Even with 40% fewer unit sales, the iPhone generated 3 times more profit
Source: Strategy Analytics
Apple's (AAPL) reign as the world's No. 1 maker of smartphones, it turns out, was like the life of a grasshopper: It overtook Nokia (NOK) in June and was overtaken by Samsung in September.
Strategy Analytics reported Friday that Samsung either shipped or sold (accounts differ) 27.8 million smartphones last quarter, easily outpacing the 17.07 million iPhones that Apple sold in the same period. Even if Apple sells 25 to 30 million iPhones in the holiday quarter, as various analysts predict, Samsung is likely to retain its lead.
But unlike the grasshopper, Apple is in it for the long run. It's selling iPhones as fast as it can make them and socking away more profit than all of its competitors combined (see here).
Samsung, for example, reported profits of $2.2 billion from smartphone sales last quarter, 60% of the electronic giant's total.
iPhone sales last quarter, while less than expected, generated revenues of nearly $11 billion (39% of Apple's total). Assuming, conservatively, 60% profit margins on each iPhone sold, that's an estimated profit of $6.5 billion, leaving No. 1 Samsung in the dust.
A move to "streamline" an epic legal battle has only made it more complicated
Click to enlarge. Source: FOSS Patents
There was some confusion in the tech press last Saturday when Bloomberg reported that Samsung had quietly dropped a countersuit filed in California in response to Apple's (AAPL) charge last April that Samsung had "slavishly" copied Apple's iPhone.
"One down, one to go?" wrote Christopher Trout for Engadget.
Hardly. As FOSS Patents' Florian MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 7, 2011 5:31 AM ET
Apple and its main supplier of memory chips seem headed for "ugly divorce," says expert
Samsung Galaxy
The legal battle began in April when Apple (AAPL) filed a suit in California accusing Samsung of "slavishly" copying its iPhone and iPad designs has gone nuclear.
After trading suits and counter suits in several legal venues, from South Korea to the U.K., Samsung on Thursday took its case to the U.S. International Trade Commission MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 30, 2011 6:33 AM ET
According to a Korean Newspaper, the Galaxy Tab is off to a strong worldwide start.
Perhaps, contrary to what Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs says, the seven inch tablet isn't dead on arrival.
The Korean Herald reports that the Samsung Galaxy Tab has sold over 600,000 units in the month since its launch. The Tab launched first on T-Mobile in the U.S. twelve days ago on November 10th.
That likely makes it the fastest selling MORE
Seth Weintraub - Nov 22, 2010 11:45 AM ET
Samsung didn't show off this functionality during its North American demo.
Another great use of the Galaxy Tab, which Samsung is positioning as a "take with you tablet," is as a home automation device. Here's a presentation (via Engadget) of the Galaxy Tab being used to control various devices around the house:
The demo depicts live widget-based control over your home's HVAC, TV (including remote viewing), stove, oven, dryer, vacuum robot, and MORE
Seth Weintraub - Sep 27, 2010 9:22 AM ET
Samsung announced that they're selling 2 million Galaxy S Android phones on all four major networks. They're going with the same strategy on Tabs.
It is hard to argue with Samsung's strategy of making their phones available across all carriers. They announced that they are about to cross the 2 million Galaxy S phone mark in just over two months of sales in the U.S. They expect to have sold five MORE
Seth Weintraub - Sep 17, 2010 5:14 PM ET
Depending on who you ask, the Samsung Galaxy Tab will be priced either way above or way below the iPad.
The price of the first brand-name Android tablet is anyone's guess. In fact, it is everyone's guess.
Engadget heard that it would cost over $1000 without a plan. That was refuted by Samsung, but O2's official German Twitter account tweeted that it would be €759 (about $972) in all -- a "€99 MORE
Seth Weintraub - Sep 6, 2010 3:34 PM ET
Blurring the line between phone and tablet even further, a video today shows that the seven inch Galaxy Tablet is also a huge cell phone.
Pundits have decried the 5-inch Dell Streak for being too big to be a phone, some even saying that it is like holding a flip flop sandal or a waffle to their ears. Add two inches to that, and you have the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab MORE
Seth Weintraub - Aug 26, 2010 11:59 AM ET
It will show itself in Germany on September 2nd, but Samsung has released a sneak preview today.
The video was posted to Samsung's new Galaxy Tab Portal this morning.
Some other Android news from Samsung today:
Seth Weintraub - Aug 24, 2010 2:52 PM ET
With other big names like Motorola and HTC still at least a few months away from announcements, Samsung may be the first big name to market with a Google Android tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tablet compared to phone
Samsung is expected to officially reveal their Android tablet on September 3rd at the IFA conference in Berlin. Gadget geeks are waiting with bated breath on any news of a first tier manufacturer who MORE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Intel Corp | 26.73 | -0.43 | -1.58% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
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