16 March 2015

TechCrunch: “The Fifth Horseman: Samsung”

But trying to suggest that Samsung is not one of the most important companies in technology is increasingly folly. In fact, there’s a decent chance that it will end up being the most important tech company of 2013.

This week, Bloomberg reported that Samsung would start selling Tizen-based phones in 2013. According to Jungah Lee’s sources, this is at least in part due to Google’s purchase of Motorola last year. This is important because Samsung is by far the most important Android partner. Not only does it dominate from a market share perspective, it’s really the only Android OEM that is actually making any money. (Motorola, by comparison, is a total dog that is actually losing money.) And it’s making a ton of it.

MG Siegler

While searching for the original reference to ‘the four horsemen’ for a recent video I posted, I stumbled upon this article from the early days of 2013. Funny how the tech business can change in just a couple of years:

How did Samsung get so big so fast and how did it all go so wrong?

Competition from new players like Xiaomi and a renewed Apple were central to the decline, but corporate turmoil at Samsung, including a rift between the company's South Korean headquarters and its suddenly successful US group, also played a major role.

Steve Kovach
Samsung logo

Meanwhile, Microsoft is back in the game – or at least trying to, under a new leadership – and cooperating with Samsung no less.

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