Recently, there was speculation that Samsung would concentrate more on Windows Phone 7 in 2011, which will allegedly result in a 2:1 ratio between Windows Phone 7 and Android. As we don`t know whether this is true or only limited to a certain market, I think there is some truth to it.
It seems even more logical in the context of a statement from Sony Ericsson, putting a Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 handset higly unlikely. In this statement, SE France CEO Pierre Perron said that SE would run the risk of standardising their smartphones which would leave price and design the only areas of differentiation, because of the strict requirements put in place by Microsoft in regards to any modification of the Windows Phone 7 operating system. I think this is very much true. But I think that for exactly these reasons, Samsung is going big(ger) for Windows Phone 7. Samsung not only wants to take the fight over price and design, they have to. Although their Android phones have some individual software touches, Samsung`s approach is no where near HTC`s Sense UI or even Motorola`s Motoblur. Samsung is still more a traditional handset maker. For such a company, it is not only more easy to compete on price and design, it is their obvious strategy. This is not a bad thing, as long as it helps selling their phones and make a solid profit. How many customers have bought the Wave because of its software and not because of the absolutely lovely Super AMOLED display and the quite attractive price? How many buy a Galaxy S because of the (small) software modifications Samsung has put on the stock Andorid and not because of its gorgeous display and snappy processor?
However, there is a second reason that makes a stronger focus on Windows Phone 7 likely. To understand this point, one has to look in the past and understand how Samsung is approaching new trends. I still remember the times of the Samsung D500 and D600, which both were excellent phones and in my opinion were the entry for Samsung in the mobile business, at least over here in Germany or western Europe. It was the time when sliders were becoming popular. It was also the first and only time when Samsung actually was creating a trend and not simply adopting. The D500 and D600 were one of the first and best slider phones and greatly helped to establish this form factor. Soon, thanks to the now almost forgotten Motorola Razr, clamshells and especially ultra-thin mobile phones were the hottest thing. Samsung quickly jumped onto this trend. The U900, D900 and other ultra-thin phones were very nice and sold very well. When the everything-has-to-be-as-thin-as-possible trend slowly faded and the Nokia N95 showed what was technically possible, smartphones quickly became a greater point of interest for Samsung. The i8510 was a lonly child as the big mega-trend quickly became phones with touchscreens. Again, Samsung saw a big oppotunity and, like the rest of the mobile industry, jumped onto that bandwagon. Countless devices followed. Samsung showed great flexibilty in choosing the appropriate OS platform (Symbian, Windows Mobile and its proprietary OS). Now that nearly every handset maker has some Android devices in its portfolio, Samsung is looking for a new trend to jump onto. In the end of 2010, Windows Phone 7 is that ideal candidate. It does require much less attention than Android due to the already mentioned restrictions and allows Samsung to quickly adopt a trend and explore it. It will be quite easy to compete on price and design, something other handset makers try to avoid. As the past has shown, I think Samsung will be quite successful.
For the time after the Windows Phone 7 trend, I know this is speculation, but I wouldn`t be much suprised to see a MeeGo based phone from Samsung in the end of 2011 or early 2012. I still have very high hopes for MeeGo and when the first ultra-high-end phones from Nokia powered by this new OS will hit the streets in mid 2011, it could very well be an inreresting alternative for Samsung and a new trend to explore.
The far more interesting question is what Samsung will do if there ever comes a time when the speed of innovation is slowing down. Will they be able to create trends on their own? It is a difficult question. I have always admired Samsung`s ability to adopt and explore new trends. Everytime, it is absolutely fascinating how quickly Samsung can learn from mistakes. In general, even thier first approach to a new market is very competitive. But what is absolutely stunning is the fact that almost always already their second generation is nearly as good as it gets. Look at Android. The Galaxy i7500? Nice, but the second generation, the Galaxy S trumps it all. One if not the best Andorid phone on the market. All done in one single product-cycle. Amazing. You can go back in history and see the same pattern for nearly all phones from Samsung. Of course, all other companies do the same and release better products over time. But the speed and perfection of execution in the most innovative industry with the shortest product-cycles is outstanding.
It will be very interesting to see if Samsung can keep up this ability in the upcoming age of the internet of things. As I wrote in my post, the mobile landscape will dramatically shift in the next five to seven years and by this I not only mean the rise of smartphones as we know them today. I also wrote almost two years ago that the real enemy of Nokia is Samsung. For now, this is more true than ever. Interesting time, nevertheless.
