hankyoreh

By Kim Jin-cheol

There’s a fierce battle being waged in the global smartphone market, with the top spot changing by the quarter. According to figures from market research firm IHS iSupply on Sunday, Samsung sold 95 million smartphones last year, an increase of 278% from the previous year. Apple sold 93 million smartphones, followed by Nokia (77 million), Sony Ericsson (20 million) and Motorola (19 million). Strategy Analysts, another market research firm, also put Samsung ahead of Apple in global smartphone sales last year, 97.5 million to 93 million. Apple did sell more in the fourth quarter of last year, however. According to IHS figures, Apple sold 37 million smart phones that quarter, an increase of 117% from the previous quarter, while Samsung sold 36 million.

In the second quarter of last year, Apple knocked Nokia out of the top spot, and in the third quarter, Samsung pushed aside Apple to move into first. In the fourth quarter, Apple once again knocked off Samsung, and what’s more, Nokia and Motorola are seeing growth in their smartphone sales. Accordingly, the forecasts are for even more intense competition this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has been selected as the world’s third worst corporation. This was the result of an online poll conducted through Jan 26 (local time) by Environmental group Greenpeace Switzerland and Swiss civic group the Berne Declaration. Each year, the votes are taken for the Public Eye Awards, which recognize the corporations that bring the most harm to humanity and the environment. Civic groups around the world recommend the six corporations selected for the vote.

Samsung had been at the top spot in the interim voting earlier in the month, but took third in the final tally with 19,014 votes. The organizers pointed out on the voting website that Samsung was nominated “for using banned and highly-toxic substances in its factories without informing or protecting its workers. As a result, at least 140 workers were diagnosed with cancer, of which at least 50 young workers have died.” The top spot went to Brazilian mining firm Vale (25,042 votes), which forcefully relocated about 40,000 indigenous people to build a dam on the Amazon River. No. 2 went to Japan’s Tepco for ignoring safety measures during the Fukushima nuclear accident.

In response, Samsung Electronics sent a letter of protest to the organizers. In the letter, released to the public by semiconductor worker human rights group Banollim, Samsung’s European PR director Brendon Gore strongly protested, writing that Samsung maintains facilities with world-class environmental, safety and health standards, and that Samsung Electronics had been selected as a candidate for the Public Eye Award based on inaccurate claims.

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