World's Largest Mobile Phone Factory Set To Open in India

Samsung said on Monday that it is opening what it said is the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturing facility as the South Korean giant seeks to expand production in the world's fastest growing mobile phone market. From a report: The new Samsung factory will have the capacity of 120 million smartphones per year, and make everything from low-end smartphones that cost under $100 to its flagship S9 model, according to the company. Earlier this year, China's Xiaomi displaced Samsung from the No. 1 smartphone spot in the country, breaking its long-held dominance. Indians favor low-end smartphones priced at $250 or less, given the low average annual income of its people, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That's one reason why Apple has struggled to gain market share in India, with most iPhone models priced beyond $500, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report earlier this month.

Re:

[CaptainDork]

How about a Samsung not partnered with AT&T?

Re:

[CaptainDork]

Elvis Presley died on the toilet.

Re:

[cayenne8]

I won't be buying Samsung any more. They're the ones who partner with AT&T to lock down the bootloader so you can't root your own damn phone.

I"m curious....why would you want to root your phone, what functionality is it lacking that you need to root it?

Is it for needed functionality, or is it more of wanting to climb that mountain "because it is there" type thing?

Re:

[schklerg]

I"m curious....why would you want to root your phone, what functionality is it lacking that you need to root it?

To eliminate the crapware that comes on a mobile phone, and to install a hosts file based block of ads & facebook. It makes android a delightful experience.

Re:

[cayenne8]

To eliminate the crapware that comes on a mobile phone, and to install a hosts file based block of ads & facebook. It makes android a delightful experience.

Thank you....

I've not had an android phone before, so was curious as to why this seems to be so popular.

Do all Android phones come with this "crapware" as you termed it....apps are installed that you don't want and can't delete? Is this common for all android phones, or does it vary by the price range of the phone?

Does Facebook come on these andr

Re:

[Stormwatch]

Is this common for all android phones, or does it vary by the price range of the phone?

I believe it depends mostly on the manufacturer and the carrier. For example, Samsung has a reputation for bundling crap apps and messing with the interface, while Motorola keeps clean and close to "stock".

Re: Nah

[schklerg]

Google's things don't come with crapware, neither do one+ in my experience. Most others do, but Lineage and similar just allow for a lot more customization in general

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

A lot of reasons:

1: Run an iptables firewall. Not a VPN hack, but a firewall that keeps dodgy apps from phoning home... like most crapware on phones that loves sending your location to places in China.
2: Run Titanium Backup. Android is crap when it comes to backups, so having the ability to restore data and archive games is important.
3: Use my phone for multiple OS images for front-line troubleshooting.
4: Use my phone for network troubleshooting.
5: SSH into my phone. There are times when I like usin

Re:

[OneHundredAndTen]

They are also the ones who fill out your phone with bloatware that you can't uninstall, who have penchant for installing and removing apps from your phone without your consent, and for adding a heavy layer of software cruft to Android. But, they are the most explosive devices in the market.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Just how big is the worlds largest mobile phone? and how would you carry it around?

Re:

[filesiteguy]

Not just that - but they've made them worse. I loved my SII, my Note II, and my S5. Since then, the S6 was horrid, the Note 7 was good but explosive, and the S9 is awful.

I switched to Iphone - not as good but less annoying.

Smart move

[iampiti]

It's a pretty logical move since as the summary says it's the fastest growing mobile market. It'll surely allow Samsung to sell the phones cheaper than if they brought them from abroad. Samsung it's still kind of pricy for what it offers compared to most other Android manufacturers and specially Xiaomi. Since India is such a price sensitive market I'm not sure Samsung will be able to turn the tide.
I live in Spain and we're richer than the indians but not rich by european standards and still many people buy Xiaomi phones (or BQ a local brand that makes pretty cheap phones too) so as I said, I'm not sure what this will do for Sams.

Re:

[johansch]

There are cheaper/better places to manufacture than India.

I'm guessing avoiding India's relatively steep import tariffs is a pretty big part of this decision.

Re:

[mrops]

Ah, confused with average income. Samsung profits have nothing to do with average Spanish budget for a phone vs that of an average Indian. If 25% Spanish can afford a $300 Samsung phone, they sold about 12 million units, Now if just 2% of Indians can afford a $300 Samsung phone, they just sold over 26 million phones.

Bad move

[Hognoxious]

Bad move - how many people are going to want the world's largest mobile phone? If anything, the trend is the other way.

Re:

[johansch]

http://www.brandfreak.com/2009... [brandfreak.com]

Maybe a follow-up to this 2009 Samsung model?

Re:

[radarskiy]

If you looked just at slashdot comments, building the largest phone would be an obvious winner

Wow! India is always the contrarian!

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

When everyone is miniaturizing and making electronics smaller, India wants to make it bigger? It wants to make the world's largest cell phone? How big is that phone gonna be? 42 inches diagonal?

Indian Development

[Only Time Will Tell]

I am glad to hear that more manufacturing is coming to India. I'm surprised there hasn't been more of a push by American companies into India for inexpensive manufacturing over the high hurdles to get into China. I hope this Samsung development will help spur further economic progress into the area.