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Samsung has just taken the throne as the top phone manufacturer. While much of this success is due to their strong commitment with the Android OS, that does not mean that Samsung will not try to become a big player in other areas. And what is the main area Samsung is not doing as well as it could? Software.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung has started putting a major emphasis in software development. Pushing this movement rather strongly, the company has gone in a hiring spree, taking software developers under its wing. This includes people from Pakistan, India and other countries. Not only that, but it seems Sammy is also eyeing smaller software companies for a possible acquisition.
“The technology industry is growing very quickly and it is too much of a burden to try to do everything in-house. There are many qualified workers from India that are very skilled in software. And there are small companies that we can acquire that have good research and development capabilities. If the opportunity allows, we will do M&As. There is something in the works right now.” – J.K Shin, President of Samsung Mobile Business
It is still unknown what these “software improvements” are all about. We know most users are not very fond of Touchwiz, and they are not investing in Windows Phone software (they can’t touch modify it). The company is also denying any interest in RIM. So there are two main options Samsung could be focusing on. Either they are trying to improve TouchWiz, or they are aiming for the stars and improving their own software (Either Bada or something unknown).
If a new major mobile OS is to shake the market, there is no doubt that a company as large as Samsung could be a great contender. We also know that Sony is keeping an open mind about expanding their Vita OS to mobile devices. In some years, we might be seeing some good competition for both our favorite OS (Android) and Apple’s software.
Regardless of Samsung’s plans, though, the Korean manufacturer does plan to stick with Android for some time. It is the most popular mobile OS in the market, and will continue to ensure its success. We certainly hope that Samsung uses some of its new resources for improving TouchWiz, now that HTC has done some major improvements to its own UI overlay. But the future is still unknown, as well as Sammy’s plans. Do you see a major OS being launched by Samsung? And if so, how do you see this affecting our favorite OS?
[Source: WSJ Via: Mobile Syrup]
It’s good they focus on software and such, but they need to remember that it was hardware that made them KING.
true to that.
It was their hardware. Super AMOLED Exynos RAM which made them who they are now. They should not start slacking off. If they do they’ll become another Nokia.
Samsung will not create its own OS, there is too much intellectual property to design around, no benefit to customers, and would constitute a move away from the familiar standard — Android. There is value in familiarity with an OS which is why Microsoft enjoyed such a long run at the top. Value added features, like next generation voice recognition, eye tracking, and a Samsung environment within the Android OS make more sense and are in line with the company’s past endeavors. The question I would ask, is what can a smartphone do in the future that in not possible now? Learning, context based voice recognition comes to mind, better integration with the home (entertainment system, appliances, lighting, security), running a desktop experience on a dumb monitor, acting as a game console. But what else? What is left to invent?
they already have an OS… Bada?
They also have abother one. Android. You can see the difference in nin-tech and texh folks making decisions. Amazon is all about tech. They realize Android is as much theirs as it is Googles ans they took and ran with it. I get the feeling Samsung thinks they need to have something theyve built on their own to have their own OS.
there’s a lot of room for improvement in the software department, you wouldn’t believe what technology /software would evolve into in the coming years… you may not see or think now what those software features or advancement would be like, but they would happen and you could be amazed… technology is a never ending evolution process.. it’s infinite, we have only discovered a few percentage of science , like 5% or less than 10%.. or i could be wrong.. LOL
(in reply to andrew_des_moines — don’t know how my reply nestled below galaxy_s — maybe my mistake…) What is left to invent? Cavemen sitting around a fire talking about using their Clovis spear points to kill mastadon the next day were asking the same question . . .
Seriously, we’re heading towards more connectivity in less intrusive ways. And we need a whole new paradigm in security and user-controlled privacy. With just these factors what is over the horizon?
Imagine google’s glasses on steroids on steroids on steroids: Siri with AV answers pulled from the air. Color coding of people by social reputation. HUD translation of text wherever you go. Seeing through the ground into the geologic formations beneath your feet — or through the thousand meters of water beneath your boat. Seeing the dock through the typhoon. Having eyes in the back of your head (and on top and under your feet). A user-weighted “facebook” that tells you when a friend needs help or an enemy finds your stash. “Phones” that shift owners depending on who is holding it at the time. “Phones” that “smell” fruits and vegetables and meats telling you of their freshness/radiation contamination/source… A “concert” without speakers using air guitars even extending to people not physically there. Non-programmers being able to “code” an app merely by describing components of what they want it to do — if you clearly describe it, it will be. It would be on-the-spot invention — meta-invention, if you will. And on and on . . .
I’m still fascinated with the wheel, so as this generation’s caveman, I have little idea of what is next. There is no way, though, I can imagine it has all been invented.
your reply is irrelevant to my post, you have reading comprehension issues? i made a general statement , that’s all.. hahaha
I meant to reply to andrew.
oh i just read your profile… LOL , now i get it.. funny..
Touchwiz is no longer a skin, it is something in it’s own right. Watch Tizen development this year as it is released. Watch for samsung to integrate touchwiz into tizen and for them to release it on their phones;
Improve touchwiz. Focus on updates and made less phones. Stick with galaxy s and note. That is all.
I like touchwiz, it could be cleaned up a bit and added to but creating a new OS is not very smart when you are the leading manufacturer of the leading OS in the world. There is so much they could do, it’s Android, it’s free and it’s very easy to modify. Just my Opinion.
Can it be turned off by the user without root?
Samsung, don’t even think about ditching Android. Just redesign and enhance touchwiz. Don’t astray yourself from Android because you will fail. (eg. Nokia)
Samsung is buying Moto from Google. they are the ones making the Nexus, this will make Samsung the next monster of android, Google don’t need the moto facilities. they just want the patents. Samsu-rola ( Google is saying that they don’t know what to do whit moto facilities )
You posted no sources to your claims (which seem a bit wild) and you had a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes. Really hard to take that seriously.
And you said, “this will make Samsung the next monster of android.” Last I checked, they already are the monster of Android.
Eh I think Google would sell Moto to samsung honestly. Just strip the company of the patents and send Moto’s engineers over to the Samsung headquarters to create the ultimate Galaxy device that lives up to Moto’s hardware reputation while integrating Samsung’s own in-house developments.
Redesign & Improve the TouchWiz U.I.
Believe it or not but the people who like stock Android are the MINORITY. There’s a reason why the Nexus is always outsold by other phones. Even LG phones outsell the Nexus line.
in my family, out of 5, i’m the only one who appreciated the beauty of stock so i can agree with this.
The Nexus devices have and always will be marketed as development phones aimed towards developers.
They should hire cyanogenmod. Really they are pretty awesome at adapting their software. I think if they had a big enough company supporting them, they could make a really awesome software platform fitted just for whatever Motorola wants based off Android.