Smartphone sector between attack and defense strategies The macro-environment of smartphone sector is very complex and dynamic, especially in the technological aspect like the recent tablet invention. The aggressive competition between companies pushed them to adopt many kinds of actions and strategies to protect their position in the market and to anticipate any unexpected changes in the future. In fact, like military, companies take the position of attacker or defender. One attack strategy which is called bypass technic is materialized by new ideas, concepts and a high hardware and software innovation.
For example, with the sleek and beautiful design of Samsung and iPhone the longtime leader Nokia had been easily overtook. However, this basic strategy requires a huge investment in research and development and particularly in Android operating system including downloads, videos, photos, blogs, internet surfing, etc. Moreover, companies can also attack directly their competitors with reducing prices and improving quality to satisfied customers and to enhance the brand image. This strategy was used by iPhone in 2007, by reducing the price from $599 to $399 - a 33% rebate - after only 3 months from the initial product launch.
Nonetheless, this decision has been judged as a mistake for the reason that Apple most faithful costumers have rightfully felt being betrayed and exploited. They could have waited 6 more months before reducing the price of the iPhone, or they could have delayed the iPhone launch for 3 months, or they could have decided to price the iPhone at $399 since the initial launch. and since July 2008, the iPhone 3G is sold at $199, 50% less than the September 2007 price, 66% less than the launch price of just one year earlier. Like those mistakes prove that direct attack strategies require a perfect policy prices.
Flank strategies are quite used in this sector . we can mention for instance the decision of iPhone to prosecute Samsung for the pretext that the company has imitated its design and concepts. That’s show that iPhone focus on Samsung weaknesses to influence the customer behavior. However, companies aren’t always in the position of attacker and often counterattack their competitors. For example, when apple introduced 5-megapixel camera, LED flash and Photo and video geotagging in its iPhone 4S, Samsung launched its Galaxy range to preserve its market share.
In other side, the increasing rhythm of innovation pushed smartphone producers to avoid direct confrontation especially if there is a big gap between competitors. For instance, Nokia is now unable to recuperate its leadership in Mobil phone sector and try now to target specific customers, particularly lower middle classes. After those global analyses of the smartphone sector, we will identify below the leader’s strategies and what segmentation is using. Samsung outshines Apple in smartphone shipments, market share
Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share Q3 2011 (Units in Millions) Vendor| 3Q11 Unit Shipments| 3Q11 Market Share| 3Q10 Unit Shipments| 3Q10 Market Share| Year-over-year Change| Samsung| 23. 6| 20. 0%| 7. 3| 8. 8%| 223. 3%| Apple| 17. 1| 14. 5%| 14. 1| 17. 0%| 21. 3%| Nokia| 16. 8| 14. 2%| 26. 5| 32. 0%| -36. 6%| HTC| 12. 7| 10. 8%| 5. 9| 7. 1%| 115. 3%| Research In Motion| 11. 8| 10. 0%| 12. 4| 15. 0%| -4. 8%| Others| 36. 1| 30. 6%| 16. 6| 20. 0%| 117. 5%| Total| 118. 1| 100. 0%| 82. 8| 100. 0%| 42. 6%| http://news. cnet. com
