Samsung Galaxy Player Entering Game Against Apple iPod Touch Too Late?
Despite the increase of smartphones doubling as gaming devices, Samsung’s Galaxy Players is entering the touchscreen media fray against Apple’s iPod Touch by launching in mid-October.
However, some tech analysts say Samsung is arriving too late on the scene to make any real impact.
“The market for small touchscreen media players is drying up, thanks to skyrocketing smartphone ownership and the rise of tablets as personal entertainment devices,” writes PCWorld’s Jaren Newman in the online magazine. “The remaining market-mostly smartphone-averse adults and parents who want $200 toys for their children-isn’t exactly fertile ground.”
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Galaxy Player prime features include a choice of 4- or 5-inch displays and a microSD slot to expand upon 8 GB of built-in storage, according to Newman. Both models also have a 1 GHz processor, 800-by-480 resolution screens and GPS. The 4-inch model is priced the same as the iPod Touch, at $229. (The 5-inch version costs $269).
Apple may be waiting for the iPod’s 10th anniversary in October to release anything new, but Newman said industry experts aren’t hearing any rumors.
The iPod still has a 90 percent share of the portable music player market, but sales have been sharply down in the last quarter. Even though Apple doesn’t break down iPod sales by device, it’s clear that consumers are moving on to iPhones and iPads, according to PCWorld.
The iPod outsold just about every other MP3-player out there long ago with sales that overwhelmed the Zune, the Sony Walkman and iRiver devices.
On another front, Samsung is introducing its Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet to the United States on Sunday. The new Tab is an 8.9-inch screen version of its Galaxy Tab 10.1. The 8.9 comes with either 16 GB of storage for $469 or 32 GB for $569, and it runs on Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system, according to The Los Angeles Times Technology blog.
The competition between Samsung and Apple is unique in many ways. For example, Samsung Electronics Co. is the world’s biggest manufacturer of memory chips and liquid crystal displays. At the same time, it supplies some of the key components that go into Apple Inc. products.
