Unseating Samsung as the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer will not be an easy task. And the company is moving to make it even more difficult. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, J.K. Shin, the company’s President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, revealed some new directions to keep it at the top.
Samsung has recognized the growing importance of software. The just announced Samsung Galaxy S III is a good example of this new emphasis on software. Running on Android, it added a number of features, such as SmartStay which prevents the screen from shutting off while the user is looking at, it to differentiate it from competing products with similar hardware specifications.
Samsung has begun to aggressively hire foreign software engineers in a bid to keep pace with Apple, its closest competitor. The company is also looking at a number of acquisitions. “The technology industry is growing very quickly and it is too much of a burden to try to do everything in-house,” said J.K. Shin, adding that “There are small companies that we can acquire that have good research and development capabilities.” He even revealed that one such deal is “in the works right now” without giving any details.
Shin also reiterated that Samsung is not interested in buying Research In Motion.
Read more: The Wall Street Journal