iPhone 5 effect? Galaxy S III, S II, Note go cheaper

iPhone 5 effect? Galaxy S III, S II, Note go cheaper

Samsung has quietly reduced the prices of its top end phones in India by approximately Rs 2,000 to 3,000. The price cuts comes at a time when the South Korean manufacturer's chief rival Apple launched its latest device, the iPhone 5, which met with phenomenal success and looks set to break all sales records.

On Samsung India's official e-store, the current flagship Galaxy S III is now priced at Rs 35,499, a drop of Rs 3,500. This device has received rave reviews from critics and buyers alike and has performed well on various benchmark tests.
The Galaxy Note has also received a price cut in India, as it now costs Rs 29,990 on Samsung e-store in India. Previously, the 5.3-inch phablet cost Rs 32,990 in the country. Considering that the company has begun taking pre-orders for its successor, the Galaxy Note II, this price cut was expected by industry experts.

Last year's flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S II, has also been subjected to a price cut and now costs Rs 25,900, down Rs 2,000 from Rs 27,900. The phone remains quite popular in India and comes with Ice Cream Sandwich version of Google's Android operating system.
Prices of phones priced below Rs 20,000 remained unchanged on Samsung India's e-store.
Samsung phones on contract received similar price cuts ahead of the iPhone 5 launch in the US and UK, making them more appealing to buyers who do not wish to burn a hole in their pockets for a new high-end phone.

Considering that Samsung decided to slash the prices of its top end offerings just when the iPhone 5 was rolled out worldwide, it seems that the company is trying to gain buyers' attention through an aggressive pricing strategy. However, it remains to be seen whether this move will bring some Apple loyalists to Samsung stores or not.

Apple unlikely to use our technology in new iPhones: Audience

Apple unlikely to use our technology in new iPhones: Audience

Audience Inc, which makes chips used in Apple Inc's iPhones, said its top customer is unlikely to use its technology for the latest iPhone, sending Audience shares down 58 percent in after-hours trading.

Audience's chips improve the voice quality in mobile devices by filtering out background noise, and the company supplies these to Apple's contract manufacturers like Foxconn International Holdings Ltd and Protek Ltd.

The Mountain View, California-based company also sells processors and licenses its processor intellectual property to Apple and some of its units.

However, the company said in a statement that it now believes Apple is unlikely to use its processor technology in the iPhone 5, which is expected to be launched next week. Audience has been selling to Apple since 2008.

An Audience executive was not immediately available for further comment.

For Audience, Apple's licensing of the filtering technology accounted for 37 percent of total revenue for both the three and six months ended June 30.

The company, which also counts Samsung Electronics Co Ltd among its top customers, said in a regulatory filing in May that a reduction in orders from one or more of its customers could significantly harm its business, financial condition and cash flows.

Loss of Apple contract, however, will not impact Audience's third-quarter results but would affect it a quarter after Apple starts selling its next-generation mobile phones, the company said in a statement.

Audience raised its third-quarter revenue outlook to between $35 million and $38 million from its prior forecast of between $33 million and $36 million. It expects an adjusted profit of 14 cents to 18 cents per share.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 11 cents per share on revenue of $34.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company competes with Maxim Integrated Products Inc, ON Semiconductor Corp, Qualcomm Inc, Texas Instruments Inc, Wolfson Microelectronics Plc and Yamaha Corp.

Shares of the company, which went public in May, fell to $7.99 in trading after the regular market close. The stock closed at $18.86 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

Audience, which had a market value of about $380 million at close of regular trading on Thursday, lost $200 million in value in extended trade.