Color-screen handsets steadily gain (Korean) subscribers
Despite lingering uncertainty due to high prices, color-screen mobile handsets based on cdma 1x technology are steadily winning subscribers, manufacturers said yesterday.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, both of which virtually control the domestic handset market, said they have doubled sales of color-screen handsets, first introduced in June.
The high-end color-screen models are priced at around 500,000 won while second-generation IS95B handsets are sold at around 300,000 won.
As the price tag is steep and the mobile data market sluggish, industry analysts earlier predicted that the color-screen models wouldn't be able to solidify their market positions by the end of the year.
Though the general mood remains skeptical about the pricey color-screen handsets, subscribers began to notice the existence of the high-end products. Samsung Electronics, for instance, sold 58,000 units of its latest color-screen phone in July, up from 24,000 units in June. The electronics giant rolled out a video-on-demand color handset model, SCH-X210, and a sister model, SPH-X2500, in June.
Samsung said the portion of color-screen models in total cdma2000 1x handset sales accounted for 12.9 percent in July, up 10.7 percent from June.
But the sales of VOD phones were poor at a mere 400 units, suggesting it will take some time before subscribers accept the latest technology for their mobile services.
Samsung, the country's largest mobile handset maker, said it will introduce two new models with color screens in the second half and stage aggressive marketing campaigns to attract more users.
LG Electronics, meantime, said its Cyon color dual folder, CX-300 series, more than doubled its monthly sales from 6,000 units in June to 14,000 units in July.
LG plans to unveil VOD phones and smaller color-screen models in the second half.
In a recent survey, Mirae Asset Securities said Korean mobile users are now embracing cmda2000 1x handsets, which are known here as "2.5G," a transition from second-generation to third-generation wireless services.
About six out of 10 handsets sold are now 2.5G, a faster-than-expected penetration rate considering that domestic mobile carriers began to implement 2.5G services from May this year.
Mirae Asset said about 7.66 million units of handsets are forecast to be sold in the second half, 60 percent of which will be based on 2.5G technology.
Currently, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics control about 80 percent of the mobile handset market in Korea while Motorola, Nokia, Hyundai Curitel and Hanwha aim to capture the remaining 20 percent share.
(insight@koreaherald.co.kr)
2001.08.15
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