Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales Actually ‘Quite Small’

Evan Ramstad, reporting for the WSJ:

In early December, Samsung announced it had sold 1 million, declaring that sales were going “faster than expected.” Then, in early January, Samsung announced sales of 2 million.

But during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Friday, a Samsung executive revealed those figures don’t represent actual sales to consumers. Instead, they are the number of Galaxy Tab devices that Samsung has shipped to wireless companies and retailers around the world since product’s formal introduction in late September.

Pressed by an analyst at an investment bank, the Samsung executive, Lee Young-hee, acknowledged that sales to consumers were “quite small,” though she didn’t give a specific number.

I’ve never seen a Galaxy Tab out in the real world. I see dozens of iPads — and Kindles — every time I get on an airplane. This whole issue of companies announcing how many units they’ve merely shipped to retailers as “sold” is pernicious. Almost everyone, myself included, took Samsung’s previous announcements the wrong way.

★ Monday, 31 January 2011