5 ms·

Samsung quietly continues to conquer the world

60 points by Bry789123 15y ago

cjboco 15y ago
I'm not 100% sure, but I recall a story about a division of Samsung that made watches, being banned from selling them in Germany or somewhere like that. They copied/cloned something that Rolex did (Maybe the quartz crystal or something like that). Does anyone know the actual details about this story?
rhygar 15y ago
The article opens: "Is there anything Samsung doesn’t do?" I say: "Is there anything Samsung doesn't clone?" This is shameless: http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/18/family-ties-earn-this-smart-cover-knock-off-a-samsung-certification-and-a-place-on-their-store-shelves/ http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/18/family-ties-earn-this-smart-co...
- Kylekramer 15y ago
  A: Not a Samsung product. B: Nothing is new under the sun: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/apple-ipad-2-smart-cover-vs-incase-convertible-magazine-jacket/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/apple-ipad-2-smart-cover-...
  - rhygar 15y ago
    A. "Not a Samsung product": in a technical sense yes but in a practical sense no. It was made by the CEO's cousin and had Samsung's stamp of approval. Samsung only yanked approval after it was pointed out how blatant of a copy it was. B. The Samsung clone and the Apple original both have "Smart" in the name, both have ridged covers, and both come in pastel colors. The advertising is even the same - each color case is fanned out in the picture. The evidence is blatantly clear here that Samsung is trying to copy Apple's design.
jontsai 15y ago
Don't know if it's really conquering, but here's a trend that I've seen: In the past, American products were regarded as the best and Made in USA meant quality. Next were Japanese products and consumer electronics. Starting 5-10 years ago, I began to see the well-regarded brands like Sony and Toshiba become more of a boutique brand (overpriced compared to what it offered) as they focused more on style than functionality. Most recently, products from China and Korea-based companies (Haier, Samsung, LG, Hyundai) have started to become more mainstream. This just shows that there will always be up-and-coming competitors who will out-hustle, out-engineer, and out-build the previous market dominators if they don't keep innovating and staying fresh. The smaller competitors, given enough time, will catch up.
- rhygar 15y ago
  Samsung is really good at producing knockoffs: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392106,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392106,00.asp After all, they manufacture tons of components that go into these devices. It's not hard to take a part that someone else designed and stamp your own brand on it.
  - rhygar 15y ago
    Hmm, seems like the Apple haters don't like to hear the truth.
    - bluedanieru 15y ago
      What truth is that? That Apple has fucking patented aluminium now?
      - rhygar 15y ago
        The truth that Apple produces most of the innovation in design that other companies then want to copy.
        bluedanieru 15y ago
6ren 15y ago
That solar netbook is $USD372.94 (Sh35,000). 14 hour battery (1 hour noon sun gives 0.5 hour worth of battery life), 1.3kg, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 1.3 GHz atom (single or dual), 10' screen. http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=4768 http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=4768 Presumably, an ARM-based solar netbook would have even longer battery life. But the (netbook) apps aren't there yet, and aren't coming, so they stay with x86 and Windows. btw: the kindle, with passive E-ink, has 2 months battery (i.e. over x100 longer)
- sorbus 15y ago
  > btw: the kindle, with passive E-ink, has 2 months battery (i.e. over x100 longer) And my TI-84 has had the same batteries for at least two years (it's getting to the point that I'm starting to wonder when they're going to run out, since I know that it will be the worst possible time). It doesn't matter, it's an irrelevant comparison, unless you're saying that something more similar to the kindle would be better for developing regions where solar power is a major selling point (which is a really good thing to point out - why does a solar powered netbook need a 250GB HDD? Why not a small SSD, if that would save power?).
_delirium 15y ago
Samsung is a pretty strange company overall, perhaps more comparable to one of the sprawling late-19th-century industrial conglomerates than anything in the current U.S. business landscape. It not only has a huge array of businesses it officially owns (from computers to shipbuilding), but is part of an unofficial, even larger conglomerate, the "Samsung family group", consisting of the other companies the family controls. It's also been pretty deeply intertwined with the Korean government at various times, along with the other two big family groups (LG and Hyundai), who it sort-of competes with and sort-of has a cozy relationship with. All that actually makes it somewhat remarkable that it's coming up with interesting tech; that kind of company is not usually nimble.
- jakarta 15y ago
  Those are referred to as Chaebols in Korea, in Japan they're called Keiretsu (pre WWI these were Zaibatsu). I think the family ownership involved in the Chaebols somewhat helps them remain innovative. You have a centralized force that can guide the ship during particularly important junctures in history.
  - chalst 15y ago
    Family ownership can give a strong, long-term focus, compared to the usual public company.
bakbak 15y ago
the most important thing mentioned in the article is "targeting the five billion people who live outside the current 'traditional' smartphone market." - whoever understands this will be the world leader in the future ... even the companies like Nokia and Yahoo that looks like failures today can comeback because they understand these 5 billion people better than many others , but somehow the noise of 'traditional' marketers has disillusioned their original strategy... someone has to just pick-up those threads and bring back these companies on track.

