Google introduced a subscription music-streaming service, one of several product updates to be unveiled at a developer meeting this week as the search provider seeks to attract more users and advertisers.NEW YORK – Samsung has extended its lead over Apple in smartphones, in part because its new Galaxy phones came out before Apple updated its iPhone, research group IDC said Friday.
Samsung’s Galaxy S3 phones got good reviews when it was released late in the second quarter. I
n the U.S., the phones work with the faster fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks that major wireless companies have been building.
The Galaxy’s screen is larger than the iPhone’s, while the Samsung phone is lighter and thinner.
An iPhone with 4G capabilities isn’t expected until this fall. The current model, the iPhone 4S, came out in October, and sales typically drop several months after each release.
According to IDC, Samsung Electronics Co. shipped 50.2 million smartphones worldwide in the second quarter and had a market share of 33 percent, up from 17 percent a year ago.
Apple Inc.’s fell slightly to 17 percent, from 19 percent a year ago. It sold 26 million iPhones in the April-June quarter.
Besides having the Galaxy S3 out months before a new iPhone, Samsung also benefited from its strategy of developing several devices for a range of consumers. By contrast, Apple targets only the high-end market with its iPhone.
IDC’s report came out the same day Samsung reported another record-high quarterly profit, thanks to Galaxy sales. Robust sales of smartphones helped offset a slowdown for other consumer electronics goods such as televisions and personal computers.
