New Samsung chief vows more focus on software

A shop assistant poses with the new Samsung Galaxy S III after it’s launch at the Westfield shopping centre in west London, May 29, 2012. – Photo by Reuters

SEOUL: The new chief executive of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics stressed Monday the need for more investment on software to maintain the company’s lead in the fast-changing technology industry.

Kwon Oh-Hyun said Samsung, which beat arch-rival Apple in the first quarter to become the world’s top smartphone maker by sales, would work harder to build “unique platforms and ecosystems” to secure an “absolute lead” in the market.

“A particular focus must be given to serving new customer experience and value by strengthening soft capabilities in software, user experience, design and solutions,” he said in an inaugural speech.

Kwon took the helm at the world’s largest technology firm earlier this month after his predecessor Choi Gee-Sung was appointed to head the strategy office for the Samsung group, of which the electronics firm is the flagship.

Samsung Electronics – also the world’s biggest producer of flat-screen TVs and memory chips – has tried to strengthen its mobile software business which is relatively weaker than its mighty device-making operations.

Its popular smartphones and tablet PCs – the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab series – run on Google’s Android operating system.

The Bada software developed by Samsung has not garnered much popularity among consumers and device makers so far, prompting the firm to set out to hire more workers in software development.

“Our company is at an inflection point in our bid to be a genuine global number one…complacency will put us on the same path as the countless other companies that have faded into the mist,” said Kwon.