Samsung Mobile’s press event, where the Note 4, Note Edge and Gear VR were announced, took place the day before Samsung Electronics’ event. We couldn’t make it, unfortunately, but look for more information in our stand tour!
Samsung began its presentation with a video captioned “Meet the curve” – so we felt pretty secure in predicting what was going to be seen! After that a man playing an accordion appeared on-stage – it was a bit different to Sony’s jazz pianist, but VERY German! The graphics on-screen matched the accordion’s sounds. Greg Dawson, director of European communications, said that the accordion was an example of how the traditional meets the digital: tomorrow’s technology, today.
Samsung EU president Sunny Lee took the stage, discussing what would be big at IFA this year: great design; wearables; curved; UltraHD; Smart; and connected products – exactly what Samsung has been working on these past few years. The company helped to establish the UltraHD market, and now has a share of more than 60%. Samsung was also one of the first to introduce a curved TV; now, Samsung is predicting that curved will go mainstream. These products will help to extend Samsung’s market leadership – particularly in Europe.
Additionally, Samsung is expanding in home appliances; market share rose above 30% this year. The company’s products are based on an understanding of consumers’ passions and lifestyles. However, B2B is Samsung’s next market focus – Lee said it is primed to become a B2B technology leader. Samsung Europe is now active in 42 different European markets.
One of the most pressing problems in Europe now is youth unemployment: 5.6 million young people are unemployed in Europe: 25% of the total. However, some of the technology companies that want to hire young people can’t find ones with the right skills. Samsung Europe has its Smart Classroom programmes, which train teachers to pass on their digital skills. For instance, in Poland Samsung is helping to teach children computer programming. There are 120 classrooms, 3,250 teachers and 16,000 students. Samsung’s goal is to reach 400,000 young people by 2019.
It’s been 365 days since Samsung introduced the first UHD curved TV, said Michael Z
