Samsung launches new Smart TV in Sri Lanka

By Cheranka Mendis

Samsung Electronics yesterday launched its new Smart TV to the Sri Lankan tech savvy market with anticipations to reach the status of market leader in the flat panel television category by the end of the year.

The brand which has significantly progressed its way up the market ladder now holds the fort as market leader in the smartphone category and will soon do the same in the flat panel category as well, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics South West Asia, Jung Soo Shin affirmed at the launch.

Samsung which identifies itself as the global leader in the flat panel market hopes to dominate the sector by enabling entertainment and more excitement than a normal television set would provide. Quoted as unique and adventurous the new Smart TV available in LED D series would help the company strengthen its presence in the local market, Shin said.

Samsung which launched its first ever television to the market in 1970 and held the position of global leader from 2006 to date commends its innovation in technology as its key success factor. Senior Manager of Samsung Electronics India P. Pallil outlining the emerging consumer needs or the future market trends stated that the Smart TV launched yesterday has been created to serve the needs of the future customer. “Smart TV is a truly next generation television which would address the needs of the consumers,” Pallil said.

There are three key trends identified in the market, he noted, naming, fast adoption of LED TVs, emergence of social media, and increasing availability of 3D as the key trends. “Flat panel TVs will be the face of choice for the customers within the next two years. Statistics show that the usage of flat panel TVs as 5% in 2010, and the number is said to rise to 55-60% by 2013. This transition towards LED by especially the major cities in the world will be an important trend in the future,” Pallil said.

He stated that with the emergence of social media, consumers will also expect similar services to be available on TV just as mobile phones are used at present for the same purpose. Therefore the Smart TV would bring about the services customers need with the many features available.

“It has been recognised that just two years ago there were only seven 3D movies produced in the world. This year the number of 3D films to be released is over 60. With this the TV content availability is increasing,” he said.

The new Smart TV offers the convenience of Samsung’s ‘smart hub’ offering an easily accessible gateway to favourite music, games, movies, TV shows, pictures and virtually any content online or on a network connected storage device. It offers key features such as ‘Your Video’ which delivers recommendations based on a user’s viewing history, ‘Search All’ which enables easy mechanisms to search for desired content in the television and other DLNA certified connected media storage devices, networked PC and mobile devices and internet and video on demand services.

It offers a web browser which enables web browsing from the TV, and the famous ‘Samsung Apps,’ which is the world’s first HDTV based application which offers some 400 paid and free apps globally.

“Samsung TV is an amalgamation of the three key trends — it connects with community in a much larger scale, experiences seamless 3D and has excellent picture quality and design,” he said.

Samsung also expanded its capabilities and this year’s line of products include 3D and smart feature in a broader range of LED TV models providing consumers with the ability to bring the smarter life into the homes of the consumer.

 Samsung also launched a range of four Smart TV models with screen sizes between 40” to 55” across and a Smart TV D series with the price starting from Rs. 324, 990.

The company also announced the launch of its new advanced 2011 LCD television series yesterday. Coming in screen sixes 22”, 32” and 40” the LCD TVs are differentiated on account of their elegant crystal design. Offering a range of features such as wide colour enhancer, connect share movie, SRS theatre sound and HDMI inputs; the LCD TVs are priced between Rs. 30,990 and Rs. 119,990.