Samsung soars in Android market

SEOUL: World's largest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co. captured
a whopping 95 percent of all Android smartphone profits in the first
quarter of the year, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Data
from the Strategy Analytics showed global Android smartphone profits
reached US$5.3 billion in the January-March period, with Samsung
capturing 95 percent share with US$5.1 billion during this period.

"An
efficient supply chain, sleek products and crisp marketing were among
the main drivers of Samsung's impressive profitability," the research
firm said.

"Samsung is, for now, the undisputed king of the
global Android smartphone industry. We believe Samsung generates more
revenue and profit from the Android platform than Google does. Samsung
has strong market power and it may use this position to influence the
future direction of the Android ecosystem," it said.





LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest smartphone maker,
followed in second place and took a 2.5 percent global profit share with
some US$100 million.

Shipments of Android-powered smartphones
totalled a record 161 million units in the January-March period,
according to Strategy Analytics.

That translates into the Android platform powering 75.2 percent of smartphones shipped during the cited period, data showed.

The
surge in the presence of Android-powered smartphones was attributed to
the hefty sales of Galaxy S smartphones manufactured by Samsung
Electronics Co. and Optimus smartphones made by LG Electronics Inc.

Samsung
ranked first in terms of smartphone shipment in the first quarter by
selling 69.4 million and LG Electronics came in third with a shipment of
10.3 million. -- BERNAMA