Samsung takes on giant Amazon in e-books

Samsung Electronics, the world`s No.2 maker of mobile phones, said yesterday that it aims to ovetake Amazon as the top seller of electronic books with the launch of its new digital book scheduled for next year.

"We seek to become a bigger player than Amazon or Sony in the e-book market," Lew Jae-young, vice president of Samsung Electronics, said at a news conference, adding the company plans to unveil details of the product in January.

"It will take time for our competitors to catch up," he said.

"Our new e-book will be fantastic... it will offer the best solutions," he told The Korea Herald.

He did not provide further details such as how the company will secure content to better compete with U.S. book giants such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

"We are in talks (with publishers and content providers) on detailed cooperation models," a Samsung official said.



Will Samsung shake up market?

Analysts expected Samsung`s ambitious goal to become the top e-book maker is plausible given the company`s expertise in mobile devices and the fast-changing dynamics of the e-book market.

"Samsung has a high brand recognition and a know-how in mobile devices," Ahn Ha-young, an analyst at Hanhwa Securities, said.

She also said Samsung will be able to secure e-book content from publishers, which are looking to diversify their sales channels.

"Publishers and other content providers see e-books as their new growth drivers. Therefore, the more devices, the better for them, " she said.

Lee Jung-ho, a senior researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute, also said the e-book market dynamics is subject to change given that the market is in its infancy and growing.

"We should focus on which company Samsung will form an alliance with and which strategy Samsung will adopt," he said.

"An e-book is not just a digital version of paper books. The device is expected to evolve beyond imagination," he said.



Disappointing specs

Samsung yesterday entered the nascent e-book market in Korea under partnership with Kyobo Bookstore, Korea`s biggest bookstore.

However, Samsung`s new digital book, SNE-50K, may be a disappointment to gadget lovers as its specifications fall short of its rivals.

It does not support wireless internet, which means it does not allow users to download content while on the go. By contrast, its local rival Nuut and Amazon`s Kindle enables wireless downloads, thus providing user continence.

Samsung`s e-book also has a small 5-inch screen, while Amazon`s latest version of its Kindle features a 9.7-inch screen, which is more suitable for displaying newspaper and textbook content.

However, the company said its small screen makes it easy for users to carry the device, which fits snugly in the pocket of a shirt.

The company also said the product is the world`s first e-book which adopts handwriting recognition. It also features a 600 x 800 pixel resolution, which is the same as Kindle.



Lack of content

Currently, only 2,500 book titles - mostly best-sellers - are available on Kyobo`s online e-book store, and about 1,000 new titles will be updated every month.

A digital book will sell for 40 percent less than the price of a paper book.

Samsung`s foray is expected to invigorate the local e-book market, which has not developed mainly because of a lack of a suitable device for displaying ebook content, Kyobo officials said. They also expected the e-book will be popular among Koreans living overseas, who have to buy Korean books at expensive prices because of shipping costs.

The local e-book market is expected to grow more than 10-fold from 2006 to 2012, with its revenue expected to reach 2.4 trillion won in 2012 from 210 billion won in 2006, according to industry data.

In the local market, Samsung will compete with online bookstores such as Interpark, Yes 24 and Aladin and mobile carriers SK Telecom and LG Telecom, and small-and-medium sized e-book device makers.

Samsung`s new e-book, which will go on sale from the end of this month, will sell for 339,000 won.

(hjjin@heraldm.com)



By Jin Hyun-joo