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Samsung offers price variety for careful customers
Every inch counts: Samsung tablets and smartphones are displayed during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series and Galaxy Mega series in Jakarta on Thursday
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Every inch counts: Samsung tablets and smartphones are displayed during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series and Galaxy Mega series in Jakarta on Thursday. The Tab 3 series offers 7-, 8- and 10.1-inch monitors, while Mega Series smartphones have 5.8- and 6.3-inch screens. (Antara/Fanny Octavianus) (Antara/Fanny Octavianus)
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span class="inline inline-center">Every inch counts: Samsung tablets and smartphones are displayed during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series and Galaxy Mega series in Jakarta on Thursday. The Tab 3 series offers 7-, 8- and 10.1-inch monitors, while Mega Series smartphones have 5.8- and 6.3-inch screens. (Antara/Fanny Octavianus)
PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia, the local arm of the Korean electronics giant, said the launch of tablets and smartphones across different price brackets would cater for customers affected by the recent increased cost of living.
Samsung Indonesia vice president for IT and mobile devices, Andreas Rompis, said the company would move carefully with its strategy following the increase of subsidized fuel price.
Analysts say the real impact from the rise in fuel prices to Rp 6,500 (65 US cents) from Rp 4,500 per liter, which has prompted inflation of roughly 7 percent, was weakened purchasing power.
'We will keep an eye on emerging market trends, but we will move cautiously,' Andrea said, adding that Samsung Indonesia took business 'month by month'.
To counter the possible weakening in the demand for devices, he said, Samsung would cater to the different consumer segments.
Based on volume, the smartphone market expanded by 58.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, while the tablet market rallied up by 119.9 percent within the same period.
On a value basis, the smartphone market grew by 25.6 percent while the tablet market rose by 49.5
percent.
Samsung Indonesia launched two of their latest smartphones on Thursday, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3, priced between Rp 4.5 million and Rp 5.5 million.
The company also released three new tablets, with screens measuring 7 inches, 8 inches and 10.1 inches, under the Galaxy Tab 3 series.
Andreas added that Samsung launched the new devices in the second week of July to benefit from the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, as people used devices to exchange messages and greetings.
'The Galaxy Mega smartphones will be on the market as of this week and the 8 inch tablet at the end of the month. The remaining two tablets will be available next month,' he noted.
He said that the newly introduced smartphones expanded the variety of screen sizes in the Samsung portfolio adding that the new screen sizes would create a new trend in the Android smartphone market.
'This is because we are the market leaders, and hence, competitors will take their cues from us,' he noted.
Samsung Indonesia product marketing manager, Febri Rusli, added that the two new screen sizes were in response to developing market trends.
The 3-inch screen smartphone sizes still rule approximately three-fourths of the smartphone market as of the first quarter of the year.
However, the market share of smartphones with screens measuring 4 inch and above has increased from barely one-tenth of the market to one-quarter in the year's first quarter.
'People want devices that are compact enough to carry around but allow for a great viewing experience,' he noted.
