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Samsung launching 18 digital products in India

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Samsung Electronics India's IT and telecom subsidiary will be launching as many as 18 electronic products across the country by this year-end to usher in digital revolution in the sub-continent.

Ranging from high-end colour monitors for PCs to hard disk & optical disk drives, laser printers, and cell phones, Samsung's new product portfolio will also include PC notebooks and MP3 players for the burgeoning Indian market.

"We are setting a turnover target of Rs 13.25-billion for the current calendar year in India to register a record growth rate of about 80 per cent over the corresponding period of last year," declared J S Jong, executive director of Samsung Electronics India Information and Telecommunications Ltd in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Claiming that the overall slowdown in the economy or industry has not affected its operations in India, Jong said the company had already achieved about 80 per cent growth during the first half of this year with the turnover jumping to Rs 6.35 billion from Rs 3.52 billion last year, respectively.

During the last six months, Samsung's market share in the color monitor segment has shot up to 56 per cent; about 40 per cent in hard disk drives; around 65 per cent in optical disk drives, over 22 per cent in cell phones, and nearly 8 per cent in laser printers.

With its $10-million PC monitor manufacturing plant at Noida going into commercial production this month, the company will be rolling out its 'Made in India' brand of color monitors in two models - Syncmaster and Samtron in 24" to 15", respectively.

"Though the plant, first of its kind in India, is essentially meant to cater to the growing domestic market, we will be exporting the product to our international markets through the parent company in the near future as the cost of manufacturing in India will certainly work out cheaper than elsewhere," Jong told rediff.com.

Stated to be Samsung's seventh such facility the world over, the plant's production capacity will be expanded to 4 million by 2004 with an additional investment of $25 million. With 20 per cent localisation currently, the company will be stepping up using local components increasingly in due course.

General manager Vivek Prakash also announced the launching of the world's first folder style WAP phone with a dual LCD in the India market.

Priced at Rs 20,995, the ergonomic designed gizmo with an aqua blue display weighs just 77gm to be one of the sleekest, smallest, and lightest WAP mobile in the market.

"We are targeting a market share of around 25 per cent in the GSM segment, and about 50 per cent in the CDMA segment by this year-end," Prakash asserted.

The $36-billion Samsung's game plan is to redefine fashion in the design of mobile phones with the launching of the state-of-the-art digital gadgets. The external liquid crystal display window of the mobile set allows a user to verify the caller ID along with other details at a glance without opening the folder. The aqua blue display reduces eye fatigue for stress-free surfing.

Besides laser printers in three ranges, the company will be introducing a unique 7-in-1 multifunctional printer, which will have a fax, scanner, copier, PC fax, scan-to-e-mail, and a handset as its additional features.

Leading the digital convergence revolution globally, the Korean electronic giant is set to have 30 digital products rolled out worldwide by this year-end.

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