niche categories across the world. The low-cost Galaxy, though, highlights a key difference between Apple and Samsung.
Whereas Samsung releases dozens of phone models per year, Apple does only one each year so far. Where Samsung makes whole new models to hit certain price points, Apple releases a phone and simply turns its two predecessors into its "low-cost" models.
That strategy has largely paid off for Apple, as the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S were the most popular handsets in the world in the fourth quarter of 2012. The California-based manufacturer, though, still faces continuing calls from analysts and observers for a lower-cost iPhone, thought to be necessary due to the apparent maturation of much of the premium smartphone market.
Apple is thought to be working on just such a handset in order to address developing markets such as China, Brazil, and India, where its iPhone, while desired, is simply priced out of the range of most consumers.
Apple may be working on just such a unit, if recent rumors are to be believed. Reports and supposedly leaked components point to a polycarbonate-backed device that would allow the company to save money on components even as it takes on the low-cost segment.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheUnfetteredMind
Hmmmmm, will be interesting to see how much of the 8GB remains when new.
Not really an issue since it has a microSD slot.
Apparently it will also come in a dual-SIM version, which is popular in many parts of the world.
My question is: what's the target price? Has that been mentioned?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
Apple may be working on just such a unit, if recent rumors are to be believed. Reports and supposedly leaked components point to a polycarbonate-backed device that would allow the company to save money on components even as it takes on the low-cost segment.
I think the polycarbonate back makes sense for a lower cost iPhone. Not because it is a cheaper component but because a less expensive iPhone would be targeted at lower income individuals who likely have more physical labor type employment so the phone would perhaps be more durable in the front jeans pocket than the 4S which has the glass back. Also, another possible target demographic might be teenagers who have never been known to take very good care of their stuff so again, a more durable iPhone is a plus.
Originally Posted by KDarling
Not really an issue since it has a microSD slot.
Nope! Not an issue that you can't put apps anywhere but the phone!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Nope! Not an issue that you can't put apps anywhere but the phone!
The phone is running Android 4.1 which does allow apps on the SD card unless the developer disabled it. Don't ever expect to see an update to the latest OS on this phone. I never understood 8GB on a phone. Memory is so damn cheap these days, come on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
Not really an issue since it has a microSD slot.
Ah, I see (someone else mentioned that it's 4.1 and that doesn't restrict apps from being installed on the microSD card. So while not 100% "not an issue", it being an issue is much reduced
Quote:
Originally Posted by NexusPhan
The phone is running Android 4.1 which does allow apps on the SD card unless the developer disabled it. Don't ever expect to see an update to the latest OS on this phone. I never understood 8GB on a phone. Memory is so damn cheap these days, come on.
Thanks for pointing that out. I think some people here mistakenly thought that Android never allowed apps to reside on the SD when I believe only the latest 4.2 release took that ability away. Not sure if rooting and custom ROMs would still allow that even with 4.2 or not since I have been out of the XDA rooting forums for a while since I switched to an iPhone nearly 2 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwmac
Thanks for pointing that out. I think some people here mistakenly thought that Android never allowed apps to reside on the SD when I believe only the latest 4.2 release took that ability away. Not sure if rooting and custom ROMs would still allow that even with 4.2 or not since I have been out of the XDA rooting forums for a while since I switched to an iPhone nearly 2 years ago.
You can but it's messy. Google has made it clear that they agree with Apple that SD cards are messy with the update in 4.2 that basically removed support for them. I really like them but understand where they are coming from. Nexus devices have not had SD cards in 4 years since the original Nexus. Samsung has always had them and continues to have them with the Galaxy S4 even with it running 4.2.
The point remains that an 8GB phone with all of Samsung's bloat on it (Maybe 1 GB usable) is much less than ideal. iPhone's lag way up as space gets low, just imagine this one. So dumb. Even for a low-end phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NexusPhan
The point remains that an 8GB phone with all of Samsung's bloat on it (Maybe 1 GB usable) is much less than ideal. iPhone's lag way up as space gets low, just imagine this one. So dumb. Even for a low-end phone.
Why do phones lag as storage space gets low? Are RAM and storage related? I can understand how launching an app could be slowed down as the storage gets full but I always associated the term lag, with respect to touch devices, as jerky visual delays when swiping which shouldn't be an effect of low storage, at least in my limited understanding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone
Why do phones lag as storage space gets low? Are RAM and storage related? I can understand how launching an app could be slowed down as the storage gets full but I always associated the term lag, with respect to touch devices, as jerky visual delays when swiping which shouldn't be an effect of low storage, at least in my limited understanding.
No clue. Happened to my iphone 4. Simply deleting a few apps removed the lag. Same thing with laptops. As the space runs low the OS fills up every last byte of storage it can find. Then when it tries to open a program or run a command the OS takes its sweet time locating where all the pieces of the puzzle are. Disk fragmentation. Maybe it's the same on phones?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
How many phones models does Samsung have now? With the S3 we got the mini. This year we got the Galaxy Mega and Grand. Now they throw out Galaxy Core? It's ridiculous.
That's why they sell as many phones as they do. It's ignorant to think one phone works for the entire world. There are so many different market demands out there. Samsung is just trying to capitalize on every single one of them. Exactly why Apple is rumored to release a 'low-end' iPhone. Just another market to go after. It's simple business models. And Samsung had a lot lot lot more than just the S3 and the mini this past year. A lot more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
How many phones models does Samsung have now? With the S3 we got the mini. This year we got the Galaxy Mega and Grand. Now they throw out Galaxy Core? It's ridiculous.
Perhaps in the countries that they're targeting, Samsung found that a lot of the buyers would be less inclined to purchase a device called the "Galaxy S4 Mini", than they would a device called the "Galaxy Core" or "Mega" or "Grand".
Seriously. It's just like the way that some GPS units used a male voice in countries where men didn't like females giving orders. Or how Nokia avoided the number "4" when selling to places like China, due to that number being associated with death.
Catering to various cultures is one way to increase sales. After all, when in Rome...
Quote:
Originally Posted by NexusPhan
No clue. Happened to my iphone 4. Simply deleting a few apps removed the lag. Same thing with laptops. As the space runs low the OS fills up every last byte of storage it can find. Then when it tries to open a program or run a command the OS takes its sweet time locating where all the pieces of the puzzle are. Disk fragmentation. Maybe it's the same on phones?
Or perhaps swap file/space?
Finally, someone else saying what I've been saying since the low-cost iPhone discussion started.
Glass is not appropriate for both sides of something that's supposed to be a world phone. Every time someone else says Apple already makes two low-cost phones, the 4 and the 4S, i wonder, do these people know what it is to do honest work for a living, or go ouside and actually do something physical?
I hope Apple's low-cost phone will be explicitly described as 'ruggedized,' so maybe these first-world folks will get the idea. I'm tempted to say that the 4/4S is designed by and for yuppies, but I have one myself. Can't tell you the number of times it's found its way out of my pocket, once into a (shallow) bath of Diesel fuel I was cleaning parts with. It survived, by the way, after I vacuumed it out. Not always an option out there in the field.
The Galaxy Black Hole, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheUnfetteredMind
Or perhaps swap file/space?
AFAIK there is no swap on iOS. The thinking is that swapping out data repeatedly will hasten the failure of the flash storage. Apps are supposed to manage their own memory needs within RAM. I would imagine that the OS is supposed to do that as well.