60 points by Bry789123 15y ago

I'm not 100% sure, but I recall a story about a division of Samsung that made watches, being banned from selling them in Germany or somewhere like that. They copied/cloned something that Rolex did (Maybe the quartz crystal or something like that). Does anyone know the actual details about this story?

rhygar 15y ago

The article opens: "Is there anything Samsung doesn’t do?" I say: "Is there anything Samsung doesn't clone?" This is shameless: http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/18/family-ties-earn-this-smart-cover-knock-off-a-samsung-certification-and-a-place-on-their-store-shelves/ http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/18/family-ties-earn-this-smart-co...

Kylekramer 15y ago
A: Not a Samsung product. B: Nothing is new under the sun: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/apple-ipad-2-smart-cover-vs-incase-convertible-magazine-jacket/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/apple-ipad-2-smart-cover-...
- rhygar 15y ago
  A. "Not a Samsung product": in a technical sense yes but in a practical sense no. It was made by the CEO's cousin and had Samsung's stamp of approval. Samsung only yanked approval after it was pointed out how blatant of a copy it was. B. The Samsung clone and the Apple original both have "Smart" in the name, both have ridged covers, and both come in pastel colors. The advertising is even the same - each color case is fanned out in the picture. The evidence is blatantly clear here that Samsung is trying to copy Apple's design.

jontsai 15y ago

Don't know if it's really conquering, but here's a trend that I've seen: In the past, American products were regarded as the best and Made in USA meant quality. Next were Japanese products and consumer electronics. Starting 5-10 years ago, I began to see the well-regarded brands like Sony and Toshiba become more of a boutique brand (overpriced compared to what it offered) as they focused more on style than functionality. Most recently, products from China and Korea-based companies (Haier, Samsung, LG, Hyundai) have started to become more mainstream. This just shows that there will always be up-and-coming competitors who will out-hustle, out-engineer, and out-build the previous market dominators if they don't keep innovating and staying fresh. The smaller competitors, given enough time, will catch up.

rhygar 15y ago
Samsung is really good at producing knockoffs: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392106,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392106,00.asp After all, they manufacture tons of components that go into these devices. It's not hard to take a part that someone else designed and stamp your own brand on it.
- rhygar 15y ago
  Hmm, seems like the Apple haters don't like to hear the truth.
  - bluedanieru 15y ago
    What truth is that? That Apple has fucking patented aluminium now?
    - rhygar 15y ago
      The truth that Apple produces most of the innovation in design that other companies then want to copy.
      - bluedanieru 15y ago

6ren 15y ago

That solar netbook is $USD372.94 (Sh35,000). 14 hour battery (1 hour noon sun gives 0.5 hour worth of battery life), 1.3kg, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 1.3 GHz atom (single or dual), 10' screen. http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=4768 http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=4768 Presumably, an ARM-based solar netbook would have even longer battery life. But the (netbook) apps aren't there yet, and aren't coming, so they stay with x86 and Windows. btw: the kindle, with passive E-ink, has 2 months battery (i.e. over x100 longer)

sorbus 15y ago
> btw: the kindle, with passive E-ink, has 2 months battery (i.e. over x100 longer) And my TI-84 has had the same batteries for at least two years (it's getting to the point that I'm starting to wonder when they're going to run out, since I know that it will be the worst possible time). It doesn't matter, it's an irrelevant comparison, unless you're saying that something more similar to the kindle would be better for developing regions where solar power is a major selling point (which is a really good thing to point out - why does a solar powered netbook need a 250GB HDD? Why not a small SSD, if that would save power?).

_delirium 15y ago

Samsung is a pretty strange company overall, perhaps more comparable to one of the sprawling late-19th-century industrial conglomerates than anything in the current U.S. business landscape. It not only has a huge array of businesses it officially owns (from computers to shipbuilding), but is part of an unofficial, even larger conglomerate, the "Samsung family group", consisting of the other companies the family controls. It's also been pretty deeply intertwined with the Korean government at various times, along with the other two big family groups (LG and Hyundai), who it sort-of competes with and sort-of has a cozy relationship with. All that actually makes it somewhat remarkable that it's coming up with interesting tech; that kind of company is not usually nimble.

jakarta 15y ago
Those are referred to as Chaebols in Korea, in Japan they're called Keiretsu (pre WWI these were Zaibatsu). I think the family ownership involved in the Chaebols somewhat helps them remain innovative. You have a centralized force that can guide the ship during particularly important junctures in history.
- chalst 15y ago
  Family ownership can give a strong, long-term focus, compared to the usual public company.

bakbak 15y ago

the most important thing mentioned in the article is "targeting the five billion people who live outside the current 'traditional' smartphone market." - whoever understands this will be the world leader in the future ... even the companies like Nokia and Yahoo that looks like failures today can comeback because they understand these 5 billion people better than many others , but somehow the noise of 'traditional' marketers has disillusioned their original strategy... someone has to just pick-up those threads and bring back these companies on track.