Cell Phone Guru

Banking on their wide selection of quality low end products and sophisticated high end line, Asian mobile phone companies continue to grab a large chunk of the market share at the conclusion of the first quarter of 2008.

The same upward trend is expected up to the end of the year, provided economic conditions remain steady. The credit crunch coupled with an upsurge in oil pump price has greatly hurt American brands like Motorola, even in its own turf.

Lead by Samsung Electronics which is based in Korea, Asian handset firms continue with their aggressive marketing campaigns. Expectedly, their strategies proved effective as Samsung Electronics now enjoys its place in the number two spot after snatching the position from US based Motorola.

Figures from the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker of the International Data Corporation (IDC) that was released in August 2007 revealed that global market trends swing favorably towards Asian brands. Europe’s Nokia seems to be the only exception which still tops the list as the favorite and most coveted cellular phone brand worldwide.

Apparently, there is no hint of slowing down for Samsung. Just recently, they have launched a new aggressive marketing campaign in the East African region, particularly Kenya and other emerging market economies.

Recognizing the current upsurge in demand for both low cost units that meet the daily mobile telecommunications demand in the region as well as sophisticated high-end models for the emerging and growing affluent African class, Samsung is able to capture the market by producing handsets that specifically meet these demands.

Nevertheless, Samsung Electronics is still not about to rest. They are not happy with the current performance of 10% growth for the first quarter of 2008. Apparently, unstable oil prices have affected the telecom industry too. The South Korean handset maker has posted only a 10% growth for the quarter, five points short of the projected 15% first quarter sales growth. Conceding to the general economic slump, the top brass in South Korea has recently announced a cut in their target sales for the next quarter.

The cut in sales target notwithstanding, the market is bound to expect for better performance from Asian handset brands such as Samsung and LG. Their drawing boards are filled with stylish and classy models to suit the discriminating tastes of the upper classes as well as functional and chic low cost units for the big middle and lower middle class mobile telecommunication needs.