Korea, one of the IT world powers, has released renowned smartphones. After the first release of them in 2008, the functions and designs have been upgraded, and Samsung has been in the first rank in the world market since 2012. The latest phone of this company is acknowledged in the scope of hardware. On the other hand, LG Electronics added a cutting-edge display to its phone earning a good reputation.
  However, it seems that the popularity of Korean phones is not greater than in the past. Last year, Samsung took 20% of the market barely beating Apple, which had 19.8%. In comparison with this record, Samsung took 29% greatly surpassing Apple, which had 17.4% in 2013. LG is not an exception of this depressing tendency. Although they have been holding the 3rd rank in the world, they only have 5% of the market. Moreover, there is a pervading experts’ prospect that the newest smartphone of LG won’t get any favorable comments due to no specific differences among others.
  The reasons for the downtrend are obvious. First, because of an upward leveling of phones, recent phones do not satisfy consumers. The limit on development is due to a relatively weak competitiveness in software. Moreover, the position of domestic companies is being narrowed by the new foreign companies making low-priced phones. In fact, Apple has started to sell phones through ‘China Mobile’, which has 7 billion customers, and other companies are making phones that are cheap but superior in quality in terms of function and design. Domestic companies, however, have just started to produce high-grade ones and lately have set up measures for sales and marketing, having the release date of low-priced phones ahead.
  In order to recover the market share, the companies need to analyze the current situation and should foresee the future market trend. To do so, let’s listen to various people’s opinions.

By Lee Sang-yi
sy36@cbnu.ac.kr
 

 

Have you ever used any Korean smartphone? If you have, what was the reason you have used it?

 

Amy(U.S.A): Yes, I have been using it because it's convenient, affordable and a quality type of phone.

Katherine(China): Yes, for social networking, it has free mobile data which can help you open your Facebook account even without Wi-Fi. For taking pictures, it has high mega-pixels that can make things look prettier and clearer.

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What do people in your country think about Korean smartphones and how is their popularity?
 
Amy(U.S.A): People here in USA consider one of the Korean companies, Samsung, as the best brand next to iPhone. When it comes to image, Korean phones are luxurious and easy to use.  I know that the specs differ from brands, but even the old models of their phone have nice specs.

Katherine(China): In terms of brand image, they are very popular because they are not only providing smartphones but also some appliances that we use in our daily lives, like televisions, refrigerators, washing machines etc. They have been trying to win the hearts of their users for years. As a part of their brand strategy, they have invested heavily in social promotion.

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What do you think about the pros and cons of Korean smartphones compared with foreign companies?
 
Amy(U.S.A): Korean phones are more affordable than iPhones. With them, you can easily bluetooth your files to other brands, unlike iPhone on which you need to have the same brand in order to send files. However, iPhone, everybody’s desired brand’s phone, has higher quality specs and is more popular

Katherine(China): They are far better than Xiaomi because I can believe that it’s ‘an original’. Xiaomi is popular only in China and not well-known in the world, but I know that Xiaomi is more affordable.