UPDATED 11:00 EDT / DECEMBER 12 2011

Samsung Sales Soar as HTC Awaits Doomsday

Android-based devices continue to multiply and encroach the already congested tech market.  But can you blame them?  iPhone alternatives have taken over the market because of price and accessibility.  So let’s take a look at how Android ODM partners are doing in the tech market.

Samsung

In an article in Reuters, they reported that Samsung already sold more than 300 million units this year, breaking sales record at the end of November.  Samsung’s success is attributed to their Galaxy S and SII devices, with the Galaxy SII selling more than 10 million units.  And the company that’s overtaken Apple in device sales has no intention of slowing down.

“We look forward to extending this success going into 2012,” says JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.

Samsung surpassed 280 million sales in 2010 and they expect that sales would continue to rise by 2012.  It looks like their sales really will continue to rise, as rumors of the Galaxy Skin continue to intrigue people.  Who wouldn’t want a flexible smartphone with a 3D/hologram feature?

But that’s just the beginning, as BGR stated that according to their reliable source, Samsung will be unveiling a 11.6-inch tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at the Mobile World Congress in February 2012.  The tablet will have a 2560 x 1600 resolution, 11.6-inch screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and will use a dual-core Exynos 5250 CPU clocked at 2GHz.  This will go head-to-head with Apple’s rumored iPad 3, which will have the A6 CPU and will be unveiled probably at the same time as the Samsung tablet.  It’s not really clear how the tablet is physically designed, but Samsung fans are hoping that the video featuring a flexible transparent tablet is actually true.

Aside from great sales, Samsung also dodged the US ban filed by Apple, and recently, the Australian ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was lifted.

HTC

Though the year started fairly well for HTC as the number one US vendor for smartphones, they’re currently in a bit of a slump as their sales continue to decline.  But their biggest hurdle could be coming on Wednesday as the International Trade Commission is set to hand down their ruling regarding the HTC-Apple case.  HTC allegedly infringed some of Apple’s patents, and this ruling could cause HTC products to be banned from being sold in the US.

Kindle Fire

Amazon stated that the Kindle Fire is their most successful Kindle, yet consumers aren’t agreeing with that boastful statement.  Many consumers bought the Kindle Fire because of its budget-friendly price tag, hoping that somehow it would fill the void of not having an iPad.

But hopes were crushed and tempers boiled as consumers are ticked off by the fact that the off switch is not strategically placed and could be easily hit by accident, it has no external volume control, web pages take too much time to load, the device has no privacy features, and the touch screen is not very responsive.  Angry consumers are returning their devices and want their money back.

Amazon tries to calm disgruntled consumers and stated that they will be releasing an update for the devices which would address some of their concerns.  The update will improve the touch screen and beef up privacy by providing an option to edit their recent activities.  There’s also a rumor of an improved version of the Kindle Fire coming sometime in Spring.

“In less than two weeks, we’re rolling out an over-the-air update to Kindle Fire,” said Drew Herdener, a company spokesman.

Nook Tablet

This is the Kindle Fire’s competition, as they both come from e-reader makers making the jump to tablets.  Though it is still not comparable to the iPad or other high-end Android tablets, it works better than the Kindle Fire in many regards.  Its touch screen is more responsive, the power switch is not so prone to getting hit by accident, it has physical volume control buttons, and users claim that they enjoy using the Nook Tablet more that the Kindle Fire.  It seems like Barnes & Noble was able to utilize the Android platform better than Amazon as far as web browsing goes, and is fairly quicker on the Nook than the Fire.

Asus

Asus may have the device that could finally bring down the reign of the iPad 2: the Asus Transformer Prime.  Though rumors of Wi-Fi problems threatened to delay the release of the Asus tablet this holiday season, they were put to rest as Slash Gear’s source from Asus clarified things.

“We are trying to confirm who released this statement and for what purpose right now. At this point, we still show to be on schedule to start shipments the week of 12/19. I will provide an update once I have additional information,” said the Asus source.

So why would you buy the Asus Transformer Prime instead of any other tablet?  It is the first quad core tablet in the market, but it still managed to have a slick and thin design.  The Prime is priced at $499 for a 32GB model and $599 for a 64GB model and if you pay an additional $149 you’d get the keyboard dock as well.  The 32GB Prime costs $50 more than the 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but the Prime has twice the processing power, twice the internal storage, and a reportedly better battery life.  And if you choose to buy the 64GB Prime with the keyboard dock, it still costs $50 less than the iPad 2.


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