(Credit:CNET)Samsung Electronics’ new Chief Executive Officer called for the company to redouble its focus on software, which could hint at a move away fromAndroid and toward its own proprietary operating system.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is a smartphone running the Android operating system that was announced by Samsung on 13 February 2011 at the Mobile World Congress.
The unveiling of the Android distribution in 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 86 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.
The phone is also the predecessor of the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Samsung has been steadily investing in its own proprietary software, an initiative that new Chief Executive Officer Kwon Oh hyun fully supports.
The Galaxy S II was one of the slimmest smartphones of the time, mostly 8.49 mm thick, except for two small bulges which take the maximum thickness of the phone to 9.91 mm.
In 2012, software engineering was again ranked as the best job in the United States, this time by the Wall Street Journal.
A completely integrated product would allow Samsung to have full control over every detail of the device, and wouldn’t leave it so dependent on an outside company for the latest software.
On the flip side, companies such have Research In Motion, Palm, and Nokia have struggled with their own proprietary software.
Palm has largely disappeared, while Nokia switched to Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, with the struggling RIM the only one attempting to stand apart with its BlackBerry operating system.
The pressure is likely on for Samsung to develop its own operating system now that Google has officially acquired Motorola Mobility, which means its partner will also be a competitor with the potential to access earlier versions of Android.
Google has said it would continue to be neutral when it comes to Android, while Samsung has said it is looking forward to the legal cover Motorola would bring to the Android community.
Privately, Samsung executives have said they expect to compete with Google on the device front, making it increasingly important to differentiate.
While Samsung already customizes Android a bit with TouchWiz, the company could do more to veer away from the standard Android user experience.
Many Android fans prefer a “stock” experience, which leaves the software alone.
But handset manufacturers believe they need to set themselves apart to avoid getting lost in the sea of generic looking devices.
As the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world — outselling even Apple — it certainly has the heft and reach to pull it off.
However, many Apple lovers out rightly refuse to buy this opinion as they believe iPhone is the best smartphone in the world.
Krysta King is a business journalist based in Hobart, Australia. Krysta has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Krysta spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
