Samsung has released details and specifications of its third-generation Galaxy Ace smartphone. This follows the Korean manufacturer's announcement of the compact version of its premium smartphone, the Galaxy S4 mini.
Last week, Samsung also announced its new Galaxy Tab 3 range of tablets.
Samsung has stepped up its game from the Ace 2, and brought in some high-end features to make the Ace 3 an attractive package for the lower-end market.
Fuseware CEO Mike Wronski says the Ace 3 will likely compete with Apple's low-cost iPhone, as well as a host of other low-end Android phones already on the market.
"The Ace 3 packs quite a punch and includes features such as LTE, a 5MP camera and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. I believe there will be some consolidation of products from Samsung's end, depending on which devices gain the most traction," adds Wronski.
The Ace 3 houses some of the S4's features, like S Translator and S Travel. It also offers the Smart Stay feature, which recognises when a user is looking at the phone, and saves battery life when a user looks away, by dimming the screen.
Wronski adds that although the Ace 3 is not a premium device, it does have its place. "Different devices also cater to different markets, and we might see devices like these being much more popular in emerging markets than developed ones."
Playing the field
Looking at whether Samsung is perhaps churning out too many smart devices, Wronski says there is already significant fragmentation in the mobile device market in general, given the choice of a range of smartphones, tablets and phablets from every major manufacturer.
"Over the last few decades, emerging technology has seen a similar pattern of fragmentation followed by consolidation and standardisation. Additionally, the manufacturers want to corner the lower end of the market as soon as they can, since even high-end smartphones will soon be affordable to these demographics, and an early entry into the market will guarantee brand awareness and market share," he adds.
Global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Dominic Sunnebo, says it is clear that one of the key drivers of Samsung's performance is how targeted each device is. "Kantar Worldpanel ComTech data clearly shows that different Samsung models are appealing to a very different type of consumer. The Galaxy Note 2 is popular with affluent 25- to 34-year-old males, the Galaxy S3 Mini appeals to younger females, the Galaxy Ace to older females, while the Galaxy S3 has broad appeal."
He adds that the fact that Samsung has so many models available in the market is not indicative of a scatter-gun approach, simply a realisation that different consumers demand different handsets, in functionality, design and price.
However, Samsung's weakness is its dependence on the Android eco-system, which it does not own, says Wronski.
"It has tried to circumvent this in some way by rolling out custom Android setups on its smartphones, and including a range of Samsung-branded apps and services on their devices. I haven't heard of these being extremely valuable to anyone, and see them akin to bloatware on branded computers."
Wronski says Samsung's next big move may be in content services in its range of devices. "Given its market share, the up-sell would be tremendous."
He adds that Samsung will use all data at its disposable to craft its next steps - including feedback from users, app usage statistics and regional sales. "The dominant play going forward is to capture the emerging markets, so any future move would probably be related to this notion."
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