Event Coverage

MWC 2010 - Samsung Unpacked

By Seow Tein Hee & Terence Ang - 17 Feb 2010

Samsung Unpacked at Barcelona - Part I

Samsung Unpacked at Barcelona - Part I

Samsung opened its doors to its second Unpacked Event (the first was a three-country unveiling that saw the launch of the Jet last year), this time to coincide with the Mobile World Congress 2010 event at Hall 8 of the Fira Barcelona complex along Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain.

The entrance to the Samsung Unpacked event, which was held at Hall 8 of the Fira Barcelona complex, a distance away from the main Mobile World Congress

In the presentation hall, three ceiling high walls were mounted with display screens corner-to-corner that made you feel as if you're in a box looking out into the ocean. As the presentation went underway, the audience was moved from the surface of the ocean deeper towards the bottom, as different announcements were made.

Right from the start, Mr. JK Shin, President, Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, came on stage to welcome guests and journalists. He explained that despite the economic recession, Samsung saw its mobile business grow by 16% when others saw theirs shrink by 8%. This is thanks to it becoming number 1 in the touch screen mobile phone business.

Mr. JK Shin, President, Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics welcomes journalists and partners.

Mr. JK Shin said that despite the economic recession in 2009, Samsung had tremendous growth of 16% as it became no 1 in full touch screen phone.

One objective is to herald in the smartphone era, making it available to everyone all over the world.

The democratization of the smartphone era is Samsung's commitment to offer smartphones to all regardless of need, cost, lifestyle and geography.

To fulfill this, Samsung plans to increase support for developers, continue to orientate around consumers and work with operators.

Mr. Shin further elaborated that Samsung is committed to making smartphones available for everyone across different lifestyles, cost, need and geographical locations. He terms it as the democratization of the smartphone era, and to do this, Samsung will have to support the developer community, orientate around consumers' tastes and lifestyles and collaborate with operators.

Mr JK Shin shares that by this year, Samsung Apps will be available in more than 50 countries. Its Bada platform will be a major driving force.

Mr. JK Shin also explained that Samsung Apps, the online app store launched in three countries last year, will see it launch in over 50 countries this year. He said that Bada, Samsung's new mobile platform, will be a driving force in its smartphone strategy.

The launch of the Samsung Wave, the company's first bada-based smartphone with Touch Wiz UI 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0, including the ultra-bright Super AMOLED screen and 1GHz processor, signals the company's dedication in its multi-prong strategy to continue its no. 1 touch screen mobile phone position.

The highlight of the event was of course the Samsung Wave. Key features include the Super AMOLED screen, bada & Samsung Apps and Social Hub.

Super AMOLED improves over AMOLED technology by reducing the additional glass panel above the touch sensor.

Social Hub is an integration of contacts, inbox and push calendar functions that makes the new Touch Wiz UI 3.0 a seamless consumer experience.

Besides the impressive hardware behind the Samsung Wave (no pricing details yet, but we believe it should launch by Q2), an important aspect is the announcement of Social Hub. It integrates contacts, with an ultimate inbox and push calendaring, allowing users to call someone without having to exit what they're doing, social network direct without needing to jump into an app just to do so and so on. It reminded us of a combination of what we first saw in Palm's Synergy and Google's Android, but coupled with Samsung's Bada and the intense hardware specs of a smartphone like the Wave, we think the combination might give Samsung the edge in the field of mobile social networking.

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