Dubai Hotly anticipated to take on Apple, Samsung’s new smartphone — Galaxy S3 — is the first handset after iPhone to get a premium in the grey market, retailers said.
Samsung shipped in three boxes and that was sold out in three days. The supply shortage is “expected to continue for some days”, Ashraf Fawakherji, general manager of telecommunication group at Samsung Gulf Electronics, told Gulf News.
According to Samsung, pre-sale orders for the Galaxy S3 outstripped those of any previous Android-based smartphones.
Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky’s, also said in the same tone that they are facing a shortage and so far they have sold 225 units. All have been sold out within hours of receipt. He said the parallel market price is Dh300−Dh400 higher than their retail price indicating the severity of the shortage.
“We’ve been receiving stocks in lots of tens and twenties so it was difficult to keep track.
Another retailer who does not want to be named, said: “We have sold 9,000 units of S3 since the soft launch two weeks ago and we have told Samsung to give us more handsets.”
The 4.8-inch S3 also features more computing power that supports voice commands and an eye-movement tracking feature to keep the screen from dimming.
Samsung overtook Apple in smartphone sales for the first time in the first three months of this year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
Comparison with iPhone
The South Korea-based company sold 44.5 million smartphones in the January-March quarter, compared with Apple’s 35.1 million iPhone sales.
Samsung has sold 24 million Galaxy S phones, 28 million Galaxy S2 phones and seven million Galaxy Phones last year.
Looking at our product line-up, “we are in a healthy position to remain as the top phone manufacturer globally,” he said.
“We are facing supply shortage due to strong global demand. Soft launch of the Galaxy S3 was done first in the UAE globally. Many retailers are facing a shortage of the handset,” Fawakherji said.
Samsung shipped in three boxes and that was sold out in three days. The supply shortage is “expected to continue for some days,” he said.
In the Gulf, Samsung occupies a market share of 28 per cent in the phone business and around 33 per cent in the smartphone business.
The most important part is that “we have gained consumer confidence and that is what propelled us to number one spot. No phone in the market has the same technology and features as Galaxy S3 and I don’t see any manufacturer in the next two quarters,” he said.
